Greatest Hits

Have you ever discovered a new band and thought to yourself, "How do I not have any of their music?"  But what happens when the band has over five albums with their hit singles spread across each record?  This is where a greatest hit album or singles collection comes in.  Many well known artists releases these.  Some of the most recent being Fall Out Boy, Britney Spears, and Madonna.  They are usually considered the artists "very best".  The question is, do you buy it.  I always have a problem with this decision.  When I acquire a sudden interest in a band, I face the dilemma.  The problem is, what if I do buy this compilation but then want more of their music.  I'll already have bits and pieces of their catalogue, causing me to buy songs that I previously bought.  I don't want to buy the same song twice.  With this being said, I do own several "Greatest Hits" albums; artists such as Nirvana, The Ramones, and The Clash.  I guess the answer to the question is another question.  "How much do you really like their music?".  Can you live without all of their music, or do you need all of it?

A Single... Or Two?

Whenever a single that peaks my interest is released, I buy it from iTunes. I have no record stores located anywhere within my area. Even with the recent raise in price (29 cents), I'll buy it if I'm interested in the upcoming album. I have no problem with the fact that I'll buy that same exact song on disc later. That's just the way it goes. But when the artist releases a single several months before the albums release date and then releases another, I have a problem. The artist may even release half of the album in the form of digital singles. Why would I buy these songs if I have the intent of buying the full album? This new money making scheme occurs mostly in very mainstream pop artists that I don't listen to, but every once in a while, it will hit one of my favorite bands. The most recent would be Flyleaf. One event that confused me the most was when Jason Mraz released several digital EP's containing songs from his newest album, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things. Almost the entire record was available digitally before the physical album was released. I only bought I'm Yours. I guess this is just another business move to make more money. The one thing that record companies don't realize is that they are risking a lower amount of sales when the album is released. Oh well, I'll just continue buying the first single and waiting a little longer for the rest.