MUSIC: R.I.P. The Compact Disc, 1982-2008?

I found this piece on NPR's All Songs Considered blog. It was my NetVibes page that led me to it.

Actually this piece on the death of cd's reminds me of vinyl's demise.

And yes, I know there are still fanatics making and buying vinyl records!

But back in high school, I had read about this format that was suppose to replace vinyl records from a magazine I saw in my electronics class. And the more I read about it, the more I started slobbering, and couldn't wait for these compact discs things.

I knew they were going to be big! And I still don't know why I didn't buy any stock in compact discs companies!

Apparently, there were some kinks to be worked out, because cd's didn't come out until I was graduating from college. So maybe it was just as well I didn't invest in any companies. I'd have probably invested in the wrong company!

Well, I missed the big change of vinyl to cd's, because I joined Peace Corps and went over to Africa. But I kept hearing how fast vinyl was dying. - OlderMusicGeek

R.I.P. The Compact Disc, 1982-2008?
by Robin Hilton

I recently came to work with two large tote bags filled with compact discs and dumped them out on a table in the middle of the office. To me, they were garbage. But for the vultures that are my fellow NPR Music producers, it was like finding a mountain of free money. They shuffled through the pile, grabbing everything that caught their eye. At one point, Stephen Thompson held up my discarded copy of Radiohead's OK Computer and incredulously asked, "Why would you get rid of this?"

For about a year now, I've been slowly purging my once-proud CD collection. Twenty-five years' worth of music, from the first disc I ever bought (Pink Floyd's The Wall) in 1984, to more recent releases.


Of course, I'm not really getting rid of them. I'm ripping everything to a massive hard drive hooked up to what has become my stereo: my computer.

This is partly because I don't like having a house overrun with thousands of CDs. Invisible sound files on a hard drive are simply more convenient. You can also do a lot more with digital files and iTunes, like delivering an endless stream of music through the house in any conceivable configuration, by artist, genre, or favorite playlists. Changing out a CD in a player feels as clunky and outdated as flipping a record on a turntable.

But I'm also purging my CDs because I believe they're a dying format. There's never been a more obvious trend. CD sales continue to plummet at a breathless -- and, if you're one of the big labels, alarming -- rate. Meanwhile, digital download sales continue to climb.

None of this is as sexy as having a tangible package of music, with artwork and liner notes. And downloading files isn't nearly as cozy as flipping through the local bands section of a record store. But the truth is, I never listen to actual CDs more than once or twice. After that, they're ripped to my computer -- I put the discs away and never look at them again.

Lately, I've felt a sense of urgency to get rid of the rest of my old CDs before they become as obsolete as 8-track tapes and cassettes.

So, what does your CD collection look like? Is it getting smaller? Do you even buy actual CDs now, or do you just download everything?

Tags: cds compact discs are dead downloads
11:38 AM ET 04-14-2008 permalink

Some of the more interesting comments...

Dude!
I did the download thing for a while, but decided that nothing beats having those lovely liner notes, in that clear plastic case, and that CD that you can pop into your hi-fi - with no loss in sound quality, and no annoying DRM to hack around. So I'm back to the ol' physical copies, either from a record store or an online outlet.

Yes - it's even worth the shrink wrap, IMHO.

Sent by Tim 2:25 PM ET 04-14-2008

My house sound system is wired to my computer and iPods go everywhere. I mainly purchase downloadable copies. I only by CDs if it is an album that can't be downloaded, but it is quickly ripped and discarded.

I do have about 600 vinyl records left.

Sent by Wayne 2:37 PM ET 04-14-2008

I hear what you are saying, Robin, but I take the opposite view. Despite having a large collection that takes up space, I like having cds. Similarly, I like having books on my shelf. Both books and cds are nice to look at for me, and each item has memories. To be sure, I rip the albums on my ipod, but just because I like having my collection when I'm out an about. Then again, I also make time to listen to an album every night before I go to bed. It is a great way for me to relax and decompress from a long day. I just sit on my sofa with a cup of coffee and magazine or a book while the music plays for about an hour.

That's great, Pablo. Bob was just asking me whether I ever just sat and listened to an album all the way through and did nothing else. I still do it, but not very often.

Sent by Pablo 2:51 PM ET 04-14-2008

I think Pablo makes a great point in comparing CD's to books, but like others have been saying, it's really all about vinyl records. Sure I have loads of music on my computer and iPod (as Pablo said, for convenience), but my "collection" is split between CD's and vinyl (mostly because promoters only send CD's nowadays), and I'll proudly display them on my shelf as long as I still enjoy listening to music.

To me, it's owning the actual "thing" that someone put countless hours of hard work into, and not just having a few sound files on my computer. That's what makes vinyl so nice, it's like having a book. The sound exists on the record, like words in a book; the grooves in the album are the real sound waves, just like the fading ink in my dad's copy of Time And Again (on loan to me for 20 years now) is real ink.

Call it "emotional" or "romantic" but isn't that what real music collectors seek? Isn't that the whole point of still going to record stores, sifting through boxes of unorganized singles?

I do 90% of my listening from my iPod and computer, but when it comes to "owning" music, I have to have it on my shelf, where I can look at it and say "yes, I own that music."

Sent by John Michael Cassetta 3:39 PM ET 04-14-2008

I am only 19 years old but I live in the flat that has shelves with old Beatles and other LPs that were mostly sent from family friends in Sweden (I am from Slovakia and during communism it was almost impossible to simply buy music). We also have shelves of old cassettes with music like Nirvana, Depeche Mode or Cure that belong to my older siblings. And I represent the generation in my family with a shelf of very few CDs.

Though there is something magical about CDs, I guess that my kids won't have any shelf with music. Probably they'll stack three ipods on the shelf and that's the end of it. :) And I like this change :)

The best thing about music downloads is that the artist no longer has to invest so much money into releasing the CD. Thus new great music is produced as an open source every day. Therefore my CD collection is increasingly getting smaller but my music collection has never been so rich and I am just in the beginning of quest for great music.

Sent by Lenka Bliss 4:57 PM ET 04-14-2008

The thing that scares me about the death of the CD and is that with it dies the Album, and in the end, the ability to truly appreciate an artist in all of its subtle detail. There's a whole generation of people who are going to be used to the idea of single song downloads, who find value in three minute pop escapism instead of the art and the artist.

My fear is that this will lead to smaller fanbases, which means less concert attendance, which in turn is going to make it way harder to make a career out of being a musician.

Or maybe I'm just a fatalist and really like the idea of a physical product.

Sent by David W. 5:53 PM ET 04-14-2008

I always buy the CD, and then put it on my computer. Have you ever been screwed by itunes from reformating your computer and losing your albums? Plus, I like the tactile response that CDs bring, a complete package, a solid album. I-tunes just is so seamless (ack). Even though cds might be a dying media, I love my trinquets!

p.s. Robin/Bob, you should analyze some of the coming festivals based on artist composition. With all these festivals springing up, it looks like long time acts like ACL are having problems figuring out who to book to meet their target audience.
http://www.austincitylimits.com/forum/tt.aspx?forumid=3

p.p.s. Throwing away OK Computer . . . you should shame yourself.

Sent by hobbesgallo 10:02 AM ET 04-15-2008

well, what can i say?

even in the vinyl days, i made over 20 mixed tapes just for myself.

and in the early days of cd's, i made a few of mixed cd's myself.

but with shuffle and a 30 gig mp3 player - i slobber over getitng a 80 gig one - plus a one tetrabyte external drive, i love my mp3's!

i miss the tactile of the big vinyl record, but i love the experience of not knowing which song or genre will be coming next. could it be could it be a luther wright and the wrongs' bluegrass version of a tune from the wall, some old cajun from clifton chenier, some weird bit from ken nordine, some classic punk from the pistols or the clash, some some south african pop music i picked up when i lived next door to south africa in the 90's, some new electronica, a pop song i picked up from my tween daughter? who knows? and that's the thrill!

Sent by OlderMusicGeek 1:28 PM ET 04-15-2008

Yes, I'm pretty much in the download camp. And it worries me. With so much music at my fingertips, I no longer listen to one album/cd over-and-over-and-over. I no longer sit through songs I don't initially appreciate but later come to love after continued listens. I no longer have every layer and turn in my head.

So many of what we agree to be the greatest albums required a commited courtship. Would Pink Floyd have created the art they did in today's digital, single based environment? Would "Pet Sounds" or "Sgt Pepper" or even "Joshua Tree" had the impact and significance they did? Would we even know about "Kind of Blue?"

I'm definately living my music life via the MP3 file, but I know I've given up a lot in doing so.

Sent by Jeffrey Mason 2:46 PM ET 04-16-2008

So, I have a collection of tapes, cds, and records, and they probably constitute less than twenty-five percent of my listening time. I knew cds were out when I took a long plane ride and brought a rug weaver size spool of cds that i was trying to sort through on the plane and the kid next to me was whipping through his I-Pod while I dropped burned cds on the floor. That said, this post reminds me of the non-problematic post http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/03/30/93-music-piracy/
and I guess the real question for me is kind of like Bob's post about the future of music formats, what's the future record/music store look like? I mean online stuff is okay, but I agree that there's something special about a record store and the conversations/sharing that take place person-to-person, that I don't see recreated in online music blogs, magazines, etc.

Sent by zach 8:15 PM ET 04-16-2008

OlderMusicGeek here. *waves at my, ahem, many readers, all 4 of them!*

Funny enough, I remember having a conversation with a co-worker when cd's had reached their 20th anniversary.

The co-worker was wondering what would replace cd's. I told him nothing.

"Nothing?! What do you mean nothing?!"

I explained how there wouldn't cd's or vinyl records are anything. We would just download our music onto the player.

He thought I was crazy!


Interesting enough, the next post of the All Songs Considered blog asks reader what they want in the next music format.

And there are some good ideas - such as adding a visual element and making them more social.

But the best idea is having the lyrics available and a list of who did what on the song! That is something I can't wait for!

To the future!!

A link to the original piece on NPR's All Songs Considered's website
A link to All Songs Considered

MUSIC: Stuff White People Like - #93 Music Piracy

This is from the blog, Stuff White People Like, a funny blog that I suggest everyone check out! - OlderMusicGeek

#93 Music Piracy
March 30, 2008 by clander

White people have always been renowned for having ridiculously large music collections. So when file sharing gave white people a chance to acquire all the music they ever wanted, it felt as though it was an earned right and not a privilege.

When (not if) you see a white male with a full iPod, ask him if all of his music is legal. If he does not immediately launch into a diatribe about his right to pirate music, you might have to nudge him a bit by saying “do you think that’s right?” The response will be immediate and uniform.

He will likely rattle off statistics about how most musicians don’t make any money from albums, it all comes from touring and merchandise. So by attending shows, he is able to support the musicians while simultaneously striking a blow against multinational corporations. He will proceed to walk you through the process of how record labels are set up to reward the corporation and fundamentally rob the artist of their rights, royalties and creativity. Prepare to hear the name Steve Albini a lot.

Advanced white people will also talk about how their constant downloading of music makes them an expert who can properly recommend bands to friends and co-workers, thus increasing revenues and exposure. So in fact, their “illegal” activities are the new lifeblood of the industry.

When they have finished talking, you must choose your next words wisely. It is considered rude to point out the simple fact that they are still getting music for free. Instead you should say: “Wow, I never thought of it like that. You know a lot about the music industry. What bands are you listening to right now? Who is good?”

This sentence serves two functions: it helps to reassure the white person that they are your local “music expert,” something they prize. Also, it lets them feel as though they have convinced you that their activities are part of a greater social cause and not simple piracy.

If you bring up this issue with white person who says “nah bro, I don’t give a shit, Dave Matthews has enough money as it is.” You are likely dealing with wrong kind of white person.

In the even more rare situation where someone says “it’s all paid for, and it’s all transferred from vinyl.” You have found an expert level white person and must treat the situation carefully.

Because of the availability of music online, a very strict social hierarchy has been created within white culture whereby someone with a large MP3 collection is considered “normal,” a large CD collection is considered to be “better,” and a person with a large vinyl collection is recognized as “elite.”

These elite white people abhor the fact that music piracy has made their B-sides, live performances, and bootlegs available to the masses. Their entire life’s work has been stripped of it’s rarity in terms of both object and sound on the record. The best thing you can say to them is: “vinyl still sounds better.”

However, it is recommended that you do not let this conversation drag much longer. If you let them continue talking to you they are likely to spend hours talking to you about bands you’ve never heard of and providing you with a weekly mix CD of rarities that you do not want.

Posted in Activities, Culture | 98 Comments »

Some of the more interesting comments... - OlderMusicGeek


Gustavo Arellano on March 30, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Great blog, but Mexicans made music piracy socially acceptable long before the Internet could only support MIDI. Indeed, lore has it that copies of Edison’s “Mary Has a Little Lamb” were on the streets of Mexico City before his tinfoil could cool.
Reply to this comment


David Diego Rodriguez on March 30, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Hey, Gustavo, I bought your book, ¡Ask a Mexican!, and I lend it out to everyone I know so that they don’t have to buy it! But that’s not bootlegging, right?
http://davidrodriguez.us
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Ana on March 30, 2008 at 6:02 pm
There’s a weekly tiangi mercado in Oaxaca city that’s unreal. In addition to the expected collections of narcocorridos, Juan Gabriel, Led Zeppelin, and Jean Claude Van Damme, some stands have selections of CDs and DVDs that would rival any white person’s favorite college town record store or art house cinema. Another one would qualify as the best classical music store I’ve ever seen.

For whatever reason I rarely saw American expats shopping there, but most are older than the white people this blog is about. They buy all their food at the Soriana, Gigante is just a little too Mexican.
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lguerrrr on March 30, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Well, it is true that Mexicans are more likely to be into piracy (also Chinese, Russians and all non-white people). What makes illegal downloading of mp3s unique is that it has crossed over to what white people like. White people are known for their respect of property rights. The fact that they are willing to forgo this in the name of music is remarkable.
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asad123 on March 30, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Mix CD’s are sooooo 1998.
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demirep on March 30, 2008 at 6:45 pm
However, mixtapes never go out of style.
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deesigner on March 30, 2008 at 3:59 pm
umm… where does one find this so called “free” music?

(For research sake of course……..)
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Gustavo Arellano on March 30, 2008 at 3:59 pm
White people respect property rights, lguerrrr? You obviously never heard of Manifest Destiny.
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Chantal on March 30, 2008 at 4:07 pm
but it’s true..vinyl DOES sound better.
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Amy on March 30, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Rock on! I never realized I could be considered elite, but the thousands of CDs and hundreds of vintage vinyl attest otherwise. (I always thought I was just a music nerd.)

This blog is the bomb.
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teeveebee on March 30, 2008 at 4:46 pm
What’s vinyl?
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OlderMusicGeek on March 30, 2008 at 7:24 pm
i fear for the day when they start asking what’s a cd!

god, i’m getting old!
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Reid on March 30, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Don’t forget that everyone’s taste in music is proudly self-considered to be “eclectic”, even if it merely includes both country AND western.
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Cato on March 30, 2008 at 5:31 pm
You’re close, but not quite there…
It’s not just “vinyl still sounds better”

it’s “analog recording with tube amplifiers/preamps gives you the most accurate recreation of the natural sound”

– this brings you into the rarefied world of not just vinyl, but direct to disc vinyl recordings and the serious audiophile world of finding (and often rebuilding) tube (as opposed to transistor) amplifiers. That’s elite!
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MONO is the Great White Hope on March 30, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Vinyl is cool if you like snap, crackle, pop with your tunes. Many’s the time I’d break out a bowl of the old Rice Krispies and munch while jamming on my MP3 player just for old time’s sake.

But anyone that says the sound quality of vinyl, the virtues of analog notwithstanding, is superior to CD is just nuts.

I’m talking about mass produced LPs & 45s. It was not uncommon to see bits of lint or paper embedded in the record. Surface blemishes that were visual to the naked eye were very common and blemishes that manifest themselves to your ear on the very first needle drop were par for the course.

Most true audiophiles I know got the record onto tape– preferably reel-to-reel– first time out of the album sleeve.
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God, this was ME before cd's and mp3's! - OlderMusicGeek


Will Entrekin on March 30, 2008 at 6:43 pm
“providing you with a weekly mix CD of rarities that you do not want.”
Oh, but who doesn’t want that?
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whitekidfromwhiteplains on March 30, 2008 at 6:45 pm
White people like moby
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OlderMusicGeek cringes at this remark. :)

A link to the original blog post
A link to the blog, Stuff White People Like

MUSIC: My Favorite Song of the Day (That I Haven't Mentioned Already) - My Challenge to Myself

This from me, NOT some reprinted article. - OlderMusicGeek

I don't exactly where this idea came from - even though I just thought of it today - shows you what kind of memory I got. But I got all sorts of crazy ideas going through my head all the time - I can't keep track of them all - I'm like the Micheal Keaton character in the movie, Night Shift (IMDb link to Night Shift) - * starts singing Jumping Jack Flash*

But I remember that I kept reading and hearing about these different challenges for artists. In November, there's a challenge to writers to write a whole novel in that month. I had also heard ofa 48-hour challenge for film makers to write and film a short within 48 hours. And comic book creators have a once-a-year challenge to do a 24-page comic story in 24 hours. And in this month of February there is the RPM challenge, for musicians to write and record a cd of 10 songs or 35 minutes of music within this month.

And I wanted a challenge for myself.

I was trying to think of a way to show my love of music. I felt that I wasn't showing or explaining how much and what music means to me. After all, I am the OlderMUSICGeek. And by that, I meant that I am an older geek of MUSIC, all music, NOT a geek of just older music.

And somehow or another I remember hearing on NPR how one of the guys from Mystery Science Theatre 3000 saw one movie a day for a year and wrote a book about it.

I thought of listening to one album a day for a year and writing a blog post on it each day. It wouldn't be too difficult for me to do since I can listen to music at work. I have a 30 gig mp3 player I listen to at work with over 5000 songs on it - and I do a bit of rotating every two or three weeks. But then I thought of something that was more meaningful and would give a better reflection of me. I decided that I would write about my favorite song that I heard that day - and why I like it and why it holds meaning for me and touches me.

So I thought about it, mulled it over in my mind and even discussed it with my daughter, who told me if I wrote all 366 posts - it's a leap year - that she would give me $10. So, woo hoo, I've got to do it now!

I can't promise that I will write a piece everyday. But I will keep track of what what was my favorite song I heard that day and play catch up when I can. All the posts will be at this site, OlderMusicGeek's Stupid Entertainment Stuff, which is at http://oldermusicgeekentertainment.blogspot.com/.

I should warn you though, most of the songs will probably be alternative rock or punk rock. And a lot will probably come from the 70's and 80's. But I listen to a wide range of music besides alternative, punk and electronica - I also enjoy big band and swing, oldies, classic rock, world music, folk, bluegrass, Irish, reggae, cajun/zydeco, African, Indian, movie scores among other types. So there should still be a good bit of variety. And I won't include any song twice. If my favorite song of some day was a favorite song before, I'll just go with #2 - or #3 or whatever!

So if you don't see as many posts at this site, I hope you'll understand why. I'm a man on a mission! - to educate, explain and spread my love of music.