Greg Earle wrote:
quoted 4 lines Kraftwerk.
>
> > Kraftwerk.
>
> And what of it? It was released in the pre-CD era.
And this has *what* to do with the quality of the release?
I'm obviously a complete and utter failure as a music critic, because I
am completely missing the point here. So a CD can hold 80 minutes of
music. This means that unless your full-length CD clocks in at, say, 50
minutes or higher, that it must be an artistic travesty, just because
the medium can hold more?
quoted 2 lines So now I get to buy an old album's worth of music for 1 1/2 to 2 times the
> So now I get to buy an old album's worth of music for 1 1/2 to 2 times the
> price? Phuque *that*, girlfriend.
It's your wallet. *shrug* I personally am concerned with "value" for
my money, not "quantity." I'd rather spend $20 on, say, The Orb's
recent _Peel_Sessions_ CD (36:41) than $7 on many other, much longer
releases.
quoted 2 lines I suggest some historical perspective. Older list members, go ask your Dads
> I suggest some historical perspective. Older list members, go ask your Dads
> about when the switchover from 78's to 33 1/3 took place.
I am too young to remember 78s, but there have been plenty of 7" 45s
over the years where you could have *easily* fit the A-side and B-side
on the same side of the disc and put one or two more songs on the other
side, but I don't remember anyone complaining about that.
Just because you *can* put more music on something doesn't mean you
should. One of the primary criticism's of Red Hot Chili Peppers'
_Blood_Sugar_Sex_Magik_ was that eight or nine of the tracks were really
good and the other eight or nine could have been left off. You'd have
had a 40-minute release instead of a 74-minute one, but it might very
well have been better that way.
quoted 4 lines Nobody says a record has to be pushing the 74-80 minute limit. But the medium
> Nobody says a record has to be pushing the 74-80 minute limit. But the medium
> costs more for us poor slags (read: end consumers) to buy. If you want to
> release a 32 minute album, by all means, go ahead. But don't ask the punters
> to pay full price for it. Music costs *far* too much these days as it is.
This gets into the question of what, exactly constitutes an "album,"
"EP" or "single?" I think that interpretation should be left to the
artist. If you don't agree with the artist, then you can withhold your
dollars from him/her. But as far as I can see, it in no way impinges on
the quality of the music on the release.
The only time I'm upset about the length of a release is when it is a
greatest hits package. There's no excuse for not filling one of those
up. But if the artist decides that "This collection of new music shall
be an 'album,'" then the only way I can argue with that contention is to
not buy the release.
I think there are two factors in play here:
(1) Most of us think we want to own the new Aphex Twin album, but we're
not
sure if the 32-minute "value" for the money will be worth it. Since
we're
so used to getting 55-80 minutes of music for our hard-earned cash,
it's a
legitimate question. I approach it as, "Will I receive x amount of
enjoyment from this CD?" If x is greater than the price tag, I buy
it. If
not, I don't. Is 32 minutes of great music worth more than 70
minutes of
very-good music? Do you even buy very-good music, preferring to buy
only
great music and save yourself some money? That's for each of us to
decide
on our own. (And yes, you don't always know beforehand and get
burned
sometimes, but that's a risk always, not just with this release.)
(2) Aphex Twin has a history of, shall we say, seeming to rest on his
laurels
and take the piss from us all. Is he doing it again by releasing a
32-
minute CD and expecting us all to salivate over it no matter what's
on it?
None of us wants to feel like a sucker, and all of us want to be the
one
to point out that the emperor has no clothes. It's hard to tell
whether
this is the case or not. If I like the sound of RDJ screwing
around,
that's my problem. If lots of us like it, maybe it's not screwing
around,
or maybe it's the naked emperor thumbing his nose. Either way, I
bought
a CD I like, and I don't really care if it took RDJ 32 minutes, 32
hours
or 32 days to create it.
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