Why is everyone so hellbent on "EP"s?

[Clawgrabber]

All this best of talk has definitely hit a huge wall. But one think I have noticed a lot of people around here saying is "I wish they would have just released an EP"

Seriously, where is this coming from? Since when do bands the size of U2 still release EPs?

When was the last time a major label rock band released a successful EP? It just doesn't make any sense in terms of marketing. There is no way U2 will ever release a CD of new material that is only 5 new songs. Especially in the digital age. It is an antiquated and obsolete practice that just isn't done anymore.

U2 will never just release an EP. Not today. Not anymore.

(and no - U2:7 doesn't count)

 

[Aygo]

Oasis is up to release a double EP (9 tracks each disc)... and it's a Best Of.

 

[Salome]

it's a great question

which will get a whining answer at some point I bet

 

[U2FanPeter]

Beatles released a double EP in late 1967(MMT)

Alice in Chains released some successful EPs in the early 90's.

Radiohead put out the vinyl KID-A on a double EP vinyl 10 inch.

Radiohead put out a live EP in late 2001

Radiohead put out Bsides collecting EPs in 1998(US only "Airbag/How's my Driving") and 2003.

The WHO just put out an EP preceding the CD, right?

There's also tons of artist that have put out bonus CDs that only have a handful of trax.

u2fp

 

[Clawgrabber]

Beatles released a double EP in late 1967(MMT)

Alice in Chains released some successful EPs in the early 90's.

Radiohead put out the vinyl KID-A on a double EP vinyl 10 inch.

Radiohead put out a live EP in late 2001

Radiohead put out Bsides collecting EPs in 1998(US only "Airbag/How's my Driving") and 2003.

The WHO just put out an EP preceding the CD, right?

There's also tons of artist that have put out bonus CDs that only have a handful of trax.

u2fp

Well, sure, EPs DO exist, and bands like the Beatles and such did release them with new music.

I know that Tool and Alice In Chains did so in the early nineties (fifteen years ago)

Kid A was on a double 10" vinyl but that was no EP.

But we are talking about people in current times releasing a Real EP (as in a short album fof 4-7 tracks of NEW material)

Bsides collections (especially Airbag which was a single and a collection of previously released bsides.)

Calling a cd single an EP is a fallacy. What I am saying is that TODAY in the modern era of the digital download and so called "slipping cd sales" there is no way a band like U2 will ever just release an EP in lieu of a full album. It just won't happen.

And that WHO EP is a preview of songs from their new as yet released album. All the songs on it will be on the album, so it is entirely pointless except as a preview of things to come.

The last time in RECENT memory that i can recall a major label artist officially releasing an EP on their Major Label was Ryan Adams, and he only did so because his record company rejected Love Is Hell so he cut it in half.

That oasis Best Of Is hardly an EP. Eighteen Tracks on 2 cds? I don't think so.

 

[Aygo]

Well, sure, EPs DO exist, and bands like the Beatles and such did release them with new music.

I know that Tool and Alice In Chains did so in the early nineties (fifteen years ago)

Kid A was on a double 10" vinyl but that was no EP.

But we are talking about people in current times releasing a Real EP (as in a short album fof 4-7 tracks of NEW material)

Bsides collections (especially Airbag which was a single and a collection of previously released bsides.)

Calling a cd single an EP is a fallacy. What I am saying is that TODAY in the modern era of the digital download and so called "slipping cd sales" there is no way a band like U2 will ever just release an EP in lieu of a full album. It just won't happen.

And that WHO EP is a preview of songs from their new as yet released album. All the songs on it will be on the album, so it is entirely pointless except as a preview of things to come.

The last time in RECENT memory that i can recall a major label artist officially releasing an EP on their Major Label was Ryan Adams, and he only did so because his record company rejected Love Is Hell so he cut it in half.

That oasis Best Of Is hardly an EP. Eighteen Tracks on 2 cds? I don't think so.

It all depends on the type of marketing the label wants to do with the product, due to the ideal of EP/LP/single nowadays.
For instance, Madonna's 2003 "Remixed and Revisited" was released as a single in some countries, but in other (like Portugal) it was released as an EP. We could find it near "normal" albums, and not near singles.

 

[Utoo]

I'd rather wait and get a whole album.

 

[gareth brown]

Kid A was on a double 10" vinyl but that was no EP.

what he said. spreading an album over two 10" records doesn't make it a double EP. It's a bloody fine album let's not piss over it, eh?

 

[Clawgrabber]

Kid A is top ten. easily

 

[LemonMelon]

I'd rather wait and get a whole album.

Exactly.

 

[U2FanPeter]

The last time in RECENT memory that i can recall a major label artist officially releasing an EP on their Major Label was Ryan Adams, and he only did so because his record company rejected Love Is Hell so he cut it in half.
[/B]

Flaming Lips?
Liz Phair ComeAndGetIt EP
Sarah McLachlan live EP

I fail to see the difference between R'Head's 2003 EP of recent Bsides and an EP.

Alanis - Feast of Friends

 

[Clawgrabber]

Airbag is a single for the us collecting the bsides from the uk singles from ok computer. it isn't the same thing as a band going into the studio and recording only 6 songs specially for an EP only release. Even so, that was nearly 10 years ago. Times have changed.

Feast is a bonus disc of unreleased studio outtakes from her album Under Rug Swept packaged with a DVD, and it contains 9 songs. Hardly an EP.

I don't see how 9 songs = ep. If that were the case Massive Attack's Blue Lines, Thom Yorke's The Eraser, Depeche Mode's Violater would all count as EPs and they just aren't

The past 2 Flaming Lips "EPs" are nothing more than US combined versions of UK 2 part singles containing single tracks from their current album at the time, remixes and a couple bsides.

Liz Phair's was a download only EP of outtakes from the self titled album, and hard copies were later pressed but only sold at her shows IF you bought other merchandise.

I'll give you that that one is in fact an EP, but i think it also proves my point that EPs are not a viable money maker in today's marketplace, and while smaller artists on indie labels produce them all the time (If you want to best me here, you should consider John Frusciante who released 6 solo records in 2003 several of them EPs), it is just fact that bigger acts like U2 will never cut an EP of fresh studio material for the mass market. It just won't happen.

I wouldn't put it past Radiohead, though, the way Thom Yorke has been talking as of late, citing that he feels that coming up with a full 12 song entity that flows and makes sense as a whole distracts from the songwriting process.

I really don't want to get into a debate on what is or isn't an EP. I am simply stating a fact of U2's marketing machine: us fans hoping for them to hit the studio and crank out anything less than a full album will never result in an EP. Less than an album, the best we can hope for is a single for a Compilation or a Soundtrack.

And i might add that if U2 did after 6 months of recording, release a cd produced by Rubin with only 6 songs on it, this board would light up like a housefire with people complaining that "they couldn't just record another 4 songs... they really are selling out. They haven't done anything good since 1997" and similar complaints.

 

[LemonMelon]

I don't see how 9 songs = ep. If that were the case Massive Attack's Blue Lines, Thom Yorke's The Eraser, Depeche Mode's Violater would all count as EPs and they just aren't

Tales From Topographic Oceans = best EP ever

 

[david]

I'd rather they just hold onto the songs until they can give us a good album rather than just throwing a 6 song ep out there.

 

[Aygo]

Airbag is a single for the us collecting the bsides from the uk singles from ok computer. it isn't the same thing as a band going into the studio and recording only 6 songs specially for an EP only release. Even so, that was nearly 10 years ago. Times have changed.

Feast is a bonus disc of unreleased studio outtakes from her album Under Rug Swept packaged with a DVD, and it contains 9 songs. Hardly an EP.

I don't see how 9 songs = ep. If that were the case Massive Attack's Blue Lines, Thom Yorke's The Eraser, Depeche Mode's Violater would all count as EPs and they just aren't

The past 2 Flaming Lips "EPs" are nothing more than US combined versions of UK 2 part singles containing single tracks from their current album at the time, remixes and a couple bsides.

Liz Phair's was a download only EP of outtakes from the self titled album, and hard copies were later pressed but only sold at her shows IF you bought other merchandise.

I'll give you that that one is in fact an EP, but i think it also proves my point that EPs are not a viable money maker in today's marketplace, and while smaller artists on indie labels produce them all the time (If you want to best me here, you should consider John Frusciante who released 6 solo records in 2003 several of them EPs), it is just fact that bigger acts like U2 will never cut an EP of fresh studio material for the mass market. It just won't happen.

I wouldn't put it past Radiohead, though, the way Thom Yorke has been talking as of late, citing that he feels that coming up with a full 12 song entity that flows and makes sense as a whole distracts from the songwriting process.

I really don't want to get into a debate on what is or isn't an EP. I am simply stating a fact of U2's marketing machine: us fans hoping for them to hit the studio and crank out anything less than a full album will never result in an EP. Less than an album, the best we can hope for is a single for a Compilation or a Soundtrack.

And i might add that if U2 did after 6 months of recording, release a cd produced by Rubin with only 6 songs on it, this board would light up like a housefire with people complaining that "they couldn't just record another 4 songs... they really are selling out. They haven't done anything good since 1997" and similar complaints.

Again, it all depends on how the labes markets the product.
In 2006 the divisor lines between single/EP, EP/LP are not the same as in 1970 because of the discographic industry evolution.

I presented Madonna's "Remixed and Revisited" example above. Single in few markets, EP in others.
Alanis Morissette's "Feast On Scraps" in a bonus disc for a DVD, but it is considered an EP - ask any hardcore fan. The songs presented in that disc are outtakes from the "Under Rug Swept" sessions.

 

[Clawgrabber]

Okay, sure. That is fine. Madonna and Alanis. I'll go with you on both of those then. (although with Alanis, whether it is an EP or not, it still comes packaged with a DVD. SO it has an added advantage in terms of sales.)

But you're still talking about cds with a definite limited market.

I just think that U2 wouldn't waste their time and enrgy in the studio recording a cd that would sell the equivalent of those remix and outtake CDs. Remember, they desperately want to remain the biggest band in the world, and stay relevant.

If they do release EPs in the future, they will be along the lines of U2:7 or perhaps U2.Communication.

Those 2 cds alone prove that U2 thinks EPs have a limited market, otherwise they wold have sold them in more places than just Target and the U2.Com website, respectively.

They've even tried to go in to the studio and record an EP. But they just couldn't stop at 6 songs. It was called Zooropa.

I think that U2 nowadays in more interested in making "incredible albums" rather than the alternative. They are more concerned about ther status and theit legacy that just cranking out smaller projects here and there.

I don't know how i feel about that. I know that I would like more output from the band. But i do know if they released a 5 song disc, i would most definitely wish it had 10 songs on it.

 

[MrPryck2U]

An EP is like a small gift to an artist's fans. It's also usually 8 songs priced between roughly 9 to 12 US dollars.
I don't U2 think really needs to release a new Best Of. But, I understand they might have certain contractual obligations to adhere to.
I'm one of those that thought U2 should release an EP of stuff we haven't heard yet. Zooropa was close to being an EP after AB, but they pushed out more songs for an album.

 

[nirniva]

I thought "Prospekt's March" was pretty successful...

 

[PowerSurge]

why in the world was this thread refreshed?????

 

[Irishteen]

I thought "Prospekt's March" was pretty successful...

Same, and Coldplay are as big as U2 in sales terms too

 

[Screwtape2]

Same, and Coldplay are as big as U2 in sales terms too

It was so nice to get some good to great songs released by them. That's all U2 fans would want too.

 

[nirniva]

It was so nice to get some good to great songs released by them. That's all U2 fans would want too.

Agreed, but, if they do go the EP route, I hope we get 5-8 NEW/UNRELEASED SONGS, not remixes. (However, if they want to release the version of NLOTH that was cut from the album on the EP, like Coldplay did with "Life In Technicolor II," that's cool.)

 

[BVS]

I was about to ask why are we talking about EPs when an album is about to be released, but then I realized that this thread is over 2 years old...

 

[Irishteen]

I was about to ask why are we talking about EPs when an album is about to be released, but then I realized that this thread is over 2 years old...

I was wondering why no one mentioned Coldplay until page two

 

[chrissybaby]

bump.

 

[Muldfeld]

All this best of talk has definitely hit a huge wall. But one think I have noticed a lot of people around here saying is "I wish they would have just released an EP"

Seriously, where is this coming from? Since when do bands the size of U2 still release EPs?

When was the last time a major label rock band released a successful EP? It just doesn't make any sense in terms of marketing. There is no way U2 will ever release a CD of new material that is only 5 new songs. Especially in the digital age. It is an antiquated and obsolete practice that just isn't done anymore.

U2 will never just release an EP. Not today. Not anymore.

(and no - U2:7 doesn't count)

My problem with EPs, which Radiohead often release, is that they are proportionately a rip-off. Even if the price is reduced at the time of sale, the price eventually rises.

Remember "Live: Under a Blood Red Sky", which had the sticker "specially reduced price" or something? Well, the CD is pretty expensive and that was before the remaster.

I'd rather the band release a full album and get my money's worth. That said, I'd still buy an EP if it even had one great song.

 

[coolian2]

did you guys see the u2 ep of the simpsons?

 

[ShipOfFools]

Agreed, but, if they do go the EP route, I hope we get 5-8 NEW/UNRELEASED SONGS, not remixes. (However, if they want to release the version of NLOTH that was cut from the album on the EP, like Coldplay did with "Life In Technicolor II," that's cool.)

I think they should release an EP (or album) of all the b-sides, like Radiohead did with In Rainbows (on their boxset.) I thought that was a pretty cool marketing move.

 

[nirniva]

I think they should release an EP (or album) of all the b-sides, like Radiohead did with In Rainbows (on their boxset.) I thought that was a pretty cool marketing move.

That would be cool...but ALL the B-sides? That wouldn't be an EP, that would be...like...a quadruple album or something!
(Not that I'm complaining, mind you. )

 

[nirniva]

why in the world was this thread refreshed?????

Wait...what?
*checks last post date before his first post in this thread*

Sorry 'bout that...I think I accidentally clicked the "Last Page" button when I thought I clicked the "one page back" button. I then saw this title, and, thinking that there had been a lot of discussion of EPs lately, thought it was current.

We could use this thread for EP speculation or give it a good, old-fashioned , I guess.