The Speed of Sound - disposable music?

A friend posted a link to this article on facebook the other day, and I thought it had some interesting points.

Particularly the stuff about listening attention span, given that with Spotify et al, we have more-or-less free, infinite access to any song we want from any era at a moment’s notice - Mr Harris’s point being that there will soon be no room for ‘filler’ material or ‘grower’ albums, as songs which don’t grab you first time will be immediately discarded in favour of something more catchy.

Now, the lack of filler material on an album can only be a good thing, encouraging artists to pay more attention to putting out an album that is of a brilliant standard all the way through, but I’m less convinced on the ‘grower’ part.

I don’t know about you, but if and when I get round to (affording and) buying a new album, I’m usually tenacious (or bloody-minded) enough to listen to it repeatedly until I ‘get’ it. There’s something delightfully satisfying about that sense of slowly getting to know and appreciate a deep work of art, hearing a new layer or catching a previously undiscovered nuance on each listen.

Many of my favourite albums come under that category of ‘slow grower’, which on the first few listens did little to grab me, but later on reward me with that ‘old friend’ feeling, still having something new to offer even after countless repeats. Disposable music is a sad thing.

The challenge for the artist, more now than ever, is to create something with just the right blend of catchiness and true depth - a tall order!