PAN Blog

Does anyone buy compact discs anymore, anyone under 26?

I do, but I'm 30 and still wish Guns & Roses had made one more incredible album before the band went nuclear. Anyway, I continue to buy CDs because I enjoy the album art and inside cover notes from the artist. I bought a Sasha disc from Amazon.com yesterday, and found the inside booklet to be a treasure of artist insight with edgy photos and a ton of perspective into why he writes/mixes the songs that he does... can you get that online?

Of course, all music is bits & bytes these days with digital radio (love Pandora.com), the two satellites providers and Apple's minor contribution, something Pod; all making the marketplace a delight for music fans. However, when I spend money on music I like to have a tangible thing to reference when looking at my bank account, that’s also why I like CDs.

So, I was in a Strawberry's music store the other day perusing the new music section when a clerk tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Hey, don't buy anything from there, it's all in the 'used' music section for half price." So I took a short walk with my new helpful friend, and there it was - all the new music, wrappers removed, security stickers gone, but in perfect scratch-less condition for half price! So I said to the guy, this must be the “Burn and Return” section, half expecting him to laugh. Expressionless he says, “Strawberry’s has a very strict policy on burning music and returning it.” I ask him what this aisle is all about then, and he said a lot of people get duplicate CDs as a gift and return the duplicate for a trade-in CD. I look at him closely to see if he's passing a “joke” here; sadly he’s as serious as a heart attack. Go figure.