Check out Ann Power's provocative take on the ways the Grammy Awards highlight changes in music as multi-performance, multi-media and social media impact how people experience music and the arts. Her blog Pop and Hiss at the L.A. Times is consistently one of the best I read. I think she overrates the 'end of the album' however. What's happening is the album and its work is changing as a result of a number of factors, including the whole digital music experience and the ability to get one song, or three, rather than albums. The counter argument comes in part from Green Day's win for best rock album and its basic concept, a rock opera, is not a new concept. They took a page from The Who and Queen, among others, in doing this. And Kings of Leon, who even Jay-Z claimed had the best song of the past year, do pretty straight up stuff, album after album, developing their sound to be sure, but with a kind of classic energy that recalls The Ramones or Patti Smith. So have things changed? And if they have, how? Is it really that profound that Bon Jovi played a song requested by fans via social media? It is an interesting moment we're living in. Bono says they don't make any money from putting out an album, and haven't yet made a profit on their massive tour despite it being the biggest spectacle in rock history (perhaps only eclipsed by their own ZOO TV tour). The Black Eyed Peas have flexed their style to follow club trends, also not a new move, but interesting to see DJs setting the pattern for albums rather than the reverse. Hip-Hop has been doing that for decades, but it perhaps is spreading to other pop genres as Kanye West has wanted it to do. So perhaps things are just more fluid, more creative, and more loosely connected to the big label managers. That, I'd say, is a good thing, and bodes well for the future of pop music.
Anon and peace,
Chris
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