Sufjan Stevens

So, yes. Much has been made of Sufjan Steven's attack on the album, the wondrous format that allowed "Illinois" to no longer, in my mind, be solely associated with a place to avoid at all costs (I have a severe allergy to cornfields and log cabins) and allowed "Chicago" to be a sing-a-long, not just, yes, another place to avoid at all costs (I have a severe allergy to stabbings and wind). If I may quote Sufjan from memory, "I hate the album, it sucks, I think I'm going to dedicate my life to interstate piracy." (I don't know, I guess he raises the Jolly Rodger from a van?)
Or something to that effect.
Honestly, though, I see his point.
I got an iPod for Christmas. A nifty new Nano. It's blowing my mind because the last iPod I had was a Shuffle back in the days where they kinda looked like a sad Popsicle. It has a screen! And a radio! And a robot voice! (And it's going to break as soon as the warranty is up, I just know it). So, yeah. I'm finally one of those kids with the headphones in their ears.
And now I understand why Sufjan said what he did.
Yeah, what I'm about to say isn't terribly original. But I just got it.
The iPod destroys the album. It really does. At least for me. It's way to easy to jump around. Now for the first time I understand why we're back in the era of the single. I had this problem with music on my computer and the iPod has only exacerbated it. So, yeah. I understand what 'ol Sufjan is saying. Why bother making an album? It's songs we're listening to, no matter what the format. What is the album? It's a fairly recent way to think about a collection of music.
I don't think the album is dead. But I see the reason for artists like Sufjan to question the utility of the format. I think artists definitely have the right to question the basic assumptions of their art. The artist is not held hostage by the audience. If we like what Sufjan's doing, great. If we don't, also great.