Big 80s Backtrack – enter the CD

Since this is my first show hosting “Jersey Saturday Night 80s, I’d like to share some of what I remember most about the “big hair decade.”

Enter the CD.

Audio purists were not impressed with the introduction of the digital delivery of music – but there was no stopping it.

By the 80s, compact discs became a way of life, and vinyl was becoming an afterthought.

I guess it was 1987 when I first heard something being played off of CD. One of the jocks I worked with at WPLJ brought in a copy of Michael Jackson’s “Bad” CD, and played “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” for a few of us.

At the time, I remember thinking, “…ok, fine, but it sounds like something’s missing!”

And I was right since I’m an “old head” and was so used to hearing vinyl with all its imperfections.

But if there was one thing vinyl recordings had over digital, it was the warmth that the music was supposed to convey.

Now with mp3s here and the ability to play music off your iPhone, CDs have taken something of a back seat.

Here’s the irony. If you listen to some of today’s music – especially hip-hop (yes, I do on occasion – if only for a little bit); you hear songs produced with cracks, pops, and scratches in them

But do you remember the first CD you ever bought – and your reaction to how it sounded over your vinyl collection?

Sort of like watching hi-definition television for the first time.

And as for a side-by-side comparison, which do you prefer – stuff that on that vinyl collection of yours gathering dust or your CDs?