The grand album-length statement and the rhapsodic, convoluted song lived on in 2010 releases by the Arcade Fire, Titus Andronicus, Joanna Newsom, Erykah Badu, Ne-Yo and, dopey as some of his lyrics can be, Kanye West.
At least in part, The Magic Whip seems to owe its existence to Albarn's dissatisfaction with Think Tank as the band's final album-length statement: that sounded like the work of people at the end of their tether: "I'm here because I've got no fucking choice … Can we stop now, please?" Albarn sang on the track Me, White Noise.
It is the kind of arms-length statement architecture that has been incubated in the anything-goes climes of China and the Middle East for the past few years; but it is a shock to the system to see it land in a European capital, on quite such a scale.
If Maggot Brain marked the peak of Funkadelic MK 1 – their first brilliant full-length statement – their fourth album, 1972's America Eats Its Young, proved a grander project still: a double-set that was, by turns, fiercely political, blackly hilarious and unexpectedly heartfelt.
In December 1862, three weeks before the final emancipation order was to go into effect, and just as criticism of emancipation was reaching its height, Lincoln's general in chief, Henry W. Halleck, commissioned a pamphlet-length statement of the Union's view of the laws of war.
But it wasn't until 2013 when she signed with Sacred Bones that she attempted to distill those sounds into an LP-length statement.
A politically charged, album-length statement that draws from funk, rock and soul, "Black Messiah" would seem prime fodder for album of the year, but it was not to be.
Original bubblegum was a counterweight to a rock and roll that was becoming increasingly significant, expanding into album-length statements, and grappling more explicitly with social issues like Vietnam and with literary significance.
(For roughly representative early essay-length statements of their positions see Schlick 1930, Carnap 1932a and Neurath 1932a; later restatements are given in Schlick 1937, Carnap 1936b and Neurath 1936b).
The social and political ferment of the times inspired artists like Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield to release album-length statements with hard-hitting social commentary.
In a length joint statement posted below, Harvey Weinstein, director Stephen Daldry, Elie Wiesel and others defend the film, saying in part, "The greatest films elicit great debate and conversation".
