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tongue-tied

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Posts posted by tongue-tied

    Is the Album dead?

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    This is a good point as it reminds us that the album as a coherent piece or work is itself a product of technology- i think it was around 1960 that they could physically make the groove smal enough to get about 22 or 23 minutes of music on each side of a record. It wasn't until several years later that the album developed into something which could be presented as a unified whole- around the time of "Revolver," say. (okay mayber Rubber Soul). Until then they were just collections of songs.

     

    That's in the eye of the listener! To my ears there are stronger underlying themes to "Beatles for Sale" than there are from the overt "we're a different band!" conceit of "Sgt. Pepper". I like "concept albums", but then again I feel recording a "collection of songs" is a concept in itself - one that is perhaps more worthy of attention than the (probably half-baked gimmicky (but maybe not!)) "concept" a band might put over their collection of songs.

     

    Also, I call baloney on technical limitations of a "unified whole", records didn't need 23 minutes on a side for coherence to occur. A two-sided single is a coherent piece of work. A song is a coherent piece of work (usually). So when thinking of an "album", what gives or takes away coherence? Is it a narrative structure?, because it seems the most famous concept albums fail hard at sustaining a narrative. I think it's something more basic, like a recognizable songwriting voice, or voices. The Beatles popularized the "album" as a big vinyl LP with good presentation, one that's more from the band and less from marketing. I think it's important for the artist to have control over the presentation of their music, but I also think there's this weird reverence for the album-form that's both good because albums are a great tradition, but it also seems to dismiss everything else, like EPs and singles as though they don't reach a time-marker to be an Almighty Album. Yeah, the EP is good, but it's not like it can compare to a good LP!

     

     

    That said, the typical "album" is more or less the same lentgh as a typical symphony, so works or that length have been around a while and there is no reason to think that they will be going anywhere.

     

    Is there really some pseudoscience to a natural length of music or is this because record companies went to great lengths to get a good reproduction of classical music on records before pop/rock completely overtook sales?

    Sear Sound

    in Just A Fan

    Posted

    Is it the Studio, the use of Pro Tools, of Jim O'Rourke producing?

     

    I thought they recorded on Pro Tools until they went to Sear, where they recorded on tape. Did I mix this up?

    Glenn Beck is smart

    in Tongue-Tied Lightning

    Posted

    Maddow is way, way more unwatchable than Beck. I want to kick her in the face every single time I see her.

     

    Is it because she's incredibly smug? I find her really smug. However, as annoying as every TV pundit is, I find G. Beck dangerous. He's stirring up shit and giving vague instructions about how to change or "take back" the nation. Making people angry and confused and saying "hey, somebody needs to do something" never ends well. That's what makes it unwatchable to me.

    Is the Album dead?

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    That said, serious musicians and serious consumers (ie. most of us here) want albums because they're looking for more than just a taste of a particular band, they're looking for narrative, depth, story, concept, art...something that holds pieces of music together in more than just a "popular shuffle" fashion. As a musician myself I love the process of thinking of music as a holistic piece, putting together tracks that have similar elements until I have something somewhat cohesive and satisfying. Music is meant to be listened to not in choppy bits but in arcing narrative gestures (check out basically every form of music out there if you're unsure). So yeah, the album will live on, it just may not be the center of the popular music universe.

     

    I like albums too, but why disparage the single? Why can't a song stand on its own?

    Fun with translations

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Here's an excerpt from an English to Italian to Irish to Japanese to English translation:

     

    Suddenly,

    I used to be half the man I

    I was not in suspension, shadows,

    Oh, yesterday was a surprise.

     

    She

    I go, instead, I do not know really.

    I said.

    Something wrong, now I said yesterday, in time.

    New Way vs. Old Way

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    The constant taking of photos and video is definitely a bit of an atmosphere killer. Anytime someone starts playing with these gadgets to capture a moment, they're actually removing themselves a little bit from that moment. It's like someone talking on their cell while driving; the focus isn't 100% where it should be. A rock concert should be visceral, make you want to move and be in the moment, it's not about trying to capture it (poorly) for later enjoyment.

     

    All they are removing themselves from is the "moment" you prescribe as best. Why can't videotaping be part of their moment? I appreciate a good concert video on youtube.

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