Thanks to Smithereens frontman Pat DiNizio for posting the following New York Times article about the disappearance of liner notes on his website.

Before we get to that, I’ve got a bit of commentary…

I’ve become very digital in the past couple of years, after many years of maintaining an anti-Ipod stance, being all about holding the physical CD in my hands. Part of that resistance was my wish to keep an informational grip on the music that I love. I am the rarity within my group of friends, the guy that will actually read the liner notes BEFORE listening to a single note of music from any band.

I like to get inside the sessions, and see the details of who the players are on the album, who produced the album, and who are they thanking in the thank yous? Who wrote what songs, and which one of the band members had less songwriting input on this album…..and why?

Now, I’m scanning the notes to see what outside songwriters are on the album, that would explain the absent song credits for said band member.

That’s just a small inside peek into all of the many things I love about reading liner notes.

These days when you purchase digital releases, that information is often harder to come by. I purchased the debut CD from The Bridges, produced by longtime fave Matthew Sweet. I’d love to tell you some interesting additional details regarding any special players that are on The Bridges album, but I have no idea, since I bought it via Amazon MP3.

As you’ll read in the Times piece, digital booklets from Itunes are hit and miss – sometimes they’re provided by the label, and sometimes they’re not.

And on Amazon MP3, forget about it – digital booklets are not part of the sale.

The article has interesting insight from several artists who are off the traditional “quote machine” path, including Fountains of Wayne principal Adam Schlesinger and former Eurythmics member Dave Stewart:

“I was next to Annie for all those years,” Stewart said, referring to his onetime partner Annie Lennox. “Wrote all the songs with her and produced all the records. But unless you explain it to them, the average people on the street won’t say, ‘Oh, that’s him, that’s the guy.’ They don’t have a clue who does what.”

Good reading – check it out!

For Shoutouts to Mom and God, Check Online
Published in The New York Times on July 27th, 2008