The Album is Dead; Long Live The Album

This article in the New York Times predicting the end of The Album as we know it got me thinking more closely about what I've been listening to recently, and how I've consciously or not been opting for albums that exist as grander statements than the individuals song they include. While we at the 'drome will treat to you to a fair share of mixes from time to time, which I always love tremendously, they tend to leave me with a feeling that I'm missing something like the scale of the pool the songs swim in. Three albums I've been listening to recently are good examples of artists or bands exploring the Album as a form in and of itself: Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible," Andrew Bird's "Armchair Apocrypha" and Ry Cooder's "My Name Is Buddy."

While each of these albums contain some derivative sounding songs -- Neon Bible sounds like it could have been written in Asbury Park, Andrew Bird sounds like he's Running on Empty, and Ry Cooder is channeling Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and every other folk revivalist of the last half century -- each artist or band puts its stamp on the songs by weaving them into a larger context of themes and stories. In its own way, each album is a testament to the Album as an art-form and the valiant, never-ending struggle against an ever-diminishing attention span. Each has already established itself as a personal favorite of 2007. (Continue for download.)

Enjoy:
Arcade Fire: Neon Bible
Andrew Bird: Heretics
Ry Cooder: Farm Girl