Universe Log 8: The Concept Album

American Idiot by Green Day
21st Century Breakdown by Green Day 
The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
Everything Will Be Alright In The End by Weezer 
Blurryface by Twenty One Pilots 
Trench by Twenty One Pilots 
Save Rock And Roll by Fall Out Boy 
Hollywood Park by The Airborne Toxic Event 

   What do all these amazing records have in common? They're concept albums. If you're unaware, a concept album is essentially an album that accomplishes one or both of two things:

1. Has a plot and characters (is basically a story made through songs)
2. Every song fits an overall message/theme and they all contribute to mean more to the whole than they do individually

  1 basically can't be done without the album also accomplishing 2, but I felt like it should still be said separately.

   As a huge fan of fiction (movies, TV shows, books, theater, etc.) and music, of course I love concept albums. They perfectly mix both things. The only other thing that really does that is musical theater, and Mr. Hardy already talked about musical theater in his blog.
  Now, admittedly, I might be being a little loosey-goosey with what I consider to be a concept album - because, if I love an album, and there's a possibility it can be considered a concept album, I am going to consider it one because that makes me love the album even more.
   Of the eight albums I listed at the start, some of them are kinda iffy on whether they're actually a concept album, but some undeniably are. Even for the ones that are iffy, there is at least some factual evidence of an overarching story, so I'm not calling those albums concept albums without any basis to.
   I've come up with a story that turns Death Of A Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco into a concept album. This story is entirely made up by me and not actually true of the album, but I love this story I've concocted so much that now I'm not gonna be able to listen to the album without pretending that it's actually following that story. In short, it's about a celebrity who abuses his fame and wealth in excessive partying and revelry, but his deep love for a woman convinces him to change his ways, but only when it's too late. He dies, and gets to understand the consequences of his lifestyle ("Emperor's New Clothes" being this character's brief spell in hell), but is allowed to go back to his life on earth. The end of the album sees him back on earth as a living man, devoted to his love and to becoming a better person. 
   If I'm ever in a band, I want us to be unique in that every album we make is at least somewhat of a concept album. That just sounds amazing to me - being a musician or a storyteller both sound amazing on their own, but to be both seems like an absolute dream.

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