Earlier this week, the compact disc turned 30. On Oct. 1, 1982, the first commercial CD, Billy Joel's 52nd Street, was released in Japan. This new format brought with it a covenience factor unlike vinyl LP and tape formats. I still remember spending hours recording songs from the radio to a tape via my boombox. When burning songs to a disk became possible, I couldn't believe I used to use tapes, and now, digital files are gradually overtaking the need for CDs.I also remember choosing CDs to look at based on the album artwork. How memorable was Nirvana's Nevermind album cover? I loved reading the song lists, lyrics and messages from the artist that came along with the CD itself. But now, seeing album artwork is a rarity, unless I properly paid for and downloaded an album from iTunes and see the tiny album cover image appear on my iPod. Is album cover art a dying art?
On a trip to Nashville a few years ago, we toured one of the old recording studios. The guide was showing some behind-the-scenes stuff and equipment, and when he showed a display of various turntables, one of the youngsters in the group did not know what it was. I think he'd never seen a reel-to-reel tape recorder before either. I guess there's a generation coming up soon that won't know what CDs are.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I remember buying some albums just for the art. Not so much anymore...
What can be said about album art can also be said for book jacket design--as we stampede toward digital formats, print design is less vital. However, as Alli mentioned, album covers still exist in digital format, as do book jackets. I think the design need is still there, but just in a digital capacity. I can't say that I help the cause, since I love my iPod and Kindle!
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