not even gonna dignify this with an answer.

...hang on.

i grew up with tapes. when i got a tape, i was basically forced to listen to it all the way through. fast forwarding/rewinding to a song was a pain in the ass. so i got to know *all* the songs through & through & through. so on this level, i'd vote for albums.

but with the times, cds & mp3s have made listening to individual songs much easier, to the point that a cohesive album is essentially irrelevant. so i can see the album as being a dying beast.

but on a 3rd perspective, technology & population growth equates to more music coming out of everywhere. & being a music freak, i'm a big fan of more (since i like so little of what's available, with a bigger selection there's a greater chance of my liking something). so more is better.

http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/3314496

on if you want to invest the time and effort into 'getting' a particular artist: some bands just have that song, you know, whereas others will never have an immense all-conquering tune but you'll fall in love by being immersed in their world. That's why snap judgements on here about new bands are a big fail... give 'em time, see if you get 'em...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eDuEU3IYpis

"albums leaking months before release etc, there's no real suspense in the release of records"

it's called waiting for the release date. no one puts a gun to your head and forces you to d/l the album months in advance.

as for your suggestion about splits etc, i'm not sure it's really practical. recording costs a lot of money and most of the stuff that gets thrown onto EPs/splits comes from album sessions anyway. then again, i've never had a problem finding records that blow me away.

It's way better and more fun to get shiny new cds and really keeno artwork and what ever other little bobbles our heros want to bestow upon us to show how much they really appreciated us and whole heatedly believe that they owe it all to us.

But most important, records, cds, tapes whatever are physical bonds between artists and fans, that's all and you are right the day may be coming were we just get it all mp3 online (which is poorer sound quality than disc) but that's another matter- or is it?

Yeah CDs just sound better- what can I say? Game Over

So I'm not sure if my opinion has ever been worth anything, but here's my two cents.
Of the 150 or so albums I have, only three have been downloaded, and one of them was In Rainbows. The other two I'm going to buy and every other album I have is a phyisical CD.
I still love music, moreover. There is still music being produced nowadays that makes me feel utterly alive, plenty of it in fact, and it seems to me like this will continue.
I like buying albums mostly for the sake of having an album. Y'know, rather than a bunch of files.
The idea of more split LPs and EPs is utter nonsense. Go away.

and i'm enjoying more and more of them. sure, individual tracks on their own are good for a quick blast, but the experience and enjoyment you get out of an album is far far superior to that you get out of a track. i'm sorry you're so bored with life

When done well they create a small world which you can immerse yourself in.

But helpfully for you they leave you the opportunity to listen to music in this 'interesting' way that you've developed.

I pretty much listen to albums exclusively as individual songs don't connect with me enough. I like a meal, not a buffet.

Well so that was quite a dignified response so I'll end with this:

"because listening to a whole record of one artists is 9/10 extremely tiring"

Get. The. Fuck. Over. Yourself.

At the moment bands release albums by default and, in most cases, it's just a bunch of songs they happened to be working at at around the same time, in which case maybe with new techology being what it is they could be released as EPs or singles or whatever.

But I still think there'sll always be a merit for albums when an act genuinely has a collection of songs that work as a whole as more than the sum of their parts.

I think I've gone the other way, the thing with demo's etc floating around the net is that there's no quality to it, generally the release of an album represents the culmination of a cycle demo>single>e.p>album so why would you want to skip out the last step the part that the band have been building to? Generally when you hear an artist talking about the crap that;s floating around the net they're quite dismissive of it, saying that it's not representative of their work.

Secondly, your point about albums of 30-60 minutes of music being too long doesn't work either. If you can't appreciate a band you love (who've released an album that they think defines what they do) for over 30 minutes then you probably don't like the band half as much as you think you do.

Bon Iver- For Emma, Forever Ago
No Age- Nouns
Kes Band- Kes Band
Valet- Naked Acid
Flying- Faces of the Night

They still make quite alot of money. Perhaps not as much as they used to, or as much as their labels would like, but with a decent push, a good single and some Radio 1 airplay an album can still make a big 'ol pile of cash. Admittedly the band wont see any of it till they've paid off their advance.

Having a new single or album to release is an event that can be sold to the press which means people hear about it, which means people hear about the band and increases the chance of getting airplay. So its still a good promotional tool to sell the wider revenues available from touring/merchandise/publishing

If you look at the percentage of the population with an MP3 player its actually alot smaller than youd expect so for most people CDs are still the best way to buy and record. Obviously, thats changing but we're probably still the best part of a decade away from CDs becoming antiques. Eps dont usually sell that well cos theyre not that much cheaper than albums and only half the length.

I think its just your taste at the momet doesnt suit what you have found. I have found loads of good music in the last few years and even though tuff leaks and all that I still get excited about getting the proper full album in my hands.

People still release albums still because its art aint it and people love to make it and make a whole peice that represents something for them instead of watering it down for people... you can alway pick and choose what you like from that anyway.

i'm not quite sure what ya trying to say... but I think you just need to find some music that inspires you again wether it is new or old.

some people (ie. me) like to listen to an artist's whole album (sometimes, their whole discography) instead of tracks. The idea of listening on shuffle really repulses me. You don't get a proper feel for an artist at all.

I can't really comment on the ep/lp thing, mostly down to the fact thatmost of the lps i listen to right now are about the length of an average ep!

I still get that sense of suspense. It does mean avoiding every wanky leak thread on here like they're plague-infected, but it works for me.

And I can understand if you like a short burst of music, I like EPs a lot for this reason - sometimes a short burst is all I want. But I still love albums. For me, there's nothing like coming home from work/school, shutting myself in my room for 40-60 minutes, listening to a new LP and not bothering with the rest of the world.

As for demos, they have their uses, but often the sound quality is so shit they're difficult to enjoy. I'll take the lovingly-produced album over demos any day.

is so short.

i blame the internet.