Godsmack, Boston's multiplatinum metal growlers, took the nation by storm this past April by debuting at #1 with their heavy-hitting, aptly named fourth album, IV (Republic/Universal). And though the band's drummer Shannon Larkin loves his iPod ("every single song on it came from my own collection"), he still has a thing for CDs.
I wouldn't count on the CD disappearing any time soon. For one thing, only a third of the homes in this country currently have broadband access. Although most homes with PCs do have broadband, what that tells us is that a lot of people don't have computers. Nor do such products continue to grow as a matter of course.
"So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye." So goes the song. But only some of those sentiments apply to four digital-audio formats that have gone, or are about to depart, from the consumer-electronics scene. DAT, DCC, MD, and SACD never did fare "well" in the marketplace.
Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is quite animated when discussing the current and future state of recorded music. Back in the early months of 2000, Anderson and I sat down in a hotel restaurant in New York City to discuss similar topics. It's interesting to see how things have progressed since then - or not...
Are we close to the point of seeing CDs disappear entirely? Could that happen? Hey, listen: Vinyl's almost disappeared. 78's disappeared. I'm not a soothsayer, and I can't really say if people are going to give up on the physical side of intellectual property.
The Tower Records store at New York City's Lincoln Center isn't seeing particularly heavy foot traffic these days. Stopping by, I find just a shopper or two per aisle - pretty typical, a saleswoman says. And the customer demographic seems a bit on the mature side - hovering around 30 or older. Where are all the Rihanna- and AFI-loving kids?
In part one we asked if the compact disc was dead. Here we offer a timeline of the Compact Disc's history - and prehistory - from 180 years ago to the present.
The 1800s
The Big Bang? Beethoven! In a way, it all begins with his Symphony No. 9 (see 1979).
With its eye-catching design and seamless integration with the iTunes Music Store download service, Apple's iPod has taken the portable-music market by storm. But once you get beyond the iPod's distinctive, sexy styling and crack open its case, you'll find a collection of off-the-shelf components not all that different from those used in other personal media players.
As a performer, you've done everything. Do you prefer TV, movies, singing, or the stage? I would say the Broadway theater - it's so much at the heart of things. But I just signed on to do a new sitcom on NBC, Twenty Good Years, and it's incredibly fun. We're going to have a ball on that show. It's a real treat to vary my diet.
Step 1: Check file compatibility While computers can accept a variety of music file types, servers have more limited compatibility. If your server isn't "friendly" with your formats, you'll either have to re-rip, download, or buy them all over again, or convert them to a compatible format, which will cause additional compression artifacts.
Recently I sat down with Captain Jean-Luc Picard, in the guise of actor Patrick Stewart. He was out of uniform that morning because we were in a roundtable discussion about X-Men: The Last Stand.
Recommending a recent gig by Franz Ferdinand, The Village Voice said the Scots "generate an in-person intensity that you just can't download." Or get from a CD. Sure, you can go digital or disc to sample these acts, but Austin's 20th South by Southwest proved once more that the show makes the band.
