A sweet yet slightly goofy eulogy for Brad Delp.

I've had the same problem, Lisa, and have been unwilling to desubscribe because I didn't want to lose the so-ancient-they-no-longer-offer them broadcasts.

You're really trying to tempt me specifically into subscribing to this podcast, aren't you, Corwood?

Yes. Yes, I am.

"Dad! Women don't get wooly!"

"I didn't say 'wooly'. Why would I say 'wooly'? I know this song better than you."

"I heard you."

Dude, you are so dooooomed. He's Nuke crossed with Crash. I think that may be a sign of the apocalypse.

have been unwilling to desubscribe because I didn't want to lose the so-ancient-they-no-longer-offer them broadcasts.

Like, ones you've already downloaded? Because I don't think it deletes them from your podcast list, and you can always copy them to another locale on your drive and then re-copy 'em back. When I've unsubbed/resubbed, it's left the podcasts I downloaded and then offered the new ones greyed-out above them to download when I resubbed.

SINGING THE BLUES....This is off the beaten path for me, but the Wall Street Journal reports today on the virtual implosion of the music market:

In a dramatic acceleration of the seven-year sales decline that has battered the music industry, compact-disc sales for the first three months of this year plunged 20% from a year earlier, the latest sign of the seismic shift in the way consumers acquire music.

....In recent weeks, the music industry has posted some of the weakest sales it has ever recorded. This year has already seen the two lowest-selling No. 1 albums since Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks music sales, was launched in 1991.

One week, "American Idol" runner-up Chris Daughtry's rock band sold just 65,000 copies of its chart-topping album; another week, the "Dreamgirls" movie soundtrack sold a mere 60,000. As recently as 2005, there were many weeks when such tallies wouldn't have been enough to crack the top 30 sellers. In prior years, it wasn't uncommon for a No. 1 record to sell 500,000 or 600,000 copies a week.

In revenue terms, sales are down even more: about 25% according to the CEO of Virgin Entertainment. And even when you include digital song sales, ringtones, etc., sales are still down 9%, according to a recent research report. That's a helluva drop.

[link]

All right - who here is not buying music???

I am not buying CDs, not new ones anyway. I get my physical CDs through lala.com. Most of my music was purchased on emusic.com, but I cancelled that subscription last week. I have more then 1000 unlisted to tracks on my iPod and I go weeks without listening to any music at all. sad state.

I haven't been buying as much music now that I'm making less money and living in a big city, but I'm still spending more than I probably should.

And even when you include digital song sales, ringtones, etc., sales are still down 9%, according to a recent research report.

Why do they say \"even when you include...\"? Those numbers should be included as a matter of course. It would be like saying, in the 80s, that vinyl LP sales plunged 20%, when there were offsetting CD sales. A 9% drop is significant, yes, but the article makes things seems a lot worse than they are.

To me, a more important shift is that a band on Merge can have the number 2 spot on Billboard\'s top 100 LPs.

Why do they say "even when you include..."? Those numbers should be included as a matter of course. It would be like saying, in the 80s, that vinyl LP sales plunged 20%, when there were offsetting CD sales. A 9% drop is significant, yes, but the article makes things seems a lot worse than they are.

Yeah. Well, it's the WSJ - maybe they just don't understand the kids these days. But isn't online sales still a tiny % of total music sales? (I have no idea what ringtones are.)

These days I probably get most of my music from eMusic or iTunes. I get the 90 songs per month deal (or whatever the max is) on eMusic. Lately I've been buying a fair amount of used CDs - replacing vinyl and tapes that I had in the '80s and '90s. But not too many new CDs. I guess I'm part of the "problem."

But isn\'t online sales still a tiny % of total music sales?

It depends how the WSJ is doing their math, but it seems like it\'s over 10% of total sales.