SAVE THE ALBUM

I copied this post from my weekly OffBeat newsletter from New Orleans because it speaks to the way I feel about music and the way I listen to music. Yes, I may be something of a relic these days in the land of downloads and shuffle plays, but to me it is the Album that defines an artist or group and its legacy, the medium that separates the "one hit wonders" from the serious artist, and the Album which speaks to me as a whole creating a complete concept or space for exploration of a theme and allowing for transformation of dimension. Radio is sometimes an acceptable alteration of this pattern, but when listening to radio, I usually listen to programs, or stations that have some thematic context for the programming. I listen to a lot of music in MP3 format, but I NEVER use shuffel mode preferring to maintain the music in its original context thus preserving the artistic space of the material.

What follows is the commentary from Offbeat and Insound as it apeared in the newsletter.

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We in New Orleans are acutely aware of changes in the music industry since we now have to go to bookstores in Jefferson Parish to buy new international albums. Part of Tower Records’ bankruptcy has been blamed on downloading, the phenomenon that threatens to change the nature of the music business. Insound.com, an online music retailer, is worried about the future of the album, alarmed by the tendency to download only favorite songs by an artist and not the album they were found on. To this end, Insound.com is selling albums on vinyl, CD and digitally, but the downloadable material will only be offered in the context it originally appeared—as a part of albums, for the most part. “While the sale of individual tracks certainly makes sense technologically for pop music, it is fully not in the best interest of the independent music community. It hurts not only artists, but also labels, retailers, and distributors,” says Matt Wishnow, President of Insound. “If I love [a band], I love them for [their albums] and not for particular songs on those albums. We want to continue to nourish fans who feel this way about the album.”

OffBeat Weekly Beat Newsletter, KEEPIN' NEW ORLEANS, WAY FUNKY!, October 26, 2006, Volume 4 No. 42



Save The Album!
Pet Sounds needs you! Slanted Enchanted needs you! Spiderland needs you! In the Aeroplane Over the Sea needs you! Insound is the general in this battle and we're enlisting your support. Starting now, Insound is selling albums digitally. That's right, album ONLY. The reason record labels curse printers and obsess over test pressings for. The reason drummers trade blood for studio time for. The Album. Insound

When The Music's Over

The music, in the reminiscent tone of Jim Morrison, was over - finally. Well, not all music, more like that annoying 20 minute song you want to skip over on the LP of life, or that horrrrrrrible pop song that gets stuck in your brain and plays in continuously despite your strongest efforts to hit delete. It was Friday the Thirteenth '06 - my lucky day. My last day at a miserable job. Actually, it wasn't the job that was so miserable but the company. Either way, it was over. I left the parking lot after the finish of my 8pm shift, Dylan appropriately screaming Drifter's Escape from the car speakers My trip hasn't been a pleasant one / And my time it isn't long,... my thoughts blurred as the headlights cut the January darkness of the exit road. ...and while ev'rybody knelt to pray / The drifter did escape. Freedom, whatever that meant, was mine - for now.

Returning home, as if from war, I was numb - there wasn't much left. By strange coincidence the name of my former department (Product and Technical Support Department) shares the same acronym as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - some cruel joke I suppose - it was time for rehab.

There are no journal entries to show how I spent my first weekend, but my first 'officially' posted act of the following week was to shampoo the carpets. Perhaps subconsciously a clean sweep, but I think Freud would have agreed that the carpets were just damn dirty. The rest of the week was a quiet gathering of thoughts as I recall, and then Cathy and I had planned as our first declaration of freedom a concert in Cambridge, Ma. preceded by a dinner at one of our favorite restaurants Henrietta's Kitchen.

As we were seated in the restaurant, settling in and just beginning to study the menu an unexpected ironic coincidence occurred. The owner and founder of my recent and former place of employment walked in with his family and was seated right next to us ! Could this actually be happening, the infamous Doctor making a house call? I was close enough to reach over my shoulder and touch him or perform any number of other sinister deeds if I was of such a mind. I was not however, and remained satisfied just to revel in the irony of the moment, the perfect serendipitous end and beginning to this chapter of my life - served as an appetizer, gratis.

My miraculous overdue recovery presented itself three months later in the unexpected form of Yogic breathing methods and meditation, assisted through a course taught by The Art Of Living. Over the course of several more months, some breakthrough art projects, a vacation to Portland, Or., continued exercise, scheduled R&R, a lot of yard work and home improvement, this blog, and an employment search rounded out the rest of the summer. Fall brought with it a vibrant change in color, above average temperatures, and yielded a new job as well - a return to my professional roots.

That return came with an unexpected emotional bonus when an overwhelming reception by new and old friends greeted me upon my arrival. This warm welcome and my return to familiar surroundings can hopefully mark a reprise of positive employment experiences and a new beginning.

And that, as exclaimed in a memorable episode of Friends, is closure !

Editor's note: This is the conclusion to my first post: Zero Sum Game - Sound Lessons in Survival of the Corporate Soul.