Conceptualizationalization (Like A Billion Points In Scrabble)

When's the last time you listened to a concept album? Do you know what a concept album is? Ok cool I'll tell you (captive audiences are the best audiences).
A concept album can be loosely defined as one with a theme carrying through the whole album - musically, lyrically, whatever. From there you can go in a couple of directions, with both - ahem - concept-album concepts... being popular these days. Here's how I would break them down:
Theme-based: The songs on the album could be as different from one another as on any other album, but be connected in even just one way. Maybe each title has a different state name in it, like Ray Charles' Genius Hits the Road in 1960. Or the band could be adventurous in the styles of song contained on the album, while the lyrics hint at a consistent idea - in the case of The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, there is a lot of reflection on (Brian Wilson's) state of mind. There is a general sense of connection without being too restrictive to expression.
Story-based: I would consider these to be more aggressively creative. Rather than a vague commonality, this sort of concept album is dedicated to telling a story. The narrative is the driving force, and all aspects of the creative process are focused on propelling it. My favourite example of a plot-driven concept album is Pink Floyd's The Wall - it's dark, theatrical, and almost makes up for Roger Waters being a dick during the whole process.

So, I am so good at outlining what I want to get around to talking about, that I don't think I'll get around to the real point of this post until later. My friend Andrew inspired me - so if it doesn't pan out it's his fault.

The Decemberists. Hazards of Love. Coming up.

Listen to this in the meantime - for no reason whatsoever.