The Case For CD's

[mn dave]

Also, having your music in those discrete units means you can't lose it all in some computer crash or other technological disaster.

But then you'd have an excuse to collect it ALL OVER AGAIN!

[Todd]

Also, having your music in those discrete units means you can't lose it all in some computer crash or other technological disaster.

Plus, you only need electricity and a working CD player to listen to CDs.  With web based services, in particular, you need an internet connection just to listen to music.  One more complication in life.  I like things simple.  Also, I have yet to see a UI as simple to use as alphabetically sorted rows of CDs. 

[mn dave]

Plus, you only need electricity and a working CD player to listen to CDs.  With web based services, in particular, you need an internet connection just to listen to music.  One more complication in life.  I like things simple.  Also, I have yet to see a UI as simple to use as alphabetically sorted rows of CDs.

You needed an internet connection to say that.

[Todd]

You needed an internet connection to say that.

True, but in the last year I have had more internet downtime than electricity downtime, so if I had to rely on the web for music during those downtimes, I would have been sad, or perhaps angry.

[mn dave]

I have enough CDs to handle a short emergency. 

[Gurn Blanston]

I only came to this thread because I thought someone was sharing a new storage solution...

[mn dave]

I came for the pie.

[Jo498]

Plus, you only need electricity and a working CD player to listen to CDs.  With web based services, in particular, you need an internet connection just to listen to music.  One more complication in life.  I like things simple. 

Yes, and you do not need just some internet connection, but a pretty fast broadband one. This is not available everywhere and I do not want to take it for granted in the next decades. I could listen to my CDs with a solar-powered discman even after an extended crash of services.

[The Six]

I think that misses the point, which is not sound quality any more but possession of the actual source of the sound. I only listen to MP3 or FLAC too, but I still have all the CD's. It is the feeling of possessing something which differentiates the CD'er from the streamer.

A CD is not the source of the sound any more than a computer is. It's a simple medium like any other.

Interesting to see so many seeing music as a "possession" and something to be owned. I think people are getting less and less attached to material objects in this digital age. Less plastic production and less clutter can only be a good thing.

[Gurn Blanston]

A CD is not the source of the sound any more than a computer is. It's a simple medium like any other.

Interesting to see so many seeing music as a "possession" and something to be owned. I think people are getting less and less attached to material objects in this digital age. Less plastic production and less clutter can only be a good thing.

Some do, some don't. By that logic, an LP is the same as an MP3. Of course it's the medium! It's the feeling of ownership of something. I traded my money for something and have a physical token to hold in return. You traded your money for something and have only an intangible asset, fragile at best. I'm happy, you're happy. Once my generation of old guys dies off, you youngsters can save all the plastic you want and undoubtedly make the planet a better place. Meanwhile, I'm fixin' to spin some Staier playing Haydn... 

[The Six]

Some do, some don't. By that logic, an LP is the same as an MP3. Of course it's the medium! It's the feeling of ownership of something. I traded my money for something and have a physical token to hold in return.

An ipod is very physical. And it can hold hundreds of albums. A computer is also physical and can hold millions. This physical medium you seek is very much present. It's just more efficient. My 12-year old self would have been a lot happier if he had one device with all his music to take on vacations, instead of worrying about how to cram 20 different CDs into a duffle bag. Don't have to worry about scratches or skipping, either!

[ZauberdrachenNr.7]

Of course it's the medium! It's the feeling of ownership of something. I traded my money for something and have a physical token to hold in return. You traded your money for something and have only an intangible asset, fragile at best...

This discussion reminds me of an interview I heard several years ago on the radio with Bob Dylan.  A reporter asked him whether he was concerned in this digital age about being ripped-off.  "No," he declared [enigmatically!] those aren't albums!"

[Mirror Image]

I came for the pie.

Lol...

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

My 12-year old self would have been a lot happier if he had one device with all his music to take on vacations, instead of worrying about how to cram 20 different CDs into a duffle bag.

This (as someone said above) is part of the issue: portability. The folks who want to listen to music on the go like all-digital. The folks who like to sit down and have a listening session in their living room go for CDs and LPs. I'm a sit-down-and-listen type of guy.

[DavidW]

Hell if I know. It doesn't differ all that much from people who prefer analog books to eBooks. For me, 'owning' downloads is like having a great big piece of nothing, while owning CD's is a tactile and visual sensation in addition to the audio thing. The why of it is beyond me. 

I share paper books that I enjoyed with family and friends.  I can't share ebooks with family and friends since that is illegal.  Nothing romantic about the physical object, just common sense.

[Ken B]

The only case against cds is having to store them.
[/b]

That's a big one. Having just moved books and CDs, big big. I like Kindle for books over paper now ...

Actually right now organizing and searching on Kindles is weak. I have only started clouding downloading but see more in my future.

[mc ukrneal]

Why is this an either/or discussion? Why not have your cake and eat it too?

[Moonfish]

more pls..

[vandermolen]

Totally agree with article - thanks for posting. Also CDs are much easier to smuggle past my wife than LPs were to smuggle past my parents (I had to devise an elaborate method to do this).