Lovely piece of work, really enjoyed that. Did get me wondering - what exactly defines "finished"? In a lot of cases it's a bit ambiguous, just comes down to the artist stopping working on it. But it's not a clearly defined line, in many cases
Agreed. I didn’t specifically define it cause it’s fuzzy but I there were a few things I was thinking of. First, the version we hear was different from the artists intent, like how Jimmy Webb intended to write more verses on “Wichita Lineman.” Second, that the canonical version eschewed how we typically think of completed art. For example, we typically assume verse 2 in a song will be different than verse 1. “Mr. Brightside” doesn’t follow that. Third, things keep changing after release, like many Dylan songs.
The Sagrada Família is a bit of an odd addition. Its long construction mirrors that of other cathedral-like buildings. Notre Dame took 182 years to build. Westminster Abbey took about 500 years (depending on how you define it). Cologne Cathedral took 632 years.
Of course, those older buildings didn't use power tools, tower cranes or modern infrastructure. And construction was often interrupted by wars and upheavals (though the Sagrada Família was also interrupted by the Spanish Civil War). Later technology does allow these buildings to be built faster — St. Patrick's in NYC was built in about 20 years in the 19th century — but it's the kind of building that often takes a while.
Well chosen examples of a trend that I didn't even realize existed. Nicely done!
Thank you!
Lovely piece of work, really enjoyed that. Did get me wondering - what exactly defines "finished"? In a lot of cases it's a bit ambiguous, just comes down to the artist stopping working on it. But it's not a clearly defined line, in many cases
Agreed. I didn’t specifically define it cause it’s fuzzy but I there were a few things I was thinking of. First, the version we hear was different from the artists intent, like how Jimmy Webb intended to write more verses on “Wichita Lineman.” Second, that the canonical version eschewed how we typically think of completed art. For example, we typically assume verse 2 in a song will be different than verse 1. “Mr. Brightside” doesn’t follow that. Third, things keep changing after release, like many Dylan songs.
Maybe one day Paul McCartney will finish and release 'Carnival of Light'.
And you might want to include Loveless by My Bloody Valentine for a Def Leppard never ending album category 😎
Love this *subtle* inspiration with awesome examples!
Here’s another one that I just learned about:
https://open.substack.com/pub/animationobsessive/p/the-french-film-that-changed-japanese?r=3s90n&utm_medium=ios
The Sagrada Família is a bit of an odd addition. Its long construction mirrors that of other cathedral-like buildings. Notre Dame took 182 years to build. Westminster Abbey took about 500 years (depending on how you define it). Cologne Cathedral took 632 years.
Of course, those older buildings didn't use power tools, tower cranes or modern infrastructure. And construction was often interrupted by wars and upheavals (though the Sagrada Família was also interrupted by the Spanish Civil War). Later technology does allow these buildings to be built faster — St. Patrick's in NYC was built in about 20 years in the 19th century — but it's the kind of building that often takes a while.