#albuming

By: Steve Gergley

Of all the chaos and change that the emergence of digital downloading/mp3 technology has caused in the music industry over the past fifteen years, there has been one beautifully unforeseen side-effect for fans: Control. For all the years that music was delivered on physical products, fans were unable to alter the content of the albums they purchased, forcing them to listen to records featuring track listings that had been tampered with by record labels and double albums that contained just as much filler as compelling music.

  In 2013, the majority of personal music exists as mp3 files on a computer, opening up an entire universe of possibilities for die-hard fans to alter their music in creative ways. From collecting a handful of non-album singles and unreleased b-sides to create a “new” album from a beloved but defunct artist, to selecting the best eleven or twelve songs from a bloated double album to create a secret masterwork, this fun, exciting practice is something we here at Fastest Kid In School call Albuming.

  In early 2011, years of rumors surrounding the release of new music from the Daryl Palumbo fronted post-hardcore band Glassjaw, finally became reality in the form of two EPs: Our Color Green and Coloring Book. The band released both EPs within a few short months of each other, giving fans eleven new studio recordings. The first EP, Our Color Green is a collection of singles that did not appear on either of the band’s two full length albums but had been played live for a number of years. The second EP, Coloring Book, was the band’s first new material since the release of their second album, 2002’s Worship And Tribute. The band announced that Coloring Book would not be commercially released, but instead given out for free to fans at each show of their 2011 winter tour. The EP became available online shortly after the tour began, and granted almost any fan the ability to hear new music from the band.

  When these two EPs are combined, the listener is left with a “new,” forty nine minute Glassjaw album that stands as the best work of the band’s career:

  Glassjaw – Coloring Book – 2011

  1. All Good Junkies Go To Heaven – 4:16 ---(From Our Color Green EP)

2. Jesus Glue – 5:09 -----------------------------(From Our Color Green EP)

3. Natural Born Farmer – 3:08 -----------------(From Our Color Green EP)

4. Stars – 4:01 -------------------------------------(From Our Color Green EP)

5. You Think You’re (John Fucking Lennon) – 5:18---(From Our Color Green EP)

6. Black Nurse – 3:54 -------------------------------(From Coloring Book EP)

7. Gold – 4:46 ----------------------------------------(From Coloring Book EP)

8. Vanilla Poltergeist Snake – 3:24 ---------------(From Coloring Book EP)

9. Miracles In Inches – 3:44 ------------------------(From Coloring Book EP)

10. Stations Of The New Cross – 6:58 -----------(From Coloring Book EP)

11. Daytona White – 5:22 --------------------------(From Coloring Book EP)

  In the case of this album, I chose to simply arrange the songs of the two EPs back to back, which makes the change in sound production and artistic content less jarring than if the songs were mixed up. I chose to put the Coloring Book EP songs after the Our Color Green songs, following the common strategy for an artist to front-load its albums with harder rocking, more straightforward tracks and revealing its more expansive compositions for the second half of the album. The sharp, metal influenced first half flows nicely into the loose, jam session feel of the second half, with the album closing on the hushed, whispered brilliance of “Daytona White.”

  Choosing a title that captures the essence of the new collection of songs is a highly satisfying way to connect on a deeper level with the music; and by doing this, we as fans have re-shaped a collection of songs into a new artistic entity. I chose to take the unaltered title of the second EP as the title of the collection because the boldly creative, experimental nature of the songs seems to fit the idea of an artist filling the different pages of a coloring book with wild creations. If available, alternate album art can also enhance the new collection, as it does here, with the nebulous swath of watercolors adorned by the band logo acting as a unique album cover for the unique “new” album.

  Lastly, keep an ear open for dramatic shifts in sound production and other factors that detract from the cohesion of the collection. Large shifts in musical identity between songs that are released years apart, different singers or vastly different vocals from the same singer are a few common examples. Also, if the source release that many of the songs originate from has a title like “2010 European Tour Tape,” use the title of one of the songs to name the collection.