Are there any albums which tell a story any more?
I remember the first time I listened to The Slim Shady LP by Eminem in 2000-and-something. I had been discussing my music tastes with some friends from school, and I had mentioned that I liked one of the songs in the charts at the time but I didn't know who it was by. My friend then had me hum it to them and revealed that it was by this 'M&M' chap, a white American rapper. Anyway, I was told to go home and listen to The Slim Shady LP and The Marshall Mathers LP by this new model in my life, but on one condition: I had to listen to the tracks in order, all in one go.
So, I set aside a few hours in the evening and switched onto YouTube (this was pre-censorship of any copyrighted songs) and I looked for a playlist. I was blown away by it. Listening to the LPs was like reading a book, or watching a film, but I could just close my eyes and listen. I was astounded - I still am astounded. Eminem changed the way I listened to music. No more skipping songs to get to my favourite one on an album, no more turning on 'shuffle' on my new iPod, instead I was listening to albums the way they were made to be listened to - in order.
