Are we about to see the compact disc go the way of the vhs movie, the eight track, the Edsel?

 I recently read on Big Salon, Joy Press' "brand graveyard" feature on Virgin Record stores , and have read innumerable business news articles on the decline of music retailers. My own eyes have witnesses the shrinking square footage devoted to music content at Futureshop, Wal-Mart, HMV.

 Apparently, MP3 players have made the venerable product obsolete.

 I must at this point confess to being a music dinosaur. I still have over 200 vinyl LPs dating back to 1973ish, and even a turntable upon which to play them, if only I replace the blown speakers. I love the imperfections of 'grooved' and thus groovy music.

 And somewhere, in the closet, there is even  the eight track player and  selected tapes - Yes, Neil Young's Journey Through the Past, Doobie Brothers "What Were Once Vices are Now Habits"... the latter being one of my all time favourite album titles. 

Still, I have become a consumer of compact discs. I have even resolved recemtly to buy MORE, to do my bit to support the industry. 

 Music downloading is not entirely foreign to me. In the stone age several computers ago, some techie installed an early file sharing link. Can't even recall the name. So long ago, it was before Napster. With the aid of the more tech savvy lil B, I burned a few mix cd's. 

 Then that site died, and I never visited another one.

 I do not own an MP3 player.

I have a longstanding reluctance to embrace anything requiring online payment, which is odd, given that I cheerfully bank online and swear audibly when stray bills arrive from entities without online payment. And, though Canada's copying laws are less strict than the USA, I have a twinge of guilt about not supporting the bands, less so for the purveyors. 

However, that is not why I will mourn the death of the CD, if it is upon us.

My concern is more fundamental, cultural and philosophical. Downloading allows the freedom to select individual songs, turning all music into a giant singles market. We will lose the virtues of hearing songs in an order arranged by a band, performer or producer. Sure, often that means little. But not always. Where will the next Pink Floyd "The Wall" or "Darkside of the Moon" find an audience?  I know that for me, The Beatles singles compilations lack to verve of their LPs. Same with The Who. And many other more oscure acts. Anybody remember Babe Ruth?

 Another loss is packaging. Liner Notes. Cover art. Poster inserts. Cultural expressions which enhanced many a musical experience.

The biggest loss, however, might be the shared experience of music. The very uniqueness of the individual MP3 mix drives the listener into a cozy earbud world, isolated from their surroundings, their friends, peers, parents. Many fond memories involve shared musical experiences. The excitement of the new release. A new dorm resident playing previously unknown sounds. From sharing comes learning, and friendship, socialization. The risk of the workd losing this cultural interaction staggers me.

Can I do anything about this? Should I? Should you?

Or am I just a dinosaur?