Tom Cox in Saturday's Times has some interesting things to say about the iPod culture and the 'death' (?) of the album as we know it.
" I've been downsizing my record collection recently. Considering that the aim is to make listening a completely fuss-free pleasure, it's been a rather time consuming task so far, involving the jettisoning of superfluous pap and the transferring of my favourite tracks from CD and LP to the iTunes program on my Apple Mac. It's also a somewhat sobering one, as I plough through several thousand albums, coming to the conclusion that a third of their content is either unloved or plain unlistened to ... Some people say iPod culture is killing the beauty of the album format. I see it differently. The DIY editing potential of iTunes rids us of valuable time taken up by filler tracks and, hopefully, will have the knock-on effect of making bands a bit more discerning in the studio. Still, the pruning process is a difficult one, and, as there's always the sneaking suspicion that a lost classic might be lurking somewhere within a lesser known Todd Rundgren or Pentangle album that I've never quite got round to giving the love it might deserve, I've found myself getting a bit more embroiled in the process than I probably should, separating songs into categories before deciding on their fate. For example: "Might be a Grower", "Would Rather Listen To A Chair Falling Down Stairs But Might Want To Keep For Nostalgia Purposes", "Give It One Last Stay of Execution" and "Bonus Track".
Yes Tom there are a few classic hidden away in those lesser known Todd albums ... go back an check NOW!
The Commercial Appeal ( 10th Dec ) has a review of the new Kevin & Bethany Paige album - "Faith Hope Love Passion", where it says: " the Paiges have also come up with a strong adult contemporary Christian record that sounds destined to top the CCM charts (in a way it already has since tunes here have been covered by Jessica Andrews, Avalon and Point of Grace). Something of a Bluff City Todd Rundgren, Kevin Paige wears nearly every hat on this record, from producing, recording and mixing the indie release at his home studio to playing most of the instruments and co-writing much of the material..."
Sunday Herald Sun (12 Dec) music reviewers gave their top 10 albums of the year. GRAEME HAMMOND had
1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus (Mute/EMI)
10. Todd Rundgren
Liars (Sanctuary/BMG)
Biting lyrics and soulful electronica as Rundgren rails against hypocrisy and betrayal.
Two Fine (or 3 if you count the Cave as 2) albums indeed.
" I've been downsizing my record collection recently. Considering that the aim is to make listening a completely fuss-free pleasure, it's been a rather time consuming task so far, involving the jettisoning of superfluous pap and the transferring of my favourite tracks from CD and LP to the iTunes program on my Apple Mac. It's also a somewhat sobering one, as I plough through several thousand albums, coming to the conclusion that a third of their content is either unloved or plain unlistened to ... Some people say iPod culture is killing the beauty of the album format. I see it differently. The DIY editing potential of iTunes rids us of valuable time taken up by filler tracks and, hopefully, will have the knock-on effect of making bands a bit more discerning in the studio. Still, the pruning process is a difficult one, and, as there's always the sneaking suspicion that a lost classic might be lurking somewhere within a lesser known Todd Rundgren or Pentangle album that I've never quite got round to giving the love it might deserve, I've found myself getting a bit more embroiled in the process than I probably should, separating songs into categories before deciding on their fate. For example: "Might be a Grower", "Would Rather Listen To A Chair Falling Down Stairs But Might Want To Keep For Nostalgia Purposes", "Give It One Last Stay of Execution" and "Bonus Track".
Yes Tom there are a few classic hidden away in those lesser known Todd albums ... go back an check NOW!
The Commercial Appeal ( 10th Dec ) has a review of the new Kevin & Bethany Paige album - "Faith Hope Love Passion", where it says: " the Paiges have also come up with a strong adult contemporary Christian record that sounds destined to top the CCM charts (in a way it already has since tunes here have been covered by Jessica Andrews, Avalon and Point of Grace). Something of a Bluff City Todd Rundgren, Kevin Paige wears nearly every hat on this record, from producing, recording and mixing the indie release at his home studio to playing most of the instruments and co-writing much of the material..."
Sunday Herald Sun (12 Dec) music reviewers gave their top 10 albums of the year. GRAEME HAMMOND had
1. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus (Mute/EMI)
10. Todd Rundgren
Liars (Sanctuary/BMG)
Biting lyrics and soulful electronica as Rundgren rails against hypocrisy and betrayal.
Two Fine (or 3 if you count the Cave as 2) albums indeed.
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