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DEATH_OF_THE_ALBUM

   Albums are a dead art form:                        Sun June 22, 2003
   they were killed by CDs.                 Revision: Tue June  8, 2004

   It used to be the artist had
   to think carefully about what
   was going to go on the album,
   and where it was going to go:

   A two sided LP is
   necessarily divided
   into two "movements" of               Which typically means
   20 to 30 minutes each,                5 to 6 cuts, given
   so there are two                      4 or 5 minutes each.
   separate beginnings,
   and two conclusions.

        The first track on side B was famously
        the "sweet spot" to put an intended hit.

   All of this is lost in the CD
   versions of LPs that we're
   used to listening to now: the
   CD just plays straight
   through what was originally
   the gap between side A and B.

   And then after the original
   finale (the close of side B),
   there are a bunch of
   typically very minor "bonus"
   tracks tacked on that spoil
   the effect.

   And as for music newly being
   released on CD, the problem
   is no longer "which piece          And, structuring the flow
   should I choose to put on          of that music from track to track
   this album", but "how am I         would be nearly pointless.
   going to fill up so much           People don't listen to the CDs
   space?".                           that way.  70 minutes is pushing
                                      the attention span limits badly.
   It's rare for me to
   listen to a CD that                                 TRACKSIX
   seems like it's padded
   with actively bad tracks     But maybe I don't
                                listen to bad CDs.
   But it *is* really common
   to have a CD that seems a
   little samey, that gets a
   little boring before the
   end.

   More often than not, I toss
   five CDs in the carousel and
   play them on "shuffle".

   Sorry about your great work
   of art there, but I would've
   fallen asleep before the end
   anyway.


With an LP, the music stops
if you don't proactively
keep it going.

With today's tech it tends to
keep spewing at you, after            Yes, there are great
you've stopped paying                 things about shuffle
attention to it.                      play and carousel
                                      changers.

  Obvious point:                         But something
  Nothing stops                          has been lost
  you from                               with the gain.
  listening with
  a stop watch,
  and manually            UNINTENDED
  interrupting
  the recordings.

     But that misses
     the point.



A technological improvement
that removes a restriction
can be a step backward           Often we worry
*because* it removes the         too much about
restriction.                     "side-effects"
                                 when the main
  The whole system               effect is the
  has to include                 problem.
  a human in the
  loop, if not all
  of humanity.

  And that means you
  can (will?) have
  perverse effects.

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