R.I.P. the CD 1982-2007

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Jan 28, 2008 Source: Star Tribune Submitted By: Backstreet.net R.I.P. the CD 1982-2007 OBITUARY The darling of music lovers for a quarter century, the compact disc finally goes the way of the cassette and 8-track. By CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER, Star Tribune Last update: January 25, 2008 - 5:02 PM Once praised for its clear, crisp audio quality but panned for its susceptibility to scratches and smudges, the compact disc passed away in 2007 after a quick but painful illness. It was 25 years old. The final cause of death has not been determined, but friends and fans blamed digital-download sites such as iTunes and illegal file-sharing among rich kids. In addition, doctors pointed to the big record companies and mega-selling artists who put out CDs in recent years that featured only a few good songs and lots of filler. Simon Cowell, who is also a suspect in a mass plot to ruin pop music, is being questioned by police. The CD was preceded in death by its siblings, the cassette and 8-track tape. Its older cousin, the vinyl record, has been hanging on for two decades, with life support from nerdy audiophiles. Conceived in 1979 by engineers at Sony and Philips, the CD first went on the market in 1982. The inaugural album was Abba's "The Visitors," which led to Jerry Falwell's accusation that it was a gay technology. The CD survived, though, and went on to account for about 200 billion album sales worldwide. Its success led to a record-industry heyday in the 1990s, when such substantive and high-quality artists as Garth Brooks, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, the Backstreet Boys and Ace of Base sold CDs like umbrellas during monsoon season. "The compact disc was such a great friend," mourned Brooks, the country singer who sold about 80 million albums in the CD era, many of them at Wal-Mart. "You could pop a CD into the stereo on your pickup truck or Lear jet and let it just keep spinning and spinning." Since 2004, CD sales have declined by one-third while digital album sales have quintupled. Last year's 19 percent slide from 2006 led doctors to finally sign off on its death notice. "I sure am going to miss the CD," said Paul McCartney, whose Beatles are one of the last groups to refuse to sell their albums on iTunes. "On the bright side, new technology means that Beatles lovers now can buy our albums for the third or fourth time." Memorial services have not been finalized, but Elton John has committed to singing at the funeral. In lieu of flowers, please send $17.99 to the record-store owner of your choice. Chris Riemenschneider 5 reasons to mourn the CD 1. No, really, they do sound better. Most MP3s feature data that's compressed for quicker downloads. 2. Remember looking at album artwork? Granted, you often needed bifocals to read the lyrics and liner notes on CDs, but at least it was something. 3. You can't throw MP3s out the window like frisbees. What are you going to do now for dramatic effect when your wife/girlfriend plays her Madonna, J. Lo or Gwen Stefani MP3s to the point of insanity? 4. Computer/electronics companies, not record companies, will soon run the music business. Compact discs were overpriced, sure, but at least they profited corporations that actually discovered and developed new artists (who then got taken for everything they were worth). 5. The CD's 74-minute max was enough. With MP3s taking over, we could face 150-minute hip-hop albums -- featuring 28 annoying skits, two good songs and four different remixes of those songs. 5 reasons to cheer its death 1. No more mad dashes to the player when the disc starts skipping. A CD skip was 20 times more annoying than a vinyl album skip. It sounded like you were back-masking a Slayer album for a hidden satanic message -- even if the CD was by the Carpenters. 2. No more cellophane wrap. Those genius scientists figured out how to cram 10,000 songs onto an iPod small enough to hold in your butt crack, but could never invent a plastic wrap on CDs that didn't take minutes to get off, dangerously heighten your blood pressure and occasionally require stitches when you resorted to scissors. 3. Those old silvery discs are great for arts and crafts projects. You can string them up as mobiles or cool doorway curtains, or even construct lawn ornaments out of them. 4. It's good for the Earth. No toxic plastic or downed trees are used in the making of digital downloads. 5. Gen-X-ers have to own up to being old. Remember how you rolled your eyes when an "old" guy said, "Man, if it ain't on vinyl, it ain't on!" You're that guy now. Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: Dani CDs are still there, plus MP3s suck. They want you pay for every song and that is too much money, sometimes, when you pay the same price and a fee for the royalties from the record company with it. So, I would prefer CDs until MP3s prices drop on IPOD and other MP3 Players too. Submitted by: Joelle I think it truly is better to have the CD, just to look at the little pages and to say "Hey, that's touching, the boys wrote in their thank yous that they love the fans. I feel good now." I always prefered to get the album than to buy a track on the internet, and it will always be. Submitted by: Tee This is actually quite funny... although I didn't think CD's were around for that long? I mean I was born in 82 and my parents used tapes.... then went to CD's in 94/95? Submitted by: Michelle Mansor I think that is very sad and I think that Backstreet Boys are very thoughtful men because I don't know of any other singers that would do something like this.♥-Michelle Mae Submitted by: Ashley Grabowski I'm sure they'll keep coming out with new CDs. I think this is basically just saying that downloading and stuff like that is becoming over-populated... so therefore not that many people (if any) will be buying CDs anymore. I myself don't like downloading stuff off the internet, cause it costs money... I just like buying the CDs, listeing to it, then ripping songs from the CD on the computer and putting those songs on my MP3 Player. I doubt that this means that they'll stop selling CDs in stores, it's just basically saying that CD sales arent gonna be as good as they once were... that is all. Submitted by: lonettahpinky What just happened here??!! I love music on CD's, the format is a lot easier to take good care of if you don't drop or scratch them, like I did with my "Backstreet's Back" Backstreet Boys CD. I had to borrow it from the library where I live just to download a few songs onto my computer's media player and returned the CD itself back to the library the next day. Cassettes are withdrawn now from most libraries because ghettoblasters chew them and spit out 10 per cent from the tape deck when it gets worn out. The CD was invented because it's easier to play, record on blanks tapes and download to a computer media player. Now I have to ask my cousin Armand and his girlfriend to install a CD burner drive into my computer so that I can burn songs onto CD's by Easter. The videotape was retired two years ago, DVD's took over but blank videotapes are still selling in stores. I can't afford an MP3 or MP3 player because I don't have the money for them. Bring the CD technology back (I hate this article!). If you agree with me, start a petition to bring CD's back to stores (downloading music costs money and not all of us can afford to do this everyday of every year). My mom has a special tool to open CD's, tape's, videotapes and DVD's so I have no problem opening the wrap on these things when you buy them. Just don't cut yourself in the process. Take a knife and open the wrap on the package itself and enjoy your music and movies. Libraries will have to get MP3's now and I don't think they'll go for it, the technology is expensive and too new for them to go from CD's to MP3's. CD's and DVD's are worth the money you paid for them, just look for sales and discounts in the clearence bin of stores you shop at. I adapted really well to CD's and DVD's and you can record anything on tapes and videotapes (record programs and movies on blank DVD's if you can afford to). Backstreet Boys fans, believe me CD's are nice to play in walkmans/ghettoblasters if you keep them in their cases or do like me: put them in a CD binder so you can take them anywhere and you can take care of them better (be careful though, records scratch easier then CD's because records drop and scratch on impact with the floor, so I love CD's a lot better). Okay, I'll end it here. Gotta go now! lonettahpinky Feb. 22, 2008 (Fri) 9:33 p.m. Central Time Submitted by: Katie Bolt I have all of the Backstreet Boys cds! I listen to them all the time and I always will. I love listening to the Backstreet Boys old songs and their new songs. I love you BSB!! I love you Nick!! Submitted by: Alissa No mourning here. I have many CDs and will continue to purchase even more. I have absolutely no problem with them. If you look after them properly and don't have them lying around without being in their cases, they last a very long time. Really, it's true. Submitted by: Smiley Awe, I loved having CDs. it showed how cool you were. You could walk into someone's room that you just met hours or weeks before and were like' Oh good you have good music taste we will get along" now you have to borrow their Ipod to look at their stuff, its kinda rude oogoling their stuff like that. I think this article is hillarious in the way it was writen was genious! I am gonna miss waiting outside the record store at midnite for a new cd release.. How lazy is the world getting when you cant get excited about sleeping outside to get the new cd you have been waiting 2 years for and wave it loud and proud on the streets?! Oh well, we'll see whats next friends!! :) Great article! love it! Submitted by: Ashley Grabowski You know, I have to agree with the CD being hard to open when you get it brand new. I just bought a new CD a while ago (It was Radio Disney Jams Vol.9) and usually I'm sitting there picking at the stupid piece of plastic (or whatever the heck it is they wrap CDs with) and it can take forever to get off. I basically have mixed feelings about this... I'm kind of glad the CD era has died, but I'm kind of sad about it as well... Although this is not to say that this'll stop me from buying CDs in the future!!!!!! I swear if you were to walk into the high school I go to (GHS) not ONE PERSON would have a CD Player anymore. Everyone has MP3 players and Ipods these days... I myself have an MP3 Player, so I don't know what the heck I'm complaining about... but still... Click here to see more comments. Comment on this item. Next Item: Back on the street Prev Item: Backstreet Boys Have Come Of Age …