Albums? What are These "Albums" you Speak of?

I've been feeling very retro lately, and have re-discovered an old love: listening to albums. OK, so really CDs, not REAL albums, but albums in the Listening-to-Ten-or-Twelve-Songs-by-the-Same-Artist-in-the-Order-the-Artist-Wanted-one-to-Hear-them-in sense of the word. No shuffle. No random. Just the songs, in the "correct" order.

It all started because I haven't charged my iPod in about two weeks. I can't stand morning or afternoon radio; my commute is only about 10 minutes, 15 on a bad day, and if you try to listen to commercial radio with that kind of window you mainly hear prattle or commercials. And, as much as I love it, there's only so much NPR that one can listen to, especially when they begin to repeat themselves after 2 hours.

So I've pulled out my CDs, and it's really quite novel. I listen to several songs, BY THE SAME ARTIST! From the SAME ALBUM! How......odd! And I haven't even been listening to some of the classic, must-listen-in-this-order albums (i.e. no Pink Floyd, no Abbey Road). But it's really kinda neat to hear the progression of songs through the album. It reminds me that there's a reason we call these people artists, and perhaps we should lose the Shuffle buttons on our iPods more frequently. Kinda like, maybe TV remotes aren't such a hot idea, and we should perhaps watch an entire show, and use the commercials for what they were intended: bathroom and snack breaks!

It also reminds me of the early, heady days of CDs (which, incidentally, began this whole trend of listening in the way we wanted, rather than in the way that the artist meant), when there was much debate and angst about the number of songs that would be included on the CD version of an album as opposed to the vinyl or cassette version. I distinctly remember listening to a Connells album (it was probably Fun and Games) with my friends Cindi and Christine, and how infuriated Christine was when she realized that my cassette, which had been made from a CD, had a song that hers didn't!

Finally, I also remember Tom Petty's album Full Moon Fever. Rather than inserting an additional song and irritating his Vinyl fans (Tom always did look out for his fans) Petty inserted the following words between Tracks 5 and 6:

Hello, CD Listeners.

We've come to the point in this album where those listening on cassette (or record) will have to stand up (or sit down) and turn over the record (or tape). In fairness to those listeners, we'll now take a few seconds before we begin side two.

(sound of crickets)

Thank you. Here's side two.

Words my children will never, ever, understand.