Posted on 01/12/2015 7:24:14 PM PST by Squawk 8888
Albums are almost as old as recorded music. A hundred years ago when the most music a 78 RPM record could hold was four minutes, long pieces like operas or symphonies were broken up over multiple discs. Those discs were then sold in book-like packages that reminded many of photo albums. That’s how the record album got its name.
The multiple disc problem was solved by Columbia in 1948 when in June of that year, they unveiled the 33 1/3 long-playing album. When RCA countered with the 7-inch 45 RPM single a year later, the LP became the domain of “serious” music–classical, jazz, folk, Broadway show tunes–while the 7-inch ended up as the heart and soul of rock’n’roll. Adults bought albums; kids bought singles.
Oh, sure, there were rock albums, but usually only the form of a compilation of an artist’s singles. It wasn’t until the Beatles and Bob Dylan came along that the album starting becoming a thing for rock and pop. And it didn’t take long for the marketplace to adopt albums. By the end of the 60s, albums were king and stayed that way for the next thirty years.
Along the way, though, the music industry abused its customers, especially towards the end of the 90s. By phasing out singles, the industry forced people to buy an entire album for just one song. When the price of CDs didn’t come down fast enough to suit consumers, they got pissed. VERY pissed. When Napster came along and offer an opportunity to get just the songs you wanted without the filler–and for free!–there was no going back. The breakup of the album had begun.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajournalofmusicalthings.com ...
Is this it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yogkBsWNE1g
@ Monterey Pop Festival 6/67
Haven’t seen Mama Cass yet, if this is it, but I can tell you that at 1:14 she’s so into it that she’s kicking her shoes off.
I miss cassettes. I liked to make cassette recordings of songs from a single year—1929, 1946, 1958, etc. In addition to songs, I would include advertisements, political campaign spots and even news broadcasts. I loved to play these while driving my car.
Rumor has it dorm cafeteria trays were an adequate substitute.
Homer: Why do you need new bands? Everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It’s a scientific fact.
Homer: I was in a record store, and they were playing all these bands I’d never heard of. It was like the store had gone crazy.
Marge: Record stores have always seemed crazy to me. Music is none of my business.
Homer: That’s all well and good for you, but I used to rock and roll all night and party every day. Then it was every other day... now I’m lucky to find half an hour a week in which to get funky. I’ve got to get out of this rut and back into the groove.
Homer: Grand Funk Railroad paved the way for Jefferson airplane, which cleared the way for Jefferson starship. The stage was now set for the Alan Parsons project, which I believe was some sort of hovercraft.
[the teenagers Homer and Barney are doing an acapella version of “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” in front of a mirror]
Middle-aged Grampa: What the Hell are you two doin’?
Young Barney: It’s called rockin’ out!
Young Homer: You wouldn’t understan’, dad. You’re not *with it*.
Middle-aged Grampa: I used to be with it, but then they changed what *it* was. Now what I’m with isn’t *it*, and what’s *it* seems weird and scary to me. It’ll happen to you...
There’s still hope for all of us with turntables and lp’s.
There’s an interesting discussion here on new tech for old tech.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3222531/posts?page=8
YES! 2:37 to 2:56 and again at end at 4:33 the camera is fixed to Cass’s face - priceless! Thanks.
JJ sure got a lot of syllables out of c-h-a-i-n.
Probably the last real good concept album I’ve heard is Marillion’s “Clutching at Straws,”
Mitch Miller had sing along albums. The lyrics were printed on several pages inside the album so one could hand out the lyrics to sing along while playing the album. I enjoyed looking at who were the musicians that played on the songs whether it was rock, country or classical. Frank Zappa recorded a needle “scratch” so when it played one thought the arm must be malfunctioning and sent we audiophiles running to the turntables to prevent more damage. You can’t play a CD backwards as with the vinyl albums so recording backwards is not so novel. Albums made music fun.
How people listen to music changed. They will sit and watch an hour TV show or even a two hour movie if it is really good, or it doesn’t even have to be that good maybe, just OK. The number of people who will regularly solely just listen to music for an hour is probably drastically reduced now. The number that do so on a good home hi-fi system is no doubt even more reduced. So almost all aspects of popular music reflects how it is now normally and regularly consumed—as background music composed of individual tracks while something else is also being done, driving, cleaning, exercising, working, surfing the net and so on. It comes through earbuds or crappy computer and phone speakers, normally on shuffle play.
Freegards
No reason you couldn’t do that with MP3 recording. Flash memory is so much better than cassette.
“Wish You Were Here”
Of Course.
Where has My Mind Gone?
I still have my old PL2000.
We pretty much lost that when the compact disc came along.
Thick as a Brick, with a newspaper!
Eh, maybe so and maybe not. Recorded music goes back to the 1800s. Cylinders (3 formats), then flat discs (3 formats). I only know of these pre-1920 releases as "singles" (single sided or double sided).
Classical music comes in and then in the 30s or maybe 40s the "albums" come in for other music (everything from comedy, to children's stories, to country music, jazz, big band, etc.).
And when the 12"/7" formats were competing, there were also 10" records. It is not uncommon to see the same title on 1 LP, 2 10" EPs, and a boxed set (album) of 7"s.
Singles didn't become the "mainstay of rock and roll" until the late 50s (the second or third wave of rock and roll, from black gin joints to white gin joints to watered down pablum for kids at soda counters in the span of 10 years). Those gin joints had the rock platters on 10" 78s in the jukebox. And the jukebox trade (which was largely run by mobsters who also had a heavy hand in the record trade) was lively for many decades and not just for rock music. If you wanted to put it in a jukebox, it had to be on a 7" slab.
My best friend, Neil Zaza, is a world renown guitarist. His cd albums sell world-wide. But the music world no longer includes the US. Our popular music really sucks!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.