The Art of the Album

I’d be tempted to say that “I hate iTunes” if I didn’t use it so much. Same goes for my iPod and my impressively large…MP3 collection (if only that size mattered). It’s not that I dislike the software or that I have some irrational qualm with music files. It boils down to the sheer fact that these mediums destroy the concept of “the album.”

I read a fantastic article on one of my favorite websites, Pitchfork Media, about how we used to listen to music. We bought the record/tape/cd, ran home, threw on headphones, plopped on the bed, and read along with the liner notes from beginning to end. We absorbed the album.

In an almost futile attempt to revive “the album,” I want to lament, or maybe eulogize, what makes the perfect album. Hopefully this will inspire a new wave of people who will say “no” to the shuffle button.

You Complete Me…

A perfect album will be so cohesive that it is able to be listened straight through with no skipping. Of all the qualities that make the perfect album, this one is clutch. Skipping songs means that some part of an album isn’t worth a listen.

Like the majority of underground music heads, I picked up the new Gnarls Barkley. To my complete lack of surprise, it’s a wildly fun and soulful debut. But one song, no lie – one song, ruins the album for me. “Boogie Monsters” is quite possibly the most redundant and annoying song. It belongs nowhere on such a tight and enjoyable album.

The Strokes committed such an atrocity as well. To their credit, it wasn’t their fault…terrorists made them do it. No lie. After September 11^th, they were “asked” to pull the song “New York City Cops” because of the line “New York City Cops ain’t too smart.” I respect them for their sensitivity, even if the line is taken out of context. Pulling this track and replacing it with the pathetic excuse of indie rock called “When It Started” ruined their debut album, Is This It.

1, 2, 1, 2, 3 I′ve got a ticket so rock with me

Great albums should mimic the flow of a great rollercoaster. The Batman ride at Six Flags goes 70mph (or more, I forget), throws your body around like a rag-doll, hangs you upside down, and then floors it in reverse. By the end of it, you’re more dazed than a goldfish won by a 5 year old.

Some rides start out slow; some rides jet as soon as the Carney presses the Go button. It really doesn’t matter how an album starts - or for that matter, how the album ends (I’ll contradict this point later). The important factor is the experience of the album – the journey.

Each song should lay a different section of the tracks until it makes that perfect loop – complete revolution. Lulls and straight-aways are as important as the loopty-loops and zero-drops. Lulls give the mind a moment to catch up and reflect on where it has been and where it’s going.

Many people describe their day (a 24-hour cycle) as a rollercoaster ride. Up in the morning, off to work, lunch, more work, the commute home, dinner, nightlife, sleep. The Smashing Pumpkins took this experience literally and composed Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness to reflect the cycles of the day. They took specific emotional moments of the day and expressed them throughout 28 tracks over two hours. The album contains graceful acoustic tracks, ear piercing yells, grungy guitar, angelic harp arrangements and techno beats….oh and I think there’s a sitar. But it works. It’s cohesive. It’s a marathon.

An album that maintains the same pace is equivalent to being stuck in traffic. It’s alright in the beginning. But a half hour later…it just flat out sucks.

Go ‘head, Judge it by its Cover

Some album covers are unforgettable. Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Nirvana’s Nevermind, Rage Against the Machine’s Evil Empire, and The Beatles’ Abbey Road just to name a few.

Sometimes artwork can ruin the appeal of the music. I hate to keep harping on The Strokes. I like them, I really do! But they suck at making decent acceptable album artwork. Can anyone tell me wtf is on the cover of First Impressions of Earth? Holy Photoshop filters, Batman! Next time, take a photograph of something cool. It worked for The Libertines.

Liner notes often contain neat stuff about the music that people never read. Radiohead threw in a 3-line poem inside the tray insert of OK Computer. A member of Coheed and Cambria wrote a “f*** you” to a high school teacher of his who told him he would never amount to anything in the liner notes of In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. TOOL’s latest album, 10,000 Days, comes with built-in 3D glasses and cool pictures to look at.

Being able to read the lyrics along with the songs is enough to make any music-lover appreciate the greatness that is…….album artwork.

It’s not how you start, but how you finish

The last track is possibly the most important track on the album. Much like everyone hates “to be continued” television shows, or poorly written movies with no resolution. Dedicating time to listening to an album, whether it is 40 minutes or a TOOL-like 78 minutes, deserves some scent of finality.

“Mad props” – as the kids say – to Thursday for taking heed to this ever-so-important album requirement. Their latest release, A City by the Light Divided, aside of being a brilliant work of art, closes on such a powerful, draining, emotionally involved tune called “Autumn Leaves Revisited.” Not only does the song wrap up all of the emotions conveyed in the album, but it also brings closure and resolution.

Probably the most notable final track on any album would be “Brain Damage/Eclipse” from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. It’s difficult to find words able to encompass the awesome power of those two songs. But just take my word for it.

The song should blow minds, tie all loose ends and quench any desire for “one more song!” No track can follow the last song and I sit idle for fifteen minutes until I regain any sense of cognitive thought.

It sounds simple to make the perfect album…there are only four objectives. But all four are nearly impossible. Below is a bunch of album that I deem worthy to sport the title “Perfect Album.” Some of the albums transcend perfection into timelessness.

In no particular order:

• The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness: a marathon
• Better than Ezra – Deluxe: A timepiece for the post-alternative rock transitional period
• Radiohead – OK Computer: Broke all the rules and reinvented modern rock. Timeless.
• Fiona Apple – Tidal: Powerful lyrics coupled with moving compositions
• TOOL – Ænima: A mind-blowing experience. Timeless.
• The Beatles – Abbey Road: Drugs + British rock = success. It’s science.
• Minus the Bear – Highly Refined Pirates: Revival of underground indie rock.
• Green Day – Dookie: Kept punk alive. Timeless.
• Talib Kweli – Eternal Reflection: Sparked the underground hip hop rebirth.
• Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon: Timeless.

I could add more. Feel free to share your favorites with everyone else. Or let me know if you think my taste in music sucks….but be prepared for a good argument.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 29th, 2006 at 4:31 pm and is filed under Featured Posts, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.