Sheryl Crow Mourns the Loss of Albums After the Release of ‘Threads’

When Sheryl Crow announced Threads would be her final album, she disappointed millions of fans. But perhaps no one is more disappointed than Crow, who has poured her life into making albums from start to finish – a practice she now says no longer makes sense in light of the way streaming and downloads have increased.

“I’ve loved making albums, I’ve loved growing up with albums, [but] I don’t think people listen to albums as a full artistic statement anymore,” Crow admitted to Rolling Stone. “They cherry pick and make their own playlists or you’ll only hear a song if it comes up on a playlist. For me to make a full artistic statement with a beginning and a middle and an end, and to put the emotion and the money and the time into it only to have it not be heard that way? It seems slightly futile.”

The lack of complete projects isn’t the only disappointing thing for Crow. The 57-year-old also laments the way cell phones have taken over in her live shows, even though she acknowledges there is very little she can do about it, at least anymore.

“It’s about the same as technology and streaming and all that stuff,” Crow shared with her record label. “You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, and with young people today it’s an extension of their arm to have their camera, their ability to throw something up on the net. It’s not going to change. And in early days when it was happening, I would always encourage people, ‘Hey take your pictures now and you’ve got a whole song to do that. And then you can put it in your pocket.’ And I say I’m a dinosaur.

“I am all about the connection that you make in the room with people who are present, and how you feel a connection with total strangers even in this common experience,” she continued. “I’m a little sad that we don’t allow ourselves to experience that anymore, to the point where, not only do we not allow ourselves, we wouldn’t even know what that felt like. So, it is what it is, is how I feel and I do my work and I find the people that are tapped in and present and that’s who I play to.”

Crow has other projects she wants to do, including make more music and tour, but one thing she likely won’t do is write her memoir, even though it would interest plenty of people.

“I would write a book, but everybody needs to be dead first,” Crow quipped. “For me to write about all the really juicy stuff I gotta be careful.”

The mother of two added that she doesn’t feel the need to share her “sacred” stories with the general public.

“I’ve been so blessed that it might come off like, ‘Hey, look how many people I know,’ when I myself am absolutely in awe of the fact that a girl from a town of three stoplights could even possibly be here today,” Crow explained.

Purchase Threads via Crow’s website.

Photo Credit: Getty images / Jeff Kravitz