They Give, and They Take Away   

   Somebody can date you by the device you first used to play music.

   My first purchases were 78 rpm records, encased in attractive envelops. Then came 45s.

   When records gave way to cassettes, we junked our players, but held on to the records themselves, for sentimental reasons.

   Lesson learned. When cassettes gave way to compact discs, we weren't caught off guard. We had bought a machine with a CD player, radio, two casssette players (for making copies), two speakers and enough buttons to challenge an astronaut. Just kidding. 

   The CD player doesn't cooperate anymore, and the 24-inch-wide contraption sits in the garage, collecting dust. Last year we bought a CD player, unaware that CDs also may be on the way out.

   Say it ain't so! 

   We have band music, Christian music, a little classical, and numerous old sermons. For some reason, going back to high school, we never got excited about contemporary music, although Elvis' gospel songs are never out of date.

   Best Buy will stop selling CDs this summer, and Target will scale back. Some autos no longer have CD players, and most laptops don't come with a disc drive either. Good thing our 2016 car accommodates CDs, or we might have to trade it in on an older model.   

   Song streams, not physical album sales, are in, accounting for about 50 percent of the music market. 

   Records warped. Tapes unraveled. CDs skip. But streaming isn't perfect either. 

   Maybe CD collectors and others who prefer tangible music over intangible streaming will march in the streets. Maybe Best Buy doesn't know everything. 

   Let's pause, stop and rewind the trend. And go Elvis! 

       Jimmy