Modifying Album Track Lists

on albums that you otherwise enjoy, name trac(s) that you just could not help removing, tracs which ruin the listening experience for you. do you believe this should never be done? have you modified an album trac list with success? have you ever modified an album in any way? have you destroyed an album out of anger? if you were to destroy your entire music collection, how would you choose to do it?

track

list

All the fucking shitty intermission tracks on Tool albums.

Same with the throwaway trippy psychedelic noise bits on the first Mudvayne album.

And, while I'm at it, any album with a non-musical 'intro'/'outro'. Seriously, what's the point?

No

Nope... I'm strongly against altering albums like that. If I really don't like a track I'll skip it or even endure it, but I would never actually remove it from the album. I know I'm not the only one like this...

Only when they've got some remixes/b-sides/live versions tacked on at the end, because 90% of the time they aren't all that great & just serve to make the album too long.

  On 4/10/2012 at 4:19 AM, Cryptowen said:

Only when they've got some remixes/b-sides/live versions tacked on at the end, because 90% of the time they aren't all that great & just serve to make the album too long.

yeah, this.

Yonks ago I altered the White Album running order so that it matched the gold-label mid-70s cassette issue. But fuck removing tracks etc., kids today and their digital-age idiocy...

  On 4/10/2012 at 4:24 AM, modey said:

  On 4/10/2012 at 4:19 AM, Cryptowen said:

Only when they've got some remixes/b-sides/live versions tacked on at the end, because 90% of the time they aren't all that great & just serve to make the album too long.

yeah, this.

+1. Also, a lot of jazz reissues tack on 'alternate takes' of album tracks, sometimes they're decent enough on their own merits but why would you listen to another slightly varied version of track you just heard moments ago (particularly the one that was deemed best for inclusion on the album in first place)

Ventolin on Aphex Twin's ...I Care Because You Do.

considering how cheap hard disk space is, i see absolutely no logical reason why someone would do this. just keep everything and make playlists of tracks you like if it's that important to avoid shit. i often end up liking things on albums that i skipped originally, so it would be counter intuitive for me to start deleting tracks off albums i haven't properly listened to.

I don't think I have removed any tracks on from my hard drive, but I did this a lot when I owned an iPod. The following are tracks I ALWAYS skip.

I could probably list examples all day, here are some albums that I feel are perfect, minus one shitty song.

Drukqs: Btoum-Rumada and Gwely Mernans

I Care Because You Do: Come on You Slags

Deerhunter's Halycon Digest: Helicopter (And the Saxophone in Coronado)

Fatboy Slim's You've Come a Long Way Baby: California

Franz Ferdinand's Self Titled: Auf Achse

Franz Ferdinand's YCHISMB: Eleanor Put Your Boots Back On

Gorillaz' Demon Days: the last two tracks

Leafcutter John's TSIDTTR: Move On

Lolita Storm's Girls fucking shit up: Meat Injection

Merzbow's Merzbeat: Tadpole

Portishead's Dummy: It's a Fire

Vsnares' Rossz: Felbomlasztott Mentökocsi

Why's Elephant Eyelash: Waterfalls

I never remove files from my hard drive, but have made custom playlists (bibio's mind bokeh - take off your shirt, for example).

Radiohead have commented in several interviews that theyre (or at least, some of the members) are unhappy with the finished version of hail to the thief. Thom has since posted a blog post with an alternate track listing, which I have put together as a different album to the original. and um, it's actually a good listen^^

To Explain Grades of Beef on TRS-80's Shake Hands with Danger.

http://www.amazon.com/Shake-Hands-With-Danger-TRS-80/dp/B0000AKCLW

Nobody mentioned Squarepusher's Vacuum Garden yet?

  On 4/10/2012 at 8:24 AM, pigster said:

Radiohead have commented in several interviews that theyre (or at least, some of the members) are unhappy with the finished version of hail to the thief. Thom has since posted a blog post with an alternate track listing, which I have put together as a different album to the original. and um, it's actually a good listen^^

I've never heard of that before, I'll have to check that out.

On the subject of Radiohead, I've listened to that Ok Computer/In Rainbows tracklist theory that popped up a while back. It's flows pretty well, but it's not as mind-blowing as some people claim.

remember when boxing day said he deleted pocket calculator from computer world because it disrupted the flow? haha what a knob

  On 4/10/2012 at 8:24 AM, pigster said:

Radiohead have commented in several interviews that theyre (or at least, some of the members) are unhappy with the finished version of hail to the thief. Thom has since posted a blog post with an alternate track listing, which I have put together as a different album to the original. and um, it's actually a good listen^^

I've never heard of that before, I'll have to check that out. pigster, do you have a decent link? I could only find something in Yahoo Answers and a few dodgy forums which I'm loathe to trust 100%. And I agree with the playlist option, that's one aspect of digital music that I do appreciate.

You guys only edit out whole tracks? I edit out minuscule portions of tracks that I don't like.

That little snare sound 35 seconds into 4 from the RDJ album? Yup, I cut it out. That shit won't be ruining my listening experience anymore.

  On 4/10/2012 at 7:01 PM, hautlle said:

You guys only edit out whole tracks? I edit out minuscule portions of tracks that I don't like.

 

That little snare sound 35 seconds into 4 from the RDJ album? Yup, I cut it out. That shit won't be ruining my listening experience anymore.

I don't tend to omit whole tracks, but some I will change the speed of if I prefer it faster or slower. (example: Aphex Twin's Curve remix on 26 Mixes is so much better slowed down). Oh I did edit out all of the weird wankery at the end of the Broadcast track "Man is Not a Bird" as I thought it distracted from what is otherwise a great track.

  On 4/10/2012 at 7:01 PM, hautlle said:

You guys only edit out whole tracks? I edit out minuscule portions of tracks that I don't like.

Oh yea, I've done that too. Gonjasufi's outro in Klowds is so damn annoying. And I've cut out a lot of blank spaces that lead to bonus tracks.

I'm not into modifying albums to my personal taste. I like to hear them as a whole, as they were intended. This does not mean I'll listen to a 10-minute static track, or minute-long ear-piercing track, etc. Those automatically get the boot.

  On 4/10/2012 at 7:30 AM, Murveman said:

Deerhunter's Halycon Digest: Helicopter (And the Saxophone in Coronado)

I really like that song! I like the album as a whole but I could think of about 3 songs I would remove if I was into removing songs from albums.

  On 4/10/2012 at 6:27 PM, Caretstik said:

  On 4/10/2012 at 8:24 AM, pigster said:

Radiohead have commented in several interviews that theyre (or at least, some of the members) are unhappy with the finished version of hail to the thief. Thom has since posted a blog post with an alternate track listing, which I have put together as a different album to the original. and um, it's actually a good listen^^

 

I've never heard of that before, I'll have to check that out. pigster, do you have a decent link? I could only find something in Yahoo Answers and a few dodgy forums which I'm loathe to trust 100%. And I agree with the playlist option, that's one aspect of digital music that I do appreciate.

I'd be interested to hear this, as I've never grown to appreciate Hail to the Thief. Maybe I'll play it next as I've been on a Radiohead kick this week (Playing The Bends right now). Hope I can find the track list somewhere online and I'll just make a playlist in Spotify.

Some albums I can remember modifying:

Tool - Undertow (cut out tracks 10-68)

Marcy Playground - Marcy Playground (cut out "Sex and Candy")

supposedly it's this:

there there

the gloaming

sail to the moon

sit down. stand up

go to sleep

whereiendandubegin

scatterbrain

2+2=5

myxomatosis

a wolf at the door