Casulaties of Modern Technology (9 of 12)_ The Compact Disc

Yes, we are using an image of a compact disc of REO Speedwagon as a bit of an in-joke, as it is a band that one often hears one annoying adult contemporary radio stations, such as WASH-FM (97.1, Washington DC).

The compact disc, which is refered to as the cd, is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was first developed in labs in Belgium and The Netherlands in 1979, according to Wikipedia, and the cd became commercially available in 1982.

The first cd that we personally purchased was "Storm Front" by Billy Joel in 1989; it's the one with "We Didn't Start the Fire," which seemed like such a great song at the time.

As "Rolling Stone" writer Rob Sheffield has noted in his memoirs about his youth and how the pop music of the time ('80s and '90s) affected his life, he noted that the cd was instrumental in allowing music artists to store more music in one unit. Bands, ranging from The Cure to Guns N Roses, have taken advantage of this.

There are also enhanced cds, such as "Naked" (Talking Heads, 1988), which have music videos stored on them in addition to music from the recording studio.

According to a recent "Rolling Stone" article (not written by Sheffield) and the public radio music show "Sound Opinions," sales of cds have been plummeting. But, many are still made in spite of more modern gizmos because older artists like Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Bob Dylan rely on cd sales for their older customers whereas young artists like Lady Gaga rely on going directly to I-Tunes and I-Pads, and other gadgets that were the brainchild of the late Steve Jobs.

However, vinyl sales have improved. In fac, 2011 was a banner year for vinyl record sales as 3.9 million records were sold. This was the first in sales in the product since 1979.

And, many though music stores have been disapperaring at an alarming rate, the remaning succesful ones, such as CD Alley in Chapel Hill, Hill, and Wuxutry Records in Athens, Ga. (which also has a store in Atlanta) have relied on both the cd and the record to get music to their customers.

Special Quote of the Week- Ayn Rand

Yes, since we love being ironic here, we thought we'd quote Ayn Rand just 48 hours after we quoted Che Guevara. One is a libertarian, far-right icon and the other is a socialist, far-left icon. Guess which one is which?

Even though the Russian-American author Rand (1905-1982) has been dead for almost 30 years,(she ironically died the same year that Warren Beatty won an Oscar for director for his 1981 film "Reds;" it was about the American left-wing figure John Reed who made Rand's journey in reverse), due to the emergence of Tea Party lunatics and the filmazation of her 1957 novel "Atlas Shrugged," she is making waves again. Wow, that last sentence was way too long alas Javier the Intern, who does all the editing for us is having lunch with his frat brothers at Burger King. (Ok, this is a no joke, there is no Javier, but I could use a personal assistant!).

The movie version of "Atlas Shrugged" has a 6.1 user average on the Internet Movie Database, and it is currently showing at the Grandin Theatre in Roanoke, Va., among other places.

Here is the quote from Rand:

"The creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others."

SIDEBAR_ Those who like Ayn Rand probably read "Reason" magazine as well. Along with "Weekly Standard," the publication happens to be one of the few conservative magazines ("Reason" is known for its libertarian perspectives) I don't despise. Ironically, an article from that magazine was republished in the left-leaning "Utne Reader."

According to reason.com and its perceived political bias, the government's 'war on speculators' won't lower gas prices. I guess those of us who are liberal can agree with conservatives than paying circa $50 at the tank is ludicrious. The only thing that has inflated as much in recent years has to be concert ticket prices. Why do some people shell out $60 for REO Speedwagon tickets? I saw them with Cheap Trick as a teenager in 1985 for like $17. I don't know....

Also, we wanted to share something about Osama bin Laden, who as everyone except maybe a Buddhist monk in a village in Bhutan, knows was killed over the weekend (there are of course conspiracy theories out there as insane as one that would suggest Joe Biden and him are hanging out Firebrick Pizza*; we assume Osama wouldn't want pork on his pizza or beer with his meal**).

That is his age; he was 57. For some reason, no one mentions this, not even the BBC! Interestingly enough, television viewers in America that year could watch the following shows, "Leave it to Beaver," "Maverick," "Perry Mason" and "The Howdy Doody Show."

*-Firebrick Pizza is real place in Washignton, DC

**- Yes, we know there is nothing funny about mass murder and terrorism, but we have to make fun of people who think he's still alive (?!), and of course as a Turkish-American (my late father was a Muslim), I can make subtle fun of certain aspects of Islamic life. Fortunately, very few are actually terrorists, but alas the few who are cause great, unjustified damage to the faith's followers. Hopefully, one day this will be corrected and I certainly hope that day comes sooner than later.