Absolutely nothing. They are sitting inside a cabinet in the back room piled up high gaining dust. The last time I listened to a CD was when I couldn’t find the cable to plug my iPod into the speakers.
Are CD’s going to be here in the future? Probably not, unless we think that 8 tracks and cassettes will be around too? There is one format that I like to look back on and enjoy, vinyl records. I do like the sound of them and they brings back good memories. Well, maybe more of the memories then the sound, who knows. I have a few records that I have kept and a few that I have picked up from time to time. Not that I want an enormous collection, not at all. Just a few, that will do it for me. Speaking of a few, not the case with my CD’s. I just don't know what to do with them anymore?
I really don’t like the space they take up. When I open my CD cabinet, it looks like an old CD scrap yard with parts, sleeves, plastic shells here and there. What if they get scratched? Then you have to buy some expensive cleaner product that probably wont fix your CD half the time and then go out and purchase the same CD again. You might be thinking, then don’t keep them in that condition, right? Well, after I transferred all of those CD’s into my iPod (that fits in the space of my hand), who really cares anymore. I don’t feel any attachment to the pieces of plastic that sit there. “Steve... please come visit us, dust us off!!" "Sorry CD’s, I’m busy listening to my iPod!"
CD’s vs. Downloads.
"CD’s are the real recordings and Downloads aren’t" I’ve heard this argument many times before. I understand that we’ve been in a time of CD’s for what, since 89 or something? Not sure. Point being, they’ve been the main format for quite some time now. It’s nice to hold the product in your hand. I enjoy holding my album in my hand, I’m very proud of it. However, I think it’s time to let go and move on. I don’t feel it’s a shame my music isn’t available on Cassette. Definitely not thinking about doing a video for VHS. Think about all the fuel that it takes for CD’s to get to a store near you when you could just download it anytime and just about anywhere. I guarantee that you’ll never come across a site saying -
DOWNLOAD STORE CLOSED
HOURS - MONDAY - FRIDAY 9AM to 5PM
CLOSED ON ALL HOLIDAYS
HAVE A NICE DAY :)
The Listening Lounge is amazing. Ottmar can go into the studio, throw down some hot tracks, mix + master and upload it in the same day for people to purchase. Are you still thinking a CD is more of a real recording? I think we should realize how amazing this really is! People can go to the artist and purchase the music directly. You won't need the iTunes store for that. With the Listening Lounge you even get more options then iTunes. Sometimes it’s hard to adjust and get used to new things however music downloads are here now. lets face it, we’re not in the 80’s anymore. I think we should embrace this technology and realize that it’s ok for music to not be on a compact disk.
7 comments:
Good points all. What's your opinion on quality of typical audio files (because let's be honest, no download store sells FLAC or anything lossless anymore)? I don't know if I am just imagining the quality loss with MP3s or not. Well, VBR (V0 or something) actually seems more or less the same as CD to me, but that's not terribly common in the stores, either...320 MP3 is great too, but very bulky.
Robert Fripp's DGM and the Philadelphia Symphony are just two vendors that come to mind who sell FLAC. VBR is good, but it does not show a correct progress bar on 90% of the mp3 players out there.
I spoke too soon ;) Thanks. What do you mean by progress bar? The bar that keeps track of time elapsed/remaining? If so, that's interesting, I've never seen that do weird things with VBR, in any player. Is it a noticeable effect?
Having grown up listening to LP's I don't hear any quality issues with 128 MP3's. Hey, there are no snaps, crackles or pops. The thing that does bother me, though, is the pause inserted between songs, say, on a Pink Floyd or Yes or comparable album (still called albums?)that should be one continuous piece of music.
Yes, the bar that keeps track of time. And yes, it is noticeable. A 3 minute song might show up as a 7 minute song or you might be unable to go to that special spot you want to hear 3' 21" into the track. A progress-bar works by looking at the amount of bits that are encoded (i.e. if 6400 bits have gone by at 320kbps, we must be 20 seconds into the tune) and since VBR uses a variable bit rate there is no telling how many seconds have past or are remaining. In this case a progress-bar would only work if the mp3 would take the time to analyze the whole song - and that would take a time and is not how most mp3 players operate.
I'm grown up with LPs and cassetts too and I'm glad this time is history.
BUT: Don't forget all the people who aren't able to download because they haven't computers, ipods, labtops etc.....
Well, I'm always happy to get a new well designed album with fantastic music. I think it's always a part from the musician as well.
Thanks for writing this.
Post a Comment