Musings

So the Shins gig last night got me thinking about music, and about albums, and about how musicians put albums together. As Julian will attest, I have strong views about the structure of albums. I believe that great albums are more than just the sum of their songs.

More specifically, I got to thinking about what makes a good opening track for an album. I was thinking this because the Shins opened their concert last night with tracks #1 (Sleeping lessons) and #2 (Australia) off their most recent album. And that was pure genius.

My humble theory is that an opening track on an album needs to be a palate cleanser. It exists to make you forget any music you've just been listening to; to wake you up, maybe even shock you; to say 'hey, you're listening to us now. I think the best opening tracks are uncomplicated, simple, relatively short, and very melodic.

Some other great opening tracks:
- 'Hindley Street' off Powderfinger's Internationalist album
- 'Rockin' Rocks' off Powderfinger's Vulture Street
- 'One Crowded Hour' off Augie March's Moo, You Bloody Choir
- 'As I Sat Sadly By Her Side' off Nick Cave's And No More Shall We Part
- 'Jenny Don't Be Hasty' off Paolo Nutini's These Streets
- '2 + 2 = 5' off Radiohead's Hail to the Thief

Can you guys think of some other awesome opening tracks? What about closing tracks? What makes a good last track on an album?


P.S: for the record, the Shins were fantastic. They play a style of music that doesn't really lend itself to a live concert, but they were tight and the sound mix was fantastic. I came out of the concert thinking that it was a good but not great show. But that night I couldn't get to sleep for thinking about the show. The next morning I woke up hearing 'Australia' in my head, and with an intense desire to play some Shins music. Like a good film sometimes isn't good until you realise you're still thinking about it a week later, now I think it's one of the best concerts I've been to.