Five years ago, you would be corrected if you referred to your favorite rock group's latest CD as an "album". Now, CD's are becoming outdated due to MP3's. If you download an entire set of songs from your favorite artist, what do you call it? An "MP3" would only suggest one song, it's obviously not a "CD", and some would argue it's not an "album" because it's not on vinyl. So what do you call it!
2007-07-26 07:18:24 · 7 answers · asked by leothelionator 2 in Consumer Electronics ➔ Music & Music Players
Sort of but not really. Even though we mostly consume MP3's and CD's, it is generally acceptable to refer to an artist's release as an album, even if it isn't officially on vinyl. Most of us understand the meaning. You can call it an album or a CD.
2007-07-26 07:22:50 · answer #1 · answered by Rckets 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
To really understand the derivation of the term album as it relates to recorded music you have to go back to 78 rpm records. If you purchased a collection of songs by an artist like Frank Sinatra or maybe a recording of a symphony, they were on multiple records and were packaged on an "album" that contained multiple protective pockets, one for each record, and bound together like a book.
With the advent of vinyl 331/3 rpm records, the term "album" carried over to describe a collection of songs or "cuts" which differentiated it from single songs or "cuts" recorded on a 45 rpm record. (Yes, they were called singles even though they had a song on each side)
As much for verbal convenience as anything else, a group of songs/recordings sold as a single collection have come to be called an album even though the digital age is far removed from the real albums of the 30's, 40's and early 50's. Since this has become the accepted terminology, then album is as correct for a collection of MP3 songs as it was for 33 1/3 vinyls.
2007-07-26 14:35:51 · answer #2 · answered by elcazador999 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm 40 years old and have never gotten over the term album. Even if it's an entire CD or Digital file I still call it an album most of the time.
Like "Hey dude, have you heard the new White Stripes album?"
Or I might call it a disk
weeder
2007-07-26 14:24:34 · answer #3 · answered by weeder 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
"Album" is not an outdated term. It is frequently used by the press (see the first sentence in this article for an example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_There_Delilah Technically, any collection of items with a similar theme bound together could be considered an "album." That is the current meaning intended by the word "album" and (for me at least) it does not inspire thoughts of phonograph records in the slightest.
2007-07-26 14:33:29 · answer #4 · answered by arwen 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Album is not an outdated term. People may not use that word everyday but the word is still used just watch MTV i mean they still use that word. Plus an album is a list of songs no matter what they are on. Even if your friends don't use it , i bet if u used it it will catch on. :)
2007-07-26 14:32:29 · answer #5 · answered by Brittany G 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I still use the term album as do quite a few people on a music site that I frequent. I definitely wouldn't call it outdated.
2007-07-26 16:37:24 · answer #6 · answered by Richard W 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's still an album to me, and always will be.
2007-07-26 14:26:20 · answer #7 · answered by loshea65 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋