Let’s hear it for the CD!
The much-maligned digital format is making a comeback as the subject of a new exhibition at the University of Winchester’s West Downs Gallery – Perfect Sound Forever (19 September - 10 October).
Once the shiny shape of the future, the compact disc is now caught dangling in a cultural limbo – too archaic for modern music listeners but not yet old enough to be considered downright retro cool like vinyl.
By staging the exhibition two University academics, Dr Glenn Fosbraey and Daniel Ash (pictured below) are seeking to reclaim the CD from the car boot sale and charity shop.
Their show is described as a ‘love letter to this fallen giant of music’ and pays respect not only to the discs themselves but the jewel cases, album booklets, Discmans, Hi-Fis and all the other paraphernalia which surrounded them.
“Perfect Sound Forever” was the marketing slogan coined by electronics giants who claimed the CD offered flawless, permanent fidelity compared to vinyl or cassette.
As it turned out ‘forever’ lasted just a couple of decades. CD sales surpassed those of vinyl around 1988 and peaked between 2000 and 2002, before digital downloads caused their consistent decline.
However, Glenn and Daniel were never able to discard their discs.
Daniel, a Visiting Lecturer on the University’s Composing Song Lyrics module, said: “You’d always find me at the CD rack at house parties.
“My triple album CD box-set copy of The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs has travelled almost everywhere with me and would almost certainly be one of the first things I’d reach for if I were to wake up in a burning house.”
Glenn, a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, said: “Many of my CDs evoke memories as vivid as any photograph or home video, and just by holding them again, I am transported back to another place and time.
“Never have I been able to have such reactions to the songs on my Spotify account, or even to my vinyl or cassette collections. For me, my CDs are as much a part of my life as my pessimism or receding hairline (and infinitely more pleasurable).”
To find out about the launch event for Perfect Sound Forever follow this link. Otherwise, the exhibition will be open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Fridays and from 8.30am to 4pm Saturdays from the 19 September to 10 October.
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