It's really interesting because there's some recent music scholarship that's starting to think differently about the Greatest Hits album. There's a lot of snobbery around the Greatest Hits album, and I think it's for just reason, especially if we're going to hold to the idea of the album as an entire expression with intentionally placed tracks by the artist. And so what the Greatest Hits album does is essentially what things like Spotify do. And they sort of deconstruct the song from the album and its original context
Jessica McMillan
@JLMcMillan · 0:11
Hi, folks. Quick correction. I think I said Van Morrison. I met Jim Morrison, but I did want to add the very Funny Kids in The Hall sketch I was referring to. So the link is on this separate post
Dewuan .
@FryedOreo · 4:08
They'll put it on there as like a bonus, but it's supposed to be for promotional use only, but you would find a lot of great produce songs on here. You wonder why they didn't make the album. It's because they have sample clearances and all that sort of stuff. But in hip hop, it's interesting where a lot of Best of albums like The Underground Circuit are more for the mixtapes and freestyles that are compiled and collected
Clay Lowe
@soulcruzer · 1:46
And then it's led to going and going back to their whole back catalog. So I can hear all the songs. So for me, it's a good entryway if you don't know the band and you want to get a quick snapshot of who the band are, what the sound is like, what the journey has been like, especially when you get, like, greatest hits that span a number of decades
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 2:30
I don't know if this album is technically considered a greatest hits album, but I consider it one in my head. So Hatful of Hollow by the Smith was a compilation album released in, I think, 1984 by Rough Trade in the US, and it was a compilation like I said, and I absolutely love this album because there were just so many songs on it that were my introduction to The Smiths as a teenager, and so I have this really nostalgic relationship with it
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 0:26
Also just want to add as the very problematic Morrissey once saying, some girls are bigger than others. And you know what? Some songs are better than others. And I think greatest hits albums exist for a reason. Fight me. Just kidding. Don't fight me. But I just want to put that out there because I kind of want to hear someone disagree with me on that
Jessica McMillan
@JLMcMillan · 1:33
Hey Dawan. Yeah. Thanks so much for pointing out how effort is really a big part of the equation. So if you care enough, you're going to go check out more a couple of the comments. Wiese really great at explaining how the greatest his album might be a gateway for further exploration. And that's absolutely fantastic. And perhaps we're talking about a certain type of fan. Maybe the face value, however, you can quickly present it to me in the fast food way
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Jessica McMillan
@JLMcMillan · 0:38
Hi Clay, thank you for your comment and it's such a good your your your your your stance on Greatest Hits Albums introduction. And you're a special kind of fan. You use it as a point of exploration. And I think a lot there's enough people who do still and the ones talking about it, Bowie's talking about it. If you're interested, you're going to go that much deeper and it gives you a certain immediacy, a range of an artist
Jessica McMillan
@JLMcMillan · 1:37
And I totally agree that a greatest hits album or compilation can be such a good gateway into the catalog of an artist or a band. And I do agree that greatest hits albums can be fun. Like they definitely seem to fit a certain time or mood, like parties or whatever shower. I'm not sure what yours yours is, but it is true that sometimes you want to hear the bangers and I get it. But yeah, thanks for making me laugh and your chat about rough trades
Todd Wiese
@Raretodd · 3:03
You don't win a prize for having all the albums. Your, your, your, your, your your stance on greatest hits albums. Otherwise, I think they're fine. I don't think they're for Housewives and little girls. If there's a band that you really appreciate and you want someone else, you want to share that with someone else, one of your friends and say, yeah, go, your your your your stance on greatest hits albums, problem with that
Sontaia Briggs
@PKBriggs · 1:31
So for me, greatest hits is a really great way for me to learn about an artist that I love and realize, oh, they made that song, too. So that's what I think about greatest hits. Thanks for the question. Bye
Jessica McMillan
@JLMcMillan · 1:18
Hey, Todd, thank you for this very funny post. And I hear you sometimes I don't always have time to listen to the whole thread, so I do appreciate you taking the time to reply. That really does seem like overkill. Yes, you don't get an award. I can't see why it would be worth it. I guess some people just like the tactility of holding something. That's another part of a collection
Jessica McMillan
@JLMcMillan · 1:15
Hi PK. Thank you for the reply and I get it for sure. There is something about the immediacy of music and how the tones and the melody hit us emotionally that definitely lose us to the specifics, and even for myself, sometimes I won't remember the name of a song or might not always pay as much attention to the lyrics. When I'm thinking about the overall vibe and I know what I like right there's. Not just immediacy to that subjective immediacy
Clay Lowe
@soulcruzer · 1:29
So if I made a compilation tape of all my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs, for instance, does that fit in the nature of the question you just ask in your your, your, your your your stance on greatest hits albums, a large Bruce Springsteen collection. And I don't like everything that he makes. And so I do have playlists that are just composed of my favorite songs. I don't know
Jessica McMillan
@JLMcMillan · 1:37
Hi Clay, I love this idea, though, of compiling your own greatest hit, because, you know, first of all, that's you kind of curating something in a very personal way that's active, not passive. I think that might be part part of the problem I have with greatest hits albums, depending on how they're used is the passivity of it. And it's interesting if you're also just curating songs within an album and skipping tracks that you don't really care for