A little art rambling

I've received a large number of CDs this past Christmas, and have enjoyed every one of them.

However, there's something that I've been noticing, something that relates to a few other thoughts I'd had as well.

I've noticed that there are albums with good songs, and then there are good albums.
For instance: I have absolutely fallen in love with the Hives. I love every singe song on Tyrannosaurs Hives, the album of theirs that I purchased with Christmas money.
It really is an album with great songs on it.

On the other hand, Queens of the Stone Ages' album, Songs for the Deaf, is just a great album, in my opinion. It's very creatively done; it's introduced as though it were a radio station and every so often, that theme pops up again. In general, I was just startled by how much I love the album as a whole package, rather than just any of the songs.

Thinking back to my time with the Beatles, it makes even more sense. I always really liked Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, but thinking about just the songs on it, I couldn't bring myself to call it my favorite of their albums. As an album, however, I think it is their best--in as much as it holds together so well and the songs flow seamlessly from one to the other.
Whereas Rubber Soul probably has more great songs (in my opinion), but when I've got a moment to listen to something from start to finish, I'm a little more tempted to hear Sgt. Pepper all the way through.
And Abbey Road is just a failed attempt to do Sgt. Pepper again, but maybe that's just me...

Regardless, I find the art of albums fascinating. It is something invented entirely by the Beatles, but there have been other artists who've taken on the craft since. It truly makes it worthwhile to sit down and listen to as big a block of songs as an album can be.

It got me thinking about something else, too. I've had this idea about television shows for a long time. I've thought to myself; what a wonderful opportunity a television show is. If you had the patience to treat a show like a really long movie or a book brought to life, you could do great things.

What I mean is, write out everything before it ever hits the air. Instead of having a show of episodes and seasons, just have one gigantic, overarching plot leading to the end. And then, when you're done, no matter how popular the show might be by that point, do not give in to the temptation to continue.
Think of the possibilities! You could bring in just as many characters and sub-plots as a full-length novel without worrying about time, because a show has hours and hours over the span of months to be able to cover all the bases. And all the while, you could be building to something larger, giving the impression the entire time of going somewhere. Even if the audience isn't always certain of what the direction is, the creator should know.

However, as with albums, that's a rarity, but it does happen. More often, however, the good shows aren't at all like that--they're more like albums with good songs; they're shows with good episodes or at most, good seasons.

That's my little artistic sidebar for now.
May I just say that if I ever have any degree of money, I would love to put together the kind of show that I have just described. It is unlikely, but...what I would give to have the means to do that.

We all have our dreams.