http://crookedtimber.org/2003/08/01/the-end-of-the-single/ Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made Thu, 24 May 2012 05:18:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://crookedtimber.org/2003/08/01/the-end-of-the-single/comment-page-1/#comment-1719 dsquared Mon, 04 Aug 2003 20:13:13 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=109#comment-1719 "Pump up the Volume" by M/A/R/R/S, and another one that I am quite literally too embarrassed to mention. “Pump up the Volume” by M/A/R/R/S, and another one that I am quite literally too embarrassed to mention.

]]> http://crookedtimber.org/2003/08/01/the-end-of-the-single/comment-page-1/#comment-1718 pathos Sat, 02 Aug 2003 02:08:07 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=109#comment-1718 I must be exactly the same age as realish, although my first two vinyl singles were "Puttin' on the Ritz" by Taco and "Lawyers in Love" by Jackson Browne. I can't tell if I had bad taste in my pre-teen years, or just really eclectic with little access to variety. I must be exactly the same age as realish, although my first two vinyl singles were “Puttin’ on the Ritz” by Taco and “Lawyers in Love” by Jackson Browne. I can’t tell if I had bad taste in my pre-teen years, or just really eclectic with little access to variety.

]]> http://crookedtimber.org/2003/08/01/the-end-of-the-single/comment-page-1/#comment-1717 Realish Fri, 01 Aug 2003 23:16:49 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=109#comment-1717 The three vinyl singles that changed my young life: Nena: "99 Red Balloons" (german version on the b-side) Peter Schilling: "Major Tom" (german version on the b-side) Duran Duran: "Reflex" (bad DD song on b-side) That said, an earlier poster is right: the digitization of music has made the single song king, once and forever. Just no tactile experiences any more... but our kids won't care. The three vinyl singles that changed my young life: Nena: “99 Red Balloons” (german version on the b-side) Peter Schilling: “Major Tom” (german version on the b-side) Duran Duran: “Reflex” (bad DD song on b-side) That said, an earlier poster is right: the digitization of music has made the single song king, once and forever. Just no tactile experiences any more… but our kids won’t care.

]]> http://crookedtimber.org/2003/08/01/the-end-of-the-single/comment-page-1/#comment-1716 Jeremy Osner Fri, 01 Aug 2003 21:23:17 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=109#comment-1716 Yeah it sounds to me like vinyl is what he is *really* missing -- the tactile experience he describes is absent from a digital single (downloaded or on disk) -- when I was a kid I lived on singles but would have bought albums happily if I had more money. My first was "I Love Rock n Roll" by Joan Jett and the Black Hearts -- so sue me, I came of age in the eighties. Yeah it sounds to me like vinyl is what he is really missing—the tactile experience he describes is absent from a digital single (downloaded or on disk)—when I was a kid I lived on singles but would have bought albums happily if I had more money. My first was “I Love Rock n Roll” by Joan Jett and the Black Hearts—so sue me, I came of age in the eighties.

]]> http://crookedtimber.org/2003/08/01/the-end-of-the-single/comment-page-1/#comment-1715 clew Fri, 01 Aug 2003 19:49:56 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=109#comment-1715 What odd timing to announce the death of the single. Napsterism and the Apple music store are both single-friendly; indeed harddrive storage seems to me to make singles the only fundamental category. What odd timing to announce the death of the single. Napsterism and the Apple music store are both single-friendly; indeed harddrive storage seems to me to make singles the only fundamental category.

]]> http://crookedtimber.org/2003/08/01/the-end-of-the-single/comment-page-1/#comment-1714 PG Fri, 01 Aug 2003 19:37:35 +0000 http://crookedtimber.org/wp/?p=109#comment-1714 <i>Albums are different too - broken up into collections of songs, the two-sided adventure replaced by meandering journeys that don't suit pop.</i> At first I thought he really was missing vinyl, not the single, but apparently he really liked getting just the one perfect pop song. This is really weird for a music critic; usually they make so much of the full-length album, the concept, the journey, the shifts of tone and meaning. I think this is the first time I've read praise of singles over albums. Seems like singles are normally despised as overly commercial, necessarily abbreviated by the demands of radio. Albums are different too – broken up into collections of songs, the two-sided adventure replaced by meandering journeys that don’t suit pop. At first I thought he really was missing vinyl, not the single, but apparently he really liked getting just the one perfect pop song. This is really weird for a music critic; usually they make so much of the full-length album, the concept, the journey, the shifts of tone and meaning. I think this is the first time I’ve read praise of singles over albums. Seems like singles are normally despised as overly commercial, necessarily abbreviated by the demands of radio.

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