Just kidding! No way! See
my old post on the death of the album for more details. But still, once in a while, I'll find something worth having as an album, even as a physical artifact (CD). It's usually something that sounds like an organic whole. It might be a concept album (such as Sgt. Pepper) or just a collection of songs that sounds perfectly right as one piece (Joni Mitchell's Blue). Most recently, I bought the first album by Seattle rock band Fleet Foxes. The sound, as I described rather flippantly on Twitter and Facebook, is like a drunken Beach Boys led by Neil Young. Now I would add the influence of The Band in there as well. They describe their music as "baroque harmonic pop," which is a good start, though I'd say sort of lo-fi pop/folk. Not sure what the lyrics are getting at (no lyric sheet), but they seem a bit emo-John Denverish at times, with lots of references to nature and emotions. Like the songs on Brian Wilson's Smile, some of them are like mini-suites, with melodic and rhythmic changes within songs. The critics seem to have anointed "White Winter Hymnal" as the song everyone should buy on iTunes, and it is does have lovely round-style harmonies, but no one song has jumped out at me yet; the songs all work together nicely to create a lovely soft rustic mood that doesn't lend itself to iPod shuffling.
A band I've mentioned on my blog before but never discussed is The Decemberists. They have in common with Fleet Foxes a somewhat folkish sound, but their arrangements are fuller and more indie-rock oriented. Their songs often sound like strange old ballads, full of death, war, and star-crossed love. The Crane Wife, from 2006, sometimes has a 70's "progressive rock" sound, like Emerson Lake & Palmer crossed with British folkies Fairport Convention. And like Fleet Foxes, they are a band best heard via album, though I do have a few of their songs on the shuffle. My favorite, from an earlier album, is "16 Military Wives," a much more straightforwardly rockin' tune than usual for them. "Sons and Daughters" on Crane Wife is another that stands up well on its own. Singer Colin Meloy has a distinctive New Englandish voice (and for some reason, I picture him looking like Rainn Wilson, though I don't think he does). They recently released a song called "Valerie Plame," and I was shocked to find that it really is a mid-tempo pop song about Valerie Plame! A new album is due in March, and I'm sure I'll need it on CD rather than from iTunes.
Just kidding! No way! See my old post on the death of the album for more details. But still, once in a while, I'll find something worth having as an album, even as a physical artifact (CD). It's usually something that sounds like an organic whole. It might be a concept album (such as Sgt. Pepper) or just a collection of songs that sounds perfectly right as one piece (Joni Mitchell's Blue). Most recently, I bought the first album by Seattle rock band Fleet Foxes. The sound, as I described rather flippantly on Twitter and Facebook, is like a drunken Beach Boys led by Neil Young. Now I would add the influence of The Band in there as well. They describe their music as "baroque harmonic pop," which is a good start, though I'd say sort of lo-fi pop/folk. Not sure what the lyrics are getting at (no lyric sheet), but they seem a bit emo-John Denverish at times, with lots of references to nature and emotions. Like the songs on Brian Wilson's Smile, some of them are like mini-suites, with melodic and rhythmic changes within songs. The critics seem to have anointed "White Winter Hymnal" as the song everyone should buy on iTunes, and it is does have lovely round-style harmonies, but no one song has jumped out at me yet; the songs all work together nicely to create a lovely soft rustic mood that doesn't lend itself to iPod shuffling.
A band I've mentioned on my blog before but never discussed is The Decemberists. They have in common with Fleet Foxes a somewhat folkish sound, but their arrangements are fuller and more indie-rock oriented. Their songs often sound like strange old ballads, full of death, war, and star-crossed love. The Crane Wife, from 2006, sometimes has a 70's "progressive rock" sound, like Emerson Lake & Palmer crossed with British folkies Fairport Convention. And like Fleet Foxes, they are a band best heard via album, though I do have a few of their songs on the shuffle. My favorite, from an earlier album, is "16 Military Wives," a much more straightforwardly rockin' tune than usual for them. "Sons and Daughters" on Crane Wife is another that stands up well on its own. Singer Colin Meloy has a distinctive New Englandish voice (and for some reason, I picture him looking like Rainn Wilson, though I don't think he does). They recently released a song called "Valerie Plame," and I was shocked to find that it really is a mid-tempo pop song about Valerie Plame! A new album is due in March, and I'm sure I'll need it on CD rather than from iTunes.
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