Interludes in music albums.

[OhJohnNo]

Posted this on the Escapist too, quoting the post here:

Right, this is a topic that's been bugging me for some time now.

Recently, I've been getting interested in A Thousand Suns, the new Linkin Park album (I know, everyone hates them, but bear with me) which has split fans and critics clean in two like some form of sonic Marmite. Listening to the full version on youtube, I love it. It actually sounds like an "Album" album, meant to be listened to as a whole, rather than just a collection of songs - a Dark Side of the Moon-type album.

One of the main criticisms I've seen towards it by the not-so-enthused club is that it contains 5 short interlude pieces, which are mostly sound clips and background textures to bridge between songs. Many are dismissing these as "filler", implying that they think they're useless and should be removed. I can sort of understand this viewpoint, in this era where all anyone cares about is how "single"-able a song is, but it annoys me.

The way I see it, these interludes are essential, worth way more than the sum of their parts. They have a very specific purpose - to hold the album together. Without them, the album's concept would not be nearly so evident, it would not flow so beautifully or be nearly as cohesive - it would be much less good, less successful at what it's trying to do.

I was also extremely irritated to see a contemporary review of Dark Side of the Moon dismiss "Speak to Me" and "On the Run" as filler, for the same reasons. This is why I dislike the idea of a track-by-track review - it only works for "pop" albums, which are just a collection of singles that are all designed to stand on their own, and yet people think they can apply it to all albums, where it stops working. Radiohead's "Fitter Happier", off of OK Computer, is another sad victim of this attitude - it's one of my favourite tracks from the album, and in fact I'd go so far as to say it defines the album, encapsulating its entire mission statement in 1:57 minutes. Yet because it can't stand on its own as a single, people dismiss it. Blarg.

Some of my favourite albums make good use of interludes. Sparklehorse's first two albums had 3 each (most of which are unavailable on youtube - such is the curse of being a little-known band), and I must say, they make quite a contribution to the atmosphere, considering that only 1 of the 6 is over a minute in length. Coldplay's latest, Mylo Xyloto, is also a good example - though I didn't like the album all that much, it's fair to say I would have liked it even less if it weren't for those 3 itty-bitty mood-setters that helped it go slightly above your usual pop album in terms of cohesion.

So what are your thoughts, Escapist RelicNews? You like interludes? Dislike? Cheese? Post your thoughts below. Keep it clean, please.

[Fish Of Doom]

well, same as everything else, i like them when the final result ends up conforming to my preferences

from which, of course, you can take for granted that i agree with you in that they can make songs work very well as a sort of single large song instead of unconnected tracks. as for reviews, i dislike most reviews of anything at a visceral level, so no opinion there.

[Tiresias]

I love a bit of atmospherics, love a good instrumental track from a band that wouldn't usually and love albums that feel muggy in atmosphere, if that's even a word. Spiritualized albums are always somewhat like this, my favorite example though is 13 by Blur, not so much instrumental but atmosphere from track seeps into the next with little bits of music at ends and beginnings of songs) (this post has such interludes in it muahahaha)

It is somewhat a sacrifice in the digital era, and a much missed one, though one has to remember that stuff was sacrificed by the CD era, tracks can be locked into looping on vinyl (see the end of A Day in the Life by the Beatles, which isn't on some CD editions and others just comprises 30 seconds of the noise.

Secret tracks are also a tragic loss. Some bands still stick them on end of a 30 minute track, but they're easily spotted. Think Tank by Blur has a secret track digital versions don't have or something, had to go backwards from track 1...

But yes albums should be listened start to finish, and so much is gained by the little seemingly innocuous 'filler tracks'.

[OhJohnNo]

Out of interest Tire, what are your thoughts (should you have any) on A Thousand Suns? Heretic tried unsuccessfully to "summon" you into a debate about it yesterday on IRC (clearly his divine powers are stoppable, unlike MINE). He hates it, I love it.

[Tiresias]

I'm barely around on IRC really, did spot that too late...

TBH never heard it, the fact it's Linkin Park had put me off. I'll give a song or two a listen.

[OhJohnNo]

It honestly sounds more like Linkin Park + Pink Floyd + Radiohead + Coldplay than plain ol' Linkin Park. Not that I ever had much problem with them (I quite like their genre-blending, and as it turns out their "whiny" lyrics are justified).

[Croaxleigh]

I'm a big fan of interludes when they're done well and accent the music that they lead in to. I tend to like (good) concept albums and albums that are designed as a whole and not just a bunch of singles for the radio, and interludes tend to show up a bunch in both. The Protomen even have a longer interlude piece on Act II (the album I get my avatar from) that serves as a sort of link between that album and Act I (their first album, which takes place story-wise after Act II) in that the title of the track is a line from the first song of Act I. It's all very meta.

[Rotlung]

This reminds me of the concept album track. It really boils down to preference, and the kind of album it is, and how often you listen to it. Believe me, the novelty of how an interlude works in an album really drops if you listen to the album too often, and this is accentuated if the interlude is just comprised of atmospheric noises.

Not sure if this is relevant, but some prog rock songs which are very long (typically the suites) tend to have interludes within them... and these tend to be some slow atmospheric noises. For instance, Pink Floyd's 'Echoes' is a good song, but several minutes of noises made by an electric guitar simulating some seagulls? That's an interesting concept, but stretching it to several minutes is really disrupting the flow of the song.

A more extreme example would be King Crimson's 'Moonchild'. It starts off as a... normal song for about 2+ minutes, and then goes on to simply have atmospheric noises for another 9 minutes. I'm not sure if it's supposed to build suspense for the epic final track after it ('In The Court Of The Crimson King'), but my god, those 9 minutes make for some agonising listening.