Concept Albums Make a Comeback

The concept album became popular in the 1970s with records like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and The Who's Tommy. The format, long passe, is making a surprising comeback through today's pop musicians including Green Day's hit album American Idiot. Today, Anthony DeCurtis, contributing editor to Rolling Stone magazine and executive editor of Tracks magazine discusses how the genre has stubbornly refused to disappear. Also: How loud is too loud? This question has come up not only among rock musicians but also orchestra members lately. Today we look at the issue with Colin Paris, a bass player in the London Symphony Orchestra and a member of the orchestra's "noise team," and with Marshall Chasin, an audiologist at the Musicians' Clinics of Canada.
Additional Resources:
» Green Day's 'American Idiot' still atop the Billboard chart
» Musicians' Clinics of Canada Web site
» Concept albums are hip again