CMT News recently published an obituary for the CD. Citing irrelevance as the cause of death, they presented a humorous and instructive look at the life of the CD in the music industry.

The author isn’t sad to see the CD go the way of the DoDo, but he expresses a love for the vinyl record album that is sure to be unrequited in the main.

I did learn some things from the article. I had previously been unaware of this bit of the CD’s bio.

…in Europe [where the CD was developed], the CD was seen as ideal for presenting long classical music performances. 74 minutes was chosen for the first CD’s length because that was the performance time of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at the Bayreuth Festival.

Always interesting to see why things are as they are.

Here’s the full obit piece, the article is longer and more informative, less humor. I’m not quite ready to proclaim the CD as dead, but I’m willing to recognize that it is dying and there is nothing we can, or should even try to do, to nurse it back to health. Regardless of whether you welcome this development or bemoan it, the story is definitely worth a read.

Friends and family announced the death of Compact Disc — familiarly known as “CD” — this week. Its remains were said to be scattered over a few dozen remaining retail stores that continued to stock CDs. It is survived by millions of MP3s and thousands of vinyl LP records, which were themselves long thought to be missing and presumed dead.

Compact Disc was born in 1982 in Germany, after some years of gestation in the Netherlands. It first appeared in retail form in the form of Billy Joel’s 52nd Street on Oct. 1, 1982.

CD led a long, expensive and uproarious, if sometimes quarrelsome, life. It was never happier than when accidentally dropped on a hardwood or tile floor. It was then eager to make a disheartening noise upon striking the floor and springing open, scattering all its many pieces across the floor.

The cause of death of Compact Disc was said to be irrelevance. Symptoms of that lingering malady had become more noticeable of late. No memorial services are planned at this time.