History Main / AlbumFiller

-->'''Todd (as Monahan):''' Hmm, what rhymes with rug? Drug... Thug? Would a line that uses the word thug make sense here? ''Pfft'', whatever. I mean, who cares? I'm the guy from Music/{{Train}}! I haven't had a hit and seven years and am ''long'' past the point of caring on this one. I'm just doing this because I need to fill the album somehow. [[TemptingFate It's not like I'm ever gonna have to perform this.]] [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough The record company wouldn't be stupid enough to release this.]] And even if they did, [[LowestCommonDenominator no one would want to listen to it.]] I might as well sing it like I'm doing a Minnie Mouse impression too! I mean, 'cause ''who cares?'' So, you know what? We owe the record company three more songs according to our contract, so let's just can this turd, and we can forget about it forev-

-->'''Todd:''' Hmm, what rhymes with rug? Drug... Thug? Would a line that uses the word thug make sense here? ''Pfft'', whatever. I mean, who cares? I'm the guy from Music/{{Train}}! I haven't had a hit and seven years and am ''long'' past the point of caring on this one. I'm just doing this because I need to fill the album somehow. [[TemptingFate It's not like I'm ever gonna have to perform this.]] [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough The record company wouldn't be stupid enough to release this.]] And even if they did, [[LowestCommonDenominator no one would want to listen to it.]] I might as well sing it like I'm doing a Minnie Mouse impression too! I mean, 'cause ''who cares?'' So, you know what? We owe the record company three more songs according to our contract, so let's just can this turd, and we can forget about it forev-

-->'''Todd:''' Hmm, what rhymes with rug? Drug... Thug? Would a line that uses the word thug make sense here? ''Pfft'', whatever. I mean, who cares? I'm the guy from Music/{{Train}}! I haven't had a hit and seven years and am ''long'' past the point of caring on this one. I'm just doing this because I need to fill the album somehow. [[TemptingFate It's not like I'm ever gonna have to perform this.]] [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough The record company wouldn't be stupid enough to release this.]] And even if they did, [[LowestCommonDenominator no one would want to listen to it.]] I might as well sing it like I'm doing a Minnie Mouse impression too! I mean, 'cause, ''who cares?'' So, you know what, we owe the record company three more songs according to our contract, so let's just can this turd, and we can forget about it forev-

-->'''Creator/EllenDeGeneres:''' [[GilliganCut Our next guests currently have one of the biggest hits of their career, here to perform "Hey, Soul Sister", please welcome Train, everybody!]]

-->'''Todd:''' Hmm, what rhymes with rug? Drug... Thug? Would a line that uses the word thug make sense here? ''Pfft'', whatever. I mean, who cares? I'm the guy from Train! I haven't had a hit and seven years and am ''long'' past the point of caring on this one. I'm just doing this because I need to fill the album somehow. [[TemptingFate It's not like I'm ever gonna have to perform this.]] [[WhoWouldBeStupidEnough The record company wouldn't be stupid enough to release this.]] And even if they did, [[LowestCommonDenominator no one would want to listen to it.]] I might as well sing it like I'm doing a Minnie Mouse impression too! I mean, 'cause, ''who cares?''

This trend continued in TheSixties; a particularly infamous band were TheBeachBoys, who were [[ExecutiveMeddling forced by executives]] to hastily record some filler to make an album out of a hit single. The hit-factory label {{Motown}} took it even further, re-recording hit singles for an album with a new singer and never releasing the new version as a single. So you could get all the versions of the hit song you wanted, if you didn't mind paying album price for a single with junk added.

A side-effect of this was the tendency of bands with [[EpicRocking long songs]], such as Music/BlackSabbath and KingCrimson, to add "subtitles" for different sections of the songs, in order to make it seem like there were more songs and [[MoneyDearBoy they would be paid full royalties]].

A side-effect of this was the tendency of bands with [[EpicRocking long songs]], such as Music/BlackSabbath and KingCrimson, to add "subtitles" for different sections of the songs, in order to make it seem like there were more songs and they would be paid full royalties.

As most people know, the music industry has two forms of release in stores. There is the standard two song single and the "full-length" album. However, with most artists, the unfortunate reality is that they usually just aren't creative enough to produce a large number of good songs. This especially gets compounded once they officially make it big, having used up years worth of songs tried and tested with audiences and are usually expected to produce a second album within a year while touring heavily to cash in on their new found fame. So what does one do? Produce AlbumFiller.

When groups like TheBeatles came about and revolutionized the industry with records like ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', which began a trend of bands putting out albums that made a unified musical statement, this policy took a bit of a backseat (although most bands still had to produce at least some filler to keep up with contractual demands). The ConceptAlbum started to become popular and rock music was mostly "album-oriented" throughout TheSeventies (some bands, like Music/LedZeppelin, even did their best to avoid releasing any singles at all). It seems to be coming back in some sectors. Bands that release an album every one to two years are particularly guilty of this- it's almost unavoidable when they crank out hit singles to engage in pervasive airplay.

* The 1993 CD reissue of SkinnyPuppy's ''Bites'' included all the interlude/filler tracks from the various vinyl editions of the album, plus some previously unreleased material.

Album Filler are songs that take a perfunctory, StrictlyFormula stance on creation in order to have something distinct to fill in some time. They're usually straightforward, unimaginative, and otherwise forgettable. Of course, it isn't set in stone that a song will suck for being filler. Just as how some of the most beloved episodes of many a TV show are quite intentional filler, some of the most popular songs were explicitly created as filler. A famous example of a filler track gaining large prominence is "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" by JudasPriest. This is one of the causes of a BlackSheepHit.

A side-effect of this was the tendency of bands with [[EpicRocking long songs]], such as BlackSabbath and KingCrimson, to add "subtitles" for different sections of the songs, in order to make it seem like there were more songs and they would be paid full royalties.

When groups like TheBeatles came about and revolutionized the industry with records like ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', which began a trend of bands putting out albums that made a unified musical statement, this policy took a bit of a backseat (although most bands still had to produce at least some filler to keep up with contractual demands). The ConceptAlbum started to become popular and rock music was mostly "album-oriented" throughout TheSeventies (some bands, like LedZeppelin, even did their best to avoid releasing any singles at all). It seems to be coming back in some sectors. Bands that release an album every one to two years are particularly guilty of this- it's almost unavoidable when they crank out hit singles to engage in pervasive airplay.

A track inteded as filler that somehow manages to become a hit is one of the enduring causes of the BlackSheepHit trope.

As a policy for the music industry, this is a bit of a CyclicTrope as times change and is not entirely consistent across the board. Back in TheSixties, the single was the primary sales unit and albums were just hit singles thrown together with whatever other crap they didn't have confidence in. A particularly infamous band were TheBeachBoys, who were [[ExecutiveMeddling forced by executives]] to hastily record some filler to make an album out of a hit single. Motown took it even further, re-recording hit singles for an album with a new singer and never releasing the new version as a single. So you could get all the versions of the hit song you wanted, if you didn't mind paying album price for a single with junk added. When TheBeatles came about and revolutionized the industry, this policy took a bit of a backseat (although most bands still had to produce at least some filler to keep up with contractual demands). It seems to be coming back in some sectors. Bands that release an album every one to two years are particularly guilty of this- it's almost unavoidable when they crank out hit singles to engage in pervasive airplay.

Album Filler are songs that take a perfunctory, StrictlyFormula stance on creation in order to have something distinct to fill in some time. They're usually straightforward, unimaginative, and otherwise forgettable. Of course, it isn't set in stone that a song will suck for being filler. Just as how some of the most beloved episodes of many a TV show are quite intentional filler, some of the most popular songs were explicitly created as filler. A famous example of a filler track gaining large prominence is "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" by JudasPriest. This is one of the causes of a BlackSheepHit

* The Sweatpants Boners lampshade this somewhat on ''Cruisin' With The Masters'' by calling the final song, which was obviously thrown together at the last minute, "The Label Wanted 11 Tracks".

* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by finnish artist'' Allekirjoittanut'' in the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin appropriately titled]] ''Really Catchy Filler Song'':

As a policy for the music industry, this is a bit of a CyclicTrope as times change and is not entirely consistent across the board. Back in TheSixties, the single was the primary sales unit and albums were just hit singles thrown together with whatever other crap they didn't have confidence in. A particularly infamous band were TheBeachBoys, who were [[ExecutiveMeddling forced by executives]] to hastily record some filler to make an album out of a hit single -- at least before [[CrowningMomentofAwesome Pet Sounds]]. Motown took it even further, re-recording hit singles for an album with a new singer and never releasing the new version as a single. So you could get all the versions of the hit song you wanted, if you didn't mind paying album price for a single with junk added. When TheBeatles came about and revolutionized the industry, this policy took a bit of a backseat (although most bands still had to produce at least some filler to keep up with contractual demands). It seems to be coming back in some sectors. Bands that release an album every one to two years are particularly guilty of this- it's almost unavoidable when they crank out hit singles to engage in pervasive airplay.

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As a policy for the music industry, this is a bit of a CyclicTrope as times change and is not entirely consistent across the board. Back in TheSixties, the single was the primary sales unit and albums were just hit singles thrown together with whatever other crap they didn't have confidence in. A particularly infamous band were TheBeachBoys, who were [[ExecutiveMeddling forced by executives]] to hastily record some filler to make an album out of a hit single. Motown took it even further, re-recording hit singles for an album with a new singer and never releasing the new version as a single. So you could get all the versions of the hit song you wanted, if you didn't mind paying album price for a single with junk added. When TheBeatles came about and revolutionized the industry, this policy took a bit of a backseat (although most bands still had to produce at least some filler to keep up with contractual demands). It seems to be coming back in some sectors. Bands that release an album every one to two years are particularly guilty of this- it's almost unavoidable when they crank out hit singles to engage in pervasive airplay.