Last week on Sound Opinions, the Chicago-based rock ’n’ roll radio talk show, hosts Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis were talking about the big music events of the last decade. Jim affirmed my stance that, while there was a lot of innovation in how music is delivered and listened to, there weren’t any major innovations in music-making itself in the ’00s or any specific genre that defined the decade. On the one hand, I was glad to hear someone else say this (because it makes me feel like less of an old crank going around saying “Nothing new has happened since the Dust Brothers”) but at the same time, it’s dispiriting. Jim and Greg seemed optimistic that something new would happen, but I’m not so sure.
Jim posited that in the age of downloading music, album covers and liner notes are almost a thing of the past, that no one is interested in them anymore. In the case of liner notes, I’d argue that the general public was not terribly interested in them in the first place; it was just the hardcore music geeks, who can still find all the same information (lyrics, producers, songwriters, musicians, recording locations, etc.) online if they are so inclined. The end of cover art, however, is something that makes me sentimental. I think it’s an inevitable but sad side effect of downloading music.
I just finished reading David Byrne’s new book, Bicycle Diaries, and funnily enough there’s a passage where he talks about that issue. He rightly points out that albums and album cover art were never wed to one another; records existed before album cover art did. The covers themselves were created as a practical matter to protect the fragile vinyl records, and the artwork followed later. I’m not sure of the source for this, but Byrne says that a classical record that sported the first album cover art sold many, many more copies than other records, hence the decision to start putting art on all album covers as a marketing tool.
This got me wondering when album covers came into being. God bless the Internet, because I actually found the answer on Wikipedia. In 1938, Columbia Records hired a graphic designer, Alex Steinweiss, who is now widely credited as the inventor of album cover art. Steinweiss is still alive and many of his album covers can be viewed online, so check them out if you have a chance. (Wikipedia also provides interesting background info on how records came to be called "albums" – which has to do with storage solutions, of all things.) Those links provide a nice little history lesson if you’re a music fan or interested in graphic design.
It could be argued that not only album covers but albums themselves are becoming less relevant in the era of downloads. Don’t most people download a song or two by an artist they like, not an entire album? As much as I love albums, I’m pretty happy that downloading has helped us reclaim the single, since record labels in America phased out CD singles quite awhile ago. There might not be a picture sleeve or a B-side anymore, but the single lives on, and usually it’s 99 cents – cheaper than the vinyl ones I bought as a teenager.
I have to agree with this entire posting and add that the "music scene" phenomenon is also disappearing with digital downloads. I tried to think of the last scene I remember hearing about and the only thing I could come up with was Chapel Hill, which was supposed to be the next big scene after Seattle.
ReplyDeleteI'm also sad, because this also puts the nail in the coffin for music stores...or at least good ones. Music stores were great for making recommendations for artists that you didn't know about yet. I can't tell you how many artists I introduced to people that STILL contact me and thank me all these years later. I know there are automated services like Pandora that recommend songs to you, based on an algorithm, but those services don't tell you WHY you should like something. I think that's equally important.
As for album covers, I don't know if they will completely disappear, I can tell you I've spend hours and hours adding them to my iTunes collection (because iTunes didn't have them). Let's hope they stick around.
Great posting!
Thankfully I think there is still a thriving music press, even if most of it is online; that's still a good way to discover new things. I think the one really great thing about the Internet and music is that it's so much easier to find obscure things that might never have poppped up in a brick-and-mortar store. I still like to browse in record stores, at least for vinyl, because it's a great way of finding stuff totally by accident.
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