Digital killed the CD. Will anyone mourn it? | Brigid Delaney

Digital music and audio | The Guardian 2018-04-27

Summary:

Believe it or not, there was a time when people would break into your car to steal the shiny, cheaply made scratch-magnets

Think of all the associations we have with vinyl: independent record shops, High Fidelity, rare releases, history and authenticity. Even cassette tapes have their own mythology: the romance of receiving a mixtape, and the songs fading in places where you have rewound and listened to them over and over again. These are objects imbued with nostalgia – even love. But CDs? No one loves CDs. They are not as cool as vinyl, not as personal as tapes. They are unlovely plastic, shiny discs that scratch easily, and their covers crack. All CD covers look as if at some point someone has stepped on them.

Other than record companies, which derive income from CDs, no one flies the flag for this format. No one makes films about the struggling, sensitive guy with the independent CD shop. No music purist vows – “I’ll only ever listen to my early Bob Dylan on CD.” When was the last time you saw a Discman for sale on the high street?

Link:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/27/digital-killed-the-cd-compact-disc

From feeds:

Music and Digital Media » Digital music and audio | The Guardian

Authors:

Brigid Delaney

Date tagged:

04/27/2018, 04:05

Date published:

04/27/2018, 04:00