Quote:
Originally Posted by lucifer_sam
I'd like to believe that the album will be around forever, but the reality of the matter is that it's only been relevant for the past fifty years or so. The LP didn't even exist until 1948, predating that were other mediums but nothing of the length that grew to be the 45-52 minutes typically associated to be "the album." Since then the album has grown in size considerably and changed in media several times, but decreasing demand for it projects a rapidly approaching date in which the album will be neither desired nor relevant.
So would I consider the album format sacred? No. It's a wonderful expression of an artist's worth but one only in lieu of a live setting. Nothing can truly replace the emotional intensity of a live concert, and that is where some of the greatest acts of our era excel.
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The purposeful arrangement of music to create an overarching piece of work is nothing new. Think of symphonies. Mozart's Requiem is meant to be played and listened to as a whole, and the whole is better than the sum of it's parts.
LPs are essentially that concept but veiled behind the relative newness of the technology itself.
However I do agree with you that live music is the way music is meant to be heard and played. Nothing beats it, because there is much more of a connection between the artist and the listener, and the listener to all the other people in the crowd.