Albums Are Dead - Ola Englund's Thoughts

[-Asdfgh-]

I was thinking of marketing it as Old England lip gloss. It will be pillar box red and taste of tea and nuns cycling through the mist.

(The cycling nuns comment is from an article by Sir John Major from about 1994, in which he got nostalgic about the UK he knew in his youth before he ran away from home to become an accountant)

 

[JimK]

I thank you.

I will try and steer it back to the topic, what is the objective evidence albums are dead, and is it significant, given that in the 1950s and 60s the single was king, and even in the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, a lot of people just bought singles, especially the 70s and 80s. Was the album really more (apart from classical) for your prog and other rock bands - ELP, Tull, Moody Blues, Beach Boys and especially Led Zep?

Since 1970 (I was 12), I bought LPs. Later, same for my HS bandmates.
Casual listeners bought Singles. IIRC.
This is a reason why some schmaltzy/novelty tunes made the Top-10. Album-wise, those kinda tunes tanked & the "artists" were shortlived.
In the '90s, a New Country band hired me. So, yep, I bought a few Singles...at that time, Singles were pretty much on cassettes. CD singles were not a thing, yet. Cassettes = a big pain in-the-ass.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Since 1970 (I was 12), I bought LPs. Later, same for my HS bandmates.
Casual listeners bought Singles. IIRC.
This is a reason why some schmaltzy/novelty tunes made the Top-10. Album-wise, those kinda tunes tanked & the "artists" were shortlived.
In the '90s, a New Country band hired me. So, yep, I bought a few Singles...at that time, Singles were pretty much on cassettes. CD singles were not a thing, yet. Cassettes = a big pain in-the-ass.

If they are a pain in the ass you are definitely using them wrong!

 

[48thStreetCustom]

It was a comment on the fact that vinyl reproduction isn't as linear as a hi-fi amp, even if it's a tube amp, which for musical instrument application the non-linear range is useful. But you could add a preamp with some level of non-linearity, if you want to emulate the vinyl sound to some extent, from a non-vinyl source. Some people like the subtle additional distortion added.

Okay gotcha. But would a tube preamp between a CD player and tube amp be redundant? Is that like adding an overdrive pedal to an amp that's already set with overdrive?

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Okay gotcha. But would a tube preamp between a CD player and tube amp be redundant? Is that like adding an overdrive pedal to an amp that's already set with overdrive?

If the tube amp is linear, and the preamp is not, no it isn't redundant, if you want to add distortion (in the broadest sense of the word) to the signal chain. If the preamp is linear, the amp is linear, and the preamp is at linear gain, then it is redundant.

 

[Usidore T Blue]

Ok I can see that but I still need to understand why so many people buy into an idea that they don’t think has value. To me that suggests gullibility of some sort. What is the appeal? It has to be valued by definition for it to be consumed.

IMO it's just participating in a shared societal experience, like we are now. In a world where a human life is a product, the *act of consuming it* can be the sole value for the buyers. People can share it. It can be replicated and distributed until we hardly register it.

I think the main attraction of the Kardashians is the idea that *anyone* might have been them, with a break or two, coupled with the idea that we would be different than them if it happened to be us. People buy the product to participate in the crazy narrative of their success. Plenty of people trying to be the next Kardashian! It's pure comic kitsch, but using human lives as the medium. Positively democratic, I suppose.

 

[Son of Wobble]

Back on topic of the album, "Everything is Love" by Beyonce and Jay-Z got much mainstream coverage and was dissected and carefully parsed upon release -- so there is one example of the album format still garnering interest. Of course, that interest is predicated on interest in the couple and their romantic travails... And what's more the power couple carefully and painstakingly cultivated their conflicts (by goosing rumors of infidelity in the marriage, and thus taking back power from the tabloids).

 

[Son of Wobble]

IMO it's just participating in a shared societal experience, like we are now. In a world where a human life is a product, the *act of consuming it* can be the sole value for the buyers. People can share it. It can be replicated and distributed until we hardly register it.

View attachment 3128422

I think the main attraction of the Kardashians is the idea that *anyone* might have been them, with a break or two, coupled with the idea that we would be different than them if it happened to be us. People buy the product to participate in the crazy narrative of their success. Plenty of people trying to be the next Kardashian! It's pure comic kitsch, but using human lives as the medium. Positively democratic, I suppose.

Thanks for that, well-articulated. And to add: the reality star phenomenon dates back to "An American Family," Lance Loud, et al. So you can blame the end of the sixties and the early seventies for the advent of this format.

 

[retslock]

IMO it's just participating in a shared societal experience, like we are now. In a world where a human life is a product, the *act of consuming it* can be the sole value for the buyers. People can share it. It can be replicated and distributed until we hardly register it.

View attachment 3128422

I think the main attraction of the Kardashians is the idea that *anyone* might have been them, with a break or two, coupled with the idea that we would be different than them if it happened to be us. People buy the product to participate in the crazy narrative of their success. Plenty of people trying to be the next Kardashian! It's pure comic kitsch, but using human lives as the medium. Positively democratic, I suppose.

You’re very generous in your assessment of the consuming public. You may have a better understanding of the issue than I do. I find it hard to be that magnanimous. I understand the power of the need to belong and in a sense you could see this phenomenon as a kind of tribalism.
The Kardashians are single minded in their self promotion and that takes a lot of energy, time and total focus on the end result. The idea that it could be any one of us if we got a break is not realistic but I guess that willingness to dream is what keeps lotteries functioning.
Food for thought, thanks. I’ve enjoyed your posts.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

(by goosing rumors of infidelity in the marriage, and thus taking back power from the tabloids).

I'd have read that as 'being so self-absorbed'...

 

[-Asdfgh-]

The Kardashians are single minded in their self promotion and that takes a lot of energy, time and total focus on the end result. The idea that it could be any one of us if we got a break, is not realistic but I guess that willingness to dream is what keeps lotteries functioning.

I think most of us are not capable of such self-promotion as we have more self-respect, and would rather be known for making a contribution over and above who we are. I suppose you could argue that the Kardashians provide entertainment, though, so where is the difference between that and any other entertainer, but just with themselves as the show?

Getting back to albums, back in the days when singles were king there were a lot of manufactured pop stars too, even though people seem to think this is new, when it was virtually born with pop music; even Bill Haley concealed his marriage. I feel that the album matched a desire for pop and rock stars to be seen for their creative output more than being sold for a possibly partially managed story of teenage rebellion that seemed to go hand-in-glove with the disposable single. It seemed to also come with a retreat into the studio and away from the public as being one of the Kardashians of the period was too much, and here I am alluding to the level of scrutiny the partners of the Beatles illicited. But then John Lennon wasn't above exploiting the media and his status if it served his purposes.

Edit: I wasn't initially done with the post, but the cat decided I was.

 

[Usidore T Blue]

You’re very generous in your assessment of the consuming public. You may have a better understanding of the issue than I do. I find it hard to be that magnanimous. I understand the power of the need to belong and in a sense you could see this phenomenon as a kind of tribalism. Look at the Trump support base - scary.
The Kardashians are single minded in their self promotion and that takes a lot of energy, time and total focus on the end result. The idea that it could be any one of us if we got a break is not realistic but I guess that willingness to dream is what keeps lotteries functioning.
Food for thought, thanks. I’ve enjoyed your posts.

Ha ha! Lotteries were on my mind, too! You are very generous to me.

 

[Novarocker]

I’m 35 and I listen to “old guy” music.

I'm 29 and I do the same. However, I'm sure it's not the norm and I feel like I was born in the wrong decade. Don't get me wrong there's new music I love, but seems like the ratio of like vs dislike is much lower.

In general, I feel that modern mainstream tracks don't take you on a journey, they only give a fleeting impression of something animalistic and undefined. I'm not trying to live in the past, but the basic messages in mainstream music seem to be getting progressively more shallow with each iteration. Sometimes it seems like "real" art has moved elsewhere.

I think this may be the effect of how society has progressed. This is my viewpoint as well, although there's still tons of amazing music being made it's just not as mainstream or popular.

Just so I don’t sound too overly-salty: there’s still good stuff out there, but it requires a little more digging and effort to uncover.

Yup, exactly. It's awesome though that you can find a relatively unknown but amazing band more easily than yesteryear.

 

[GZboat]

I haven't read the entire thread, so has anyone discussed this subject artistically? It took 60 years from the beginning of commercial music recording until artists were able to to work in a long-form format, the concept album. Generally thought to have started with Frank Sinatra's "In The Wee Small Hours" (1955), the concept ALBUM enabled artists to take up to 45 minutes to tell their listeners a complete story. Without it, our culture would be immeasurably poorer for the lack of "Sgt. Pepper's", "Pet Sounds", "What's Going On", "Days Of Future Passed" (and most of the rest of the Moody Blues work), "Phases and Stages", "Red Headed Stranger", "Mothership Connection", "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back" and a host of other remarkable works. Sorry, but you just can't achieve those levels of creative storytelling in a 3 or 5 or 10 minute video. You just can't. If the album is dead because folks today can't pay attention that long, I pity them for what they'll miss.
Greg
P.S. So yes, my opinion of the OP's video is "********!". Really, this forum is censoring the word bullsh*t now? Pathetic!

 

[catcauphonic]

...
Edit: I wasn't initially done with the post, but the cat decided I was.

No photo, no cat >^..^<

 

[Ancientangler]

Not every artist is capable of making an album whose songs are all worth listening to repeatedly. This was true 50 years ago and it's still true today. Even the Beatles' white album includes some worthless fluff. Why should anyone be surprised if today's audiences use the digital tools available to them to pick and choose the individual songs they want to hear?

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Not every artist is capable of making an album whose songs are all worth listening to repeatedly. This was true 50 years ago and it's still true today. Even the Beatles' white album includes some worthless fluff. Why should anyone be surprised if today's audiences use the digital tools available to them to pick and choose the individual songs they want to hear?

Whether a less popular song is fluff depends on the overall breadth and concept of the album. There are some albums that are just the collection of songs available at the time the contract said an album had to appear. Those albums can die. I don't tend to buy albums from those sort of bands.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

I haven't read the entire thread, so has anyone discussed this subject artistically? It took 60 years from the beginning of commercial music recording until artists were able to to work in a long-form format, the concept album. Generally thought to have started with Frank Sinatra's "In The Wee Small Hours" (1955), the concept ALBUM enabled artists to take up to 45 minutes to tell their listeners a complete story. Without it, our culture would be immeasurably poorer for the lack of "Sgt. Pepper's", "Pet Sounds", "What's Going On", "Days Of Future Passed" (and most of the rest of the Moody Blues work), "Phases and Stages", "Red Headed Stranger", "Mothership Connection", "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back" and a host of other remarkable works. Sorry, but you just can't achieve those levels of creative storytelling in a 3 or 5 or 10 minute video. You just can't. If the album is dead because folks today can't pay attention that long, I pity them for what they'll miss.
Greg
P.S. So yes, my opinion of the OP's video is "********!". Really, this forum is censoring the word bullsh*t now? Pathetic!

Interestingly, Macca thinks Sgt. Pepper (it seems rare to call it Sgt. Pepper's in the UK) was a concept album, and was inspired by Pet Sounds, but Lennon thought it was just a collection of the songs they had, with a spurious and loose theme to provide segues. Anyway, I didn't get as far as reading the rest of your post.

 

[Son of Wobble]

No photo, no cat >^..^<

Still waiting on cat? Here's a lively one...

 

[Son of Wobble]

Interestingly, Macca thinks Sgt. Pepper (it seems rare to call it Sgt. Pepper's in the UK) was a concept album, and was inspired by Pet Sounds, but Lennon thought it was just a collection of the songs they had, with a spurious and loose theme to provide segues. Anyway, I didn't get as far as reading the rest of your post.

Macca I know is the guy on the Kanye record. But who's this Lemmon?