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| From | Stewart Mason <flamingo@theworld.com> |
| Subject | Re: Does Size Matter? |
| Date | Wed, 17 Dec 2003 01:21:16 -0500 |
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At 11:42 PM 12/16/2003 -0600, Michael Bennett wrote:
>To clarify --
>
>1. 'Arbitrary' means, essentially, to select at random. For purposes of a
>poll of the best albums, disqualifying EPs is far from random, it is
>grounded in sober reality. As I noted in my original post to your original
>comment, the very fact that you refer to EPs as EPs (and hence, LPs as LPs)
>indicates that they are distinctive. Now, whether a record is an EP or LP
>-- that designation may be arbitrary -- but the parameters of an album are
>pretty well established, and most serious music fans know the difference.
Yes, but there are plenty of examples of releases that fit "the parameters
of an album" in every respect except length, the King Radio release being
but one example. If a record otherwise fits those parameters -- it's all
new and/or previously unreleased material, it's not a stylistic detour
that's out of keeping with their other material, it's not the new single
and a handful of live tracks, whatever -- then it does seem arbitrary to me
to limit a release because it's only around 20 minutes long.
By your explication of the rules, the only reason Yo La Tengo's TODAY IS
THE DAY -- which probably won't actually be on my own Top 20, because there
are probably 20 records I like more than this, although I like it a lot --
doesn't fit is that it's only 23:20 in length. The six tracks are
otherwise unreleased, and although three of them were recorded in 2003 and
three in 1999, they all sound of a piece, and you yourself make exemptions
for the Aerovons and Whiskeytown records, which similarly sat on the shelf
before release. Now, if you were going to exclude *last* year's YLT EP,
NUCLEAR WAR, I would agree with that: four versions of one song is clearly
not in keeping with "the parameters of an album." But as I said, there are
CDs out there where the only way in which they fall short is that
they...well, fall short.
S
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