Sonic Youth Gossip - Are albums dead?

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- - Are albums dead? (http://www.sonicyouth.com/gossip/showthread.php?t=39774)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derek

And this liberation leads to the underground scene we have today where bands release a new set of jams every few weeks, often sounding the exact same as what they've did before. I think it would benefit these type of bands if they just tried to sum everything up in a few albums. Of course this wouldn't apply to a band like Sun City Girls where it's certainly not possible to sum them up with only a couple of records.

Yeah, it is. Box of Chameleons sums them up completely. Of course, it's a 3 CD, 128 (!) song set.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glice

The thing with this is that there's a greater impetus for complete, quality product (and we are talking product) from WB and the like. You say it's been years since you found a whole album of great tunes - if you buy primarily in the indie sector, there's far less necessity for that level of quality. I know you, and most people here, don't care for the huge end of commercial pop, but WB and the like have been upping the ante on 'quality product' for years. Again, I know most of you won't like it, but Breakout by Miley Cyrus is a simply astonishingly great record (if you happen to like that sort of thing), and there's been some very consistent whole records from the likes of Britney, Christina, Avril and so on since the 'death' of the industry.

No-one's obliged to think like that sort of thing - that's personal taste - but in the context of pop music, quality has very seriously increased in the last 10 years. I think the indie sector has a different set of problems - I'd maintain that they should let people branch out a bit, and include a couple of duff songs as experiments. The problem now, I suppose, is that someone like Kate Bush, who did some preposterous things in the name of commercial pop, simply wouldn't be given that chance. I remember reading that, all that time ago, Slipknot had to remove a couple of bitchin' solos from their second record because it just didn't fit with their general ethos. If they were on MFN or Earache (unlikely, I know) they'd be given the room to include that sort of thing in their sound.

But yeah, in essence, it doesn't surprise me at all that WB put out a consistent record; what surprises me is that the market it was aimed at wasn't the pop consumer that I'm talking about, but the pop consumer that crosses over with the blackened husk of the independent underground.

Do you ever talk about anything BUT shitty pop music? We get it, you're SO individual that you hang out on a Sonic Youth forum and listen to nothing but Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne AND have endless knowledge about music that's even more weird than what we listen to so it's our tastes that are pedestrian. Plus it's not like you appreciate Taylor Swift because you're an internally homophobic faggot who never emotionally matured out of Jr. High, it's because you appreciate it for it's amazingly innovative production (that autotune sure won't sound dated in five years) and absolutely breathtaking quality. Awesome. Now give it a fucking rest douchebag.

Although I do agree with what you said about Kate Bush...

Do you ever post anything other than amusing aggro?

Christina's last album was impressive... especially for a double.

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitemusic

Nobody's interested in classical music, Irish folk, Soukous, Mbira, Spectralism, Ragga, Happy Hardcore, Sevdah, Dixie Jazz, local hardcore and so on here. Everyone knows pop.

Why don't you, rather than slagging off people here, actually say something positive about music, any music, that's not Sonic Youth? Honestly, look through your own last 50 posts or so, I'd be surprised if it weren't 95% slagging people off for things they like. I'm happy to take criticism, but your criticism means precisely fuck all until you start contributing something more than 'Glice likes pop, what a douche' or 'Atsonicpark likes getting excited about music and sharing it with people, what a douche'. Seriously, just once talk about music you like and ignore that other people here annoy you, it's much more tiresome than anything I say.

Taylor Swift uses minimal autotune, by the by. And if you want to talk about my appreciation of homophobic music, I've mentioned several times I'm a fan of Capleton, Sizzla, Buju Banton and the like. You might want to direct that criticism that way. I still couldn't give a fuck if some no-mark cunt thinks I'm homophobic, I'll still enjoy my Prussian Blue albums as much as I do the first four Erasure albums.

Quote:

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

Yeah, it is. Box of Chameleons sums them up completely. Of course, it's a 3 CD, 128 (!) song set.

Isn't that just archive stuff though? Of course if you release a 128 song set of music from throughout the years then it will somewhat sum the band up!

I think Glice probably knows more about classical music than anyone else here. I think. I mean, credit where credit's due.

Noumenal (sadly departed) and fugazifan know a lot more than me, I'm just more of a gobby cunt than fugazifan.

yeah yr a jerk. But I know to ask for classical recommendations. :)

classical music rules.

the answer is no. albums are still being made to be listened to in their entirety. there are a lot of really good albums that have come out in the past ten years, and a lot of really good album still coming out this year. it is not dead, iTunes did not kill the album, it just gave the lame market of folks who used to just listen to the radio and buy singles and compilations the ability to have a more visible presence in the music industry, but they will by no means eliminate the value and artistic worth of the album

Yeah, what with new bands like Hole, Korn, Bikini Kill, Nirvana, Truman's Water, Pavement, Huggy Bear, Mudhoney, Unsane and Ministry all taking back this format to its past glories.

the british sarcasm is so finely honed.

He's Italian isn't he? Or did you know that?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lurker

He's Italian isn't he? Or did you know that?

Correct.

I don;t know nothing.

I really think the album is one of those unwittingly perfect formats, a bit like the novel or the feature film or the magazine, that will endure (as the novel and feature film and magazine have) long after technology has rendered them archaic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Yes.