Aug. 18th, 2007

jon_chaisson: (Default)
AP had an interesting story on Yahoo! News about the good and the bad about Greatest Hits compilations the other day...it's a fun read, and brings up a lot of good points.

Bypassing the obvious point that online music sites have pretty much made compilations a moot point, the article does bring up a lot of interesting points about the why and the when of Greatest Hits compilations. One of the biggest points is whether or not a band should release one. Sure, it made sense way back in the day when some bands were primarily singles-based acts rather than album-oriented, but nowadays there are some bands who come out with compilations either a little too early in their career, or a little too often.


Best of ! Most of !
Satiate the need
Slip them into different sleeves !
Buy both, and feel deceived


Sometimes I wonder why some bands and performers come out with compilations so quickly. Some are obviously 'contractual obligation albums' (thanks to Monty Python for that phrase) made to have something out on the charts when the original slew of singles from the album has been bled dry. And it's frustrating when some bands come out with compilations that obviously have everything you already have. Understandable that these are mostly aimed at getting newer fans hooked on albums. But then there are bands and performers who come out with rendundant compilations, such as Britney Spears (how many albums did she come out with before then? Two? Three?), Aerosmith (O Yeah! in 2002 and Devil's Got a New Disguise in 2006--with only one new album in between, and that was of old blues covers), and the relentless repackaging with Sony's Essential series (great compilations themselves, but nothing we haven't seen before). Most of these types of compilations are put together by the labels rather than the bands themselves (they only give it the go-ahead), with maybe a rarity or a new song thrown in for good measure.


Re-issue ! Re-package ! Re-package !
Re-evaluate the songs
Double-pack with a photograph
Extra Track (and a tacky badge)


The Beatles themselves were never fond of greatest hits compilations, releasing only the A Collection of Beatles Oldies only in the UK and featuring nearly all singles and UK rarities while they were together. It wasn't until they broke up that Capitol and Parlophone decided to fill the post-Beatle years with no less than eight different compilations between 1973 and 1982. Not to mention that when their contract with Apple ran out in 1975, John, George and Ringo all came out with compilations. Out of all of those post-band compilations, only Rarities and Live at the Hollywood Bowl had anything of note that fans didn't already have. And even with two more compilations in the 90s (Yellow Submarine Songtrack and 1) that did moderately well, it wasn't until 1995-96's Anthology series and last year's Love that we got something even remotely new. But...the Beatles being so famous and loved, we'll pick them up anyway. Or at least I do. ;)

And then there's The Cure...god love 'em, they're a great band, but during the 90s and early this decade they hardly put out anything new after 1989's Disintegration. Only three albums of new stuff--the great Wish in 1992, the underwhelming Wild Mood Swings in 1996, and the strained Bloodflowers in 2000--were surrounded with compilations and live albums: Mixed Up(1990), Show,Paris and the Sideshow EP in 1993/4, Galore in 1997 (a sort-of continuation of 1986's Standing on a Beach, but really showing how far downhill the band had gone in the 90s), Greatest Hits in 2001, and the Join the Dots box set of b-sides and rarities in 2004. The self-titled album of new stuff in 2004 was actually a great return (and finally a great new direction for them), but at this point the wait is just a bit too long.

A-list, playlist
"Please them , please them !"
"Please them !"
(sadly, THIS was your life)


Like I said, I understand the basic idea behind the greatest hits compilation--it's mostly to bring in new fans, especially the ones who don't want to go out of their way and pick up all the other albums by the band. I admit I've bought greatest hits for that very reason...Hatful of Hollow was my introduction to the Smiths, Standing on a Beach to the Cure, and Gold Mine Trash the obscure band Felt. And I've also picked up compilations that were just flat-out great, even though I have all their stuff already (Wire's The A-List, Depeche Mode's Singles 86>98, The Clash's The Story Of... and so on). And for bands that were not especially mainstream at the time, this made sense.

But when now-huge bands like Aerosmith, REM, U2 and The Cure and even Depeche Mode (last year's Best of) come out with such redundant compilations, it makes me wonder why they're doing such things. It also adds to my frustration of bands waiting at least two or three years between albums only to come out with filler like this. Sure, they're busy on tour and don't have time to come out with anything new, but then again, the Beatles put out two albums a year from 1963 to 1965 while they were touring. I'd rather see new albums than more of the same. Especially if they're going to tack on only one or two new songs.

I'd rather download the new song rather than buy the same songs for a third time, thank you very much. For the most part, I leave the compilations to the new fans...which sometimes does include myself. ;)

------------

(italicized lyrics from "Paint a Vulgar Picture" by The Smiths)
jon_chaisson: (Default)
Random writing-related things--

BAD: My story idea for Then... seems to have not so much hit a wall as just collapsed from lack of interest. I just wasn't feeling the story at all. Which of course makes me even more frustrated because I'm not doing ANY new writing right now. I need to start SOMETHING, and soon. I mean, aside from the major rewrite for Love Like Blood (more on that below). I need to be working on more, but nothing is coming, and it's pissing me off.  Added to the fact that the damn war novel is continuing to tap me on the shoulder and whisper "just write me already, you lazy goofball!" every now and again.

GOOD: I have received a critique from a writing friend whom I'd done a critique for a few years back. Added to the fact that [livejournal.com profile] emmalyon is reading it as well. The kinda-bad is that they (and to an extent me) are finding a LOT of stuff that needs work. The kinda-good about the kinda-bad is that I'm keeping an open mind about it and am definitely going to do what I can to fix it.

BAD: I'm contemplating getting rid of my [livejournal.com profile] die_joncswerk site, as it's beginning to feel like a redundant site. I've been thinking about this for awhile (I've mentioned it in earlier posts), and I'm thinking it would probably make more sense. I'm most likely going to repost a lot of the older posts and backdate them onto this LJ, as it's just too much of a pain in the ass to go back and forth, and I don't update that site nearly as much as I should.

GOOD: And this is very good--With Emm and my friend Mo both tearing LLB apart, they have also given me some REALLY good ideas that I could put to very good use. One of them being a complete change from first person to third person. Which actually might make a lot more sense, and I could get away with a lot more, being that I'd be a lot less restricted. More on this later....

EDIT: LJ is being wacky so I'm going to post the poll in a separate entry. :p
jon_chaisson: (Default)
[Poll #1041462]


Comments and suggestions highly appreciated! :)

Note: This is try #4 to get this damn thing put together. I love it when LJ craps out on me repeatedly...*sigh*

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