Uncopyable

Last month, John had posted an interesting article on the packaging of music. I fully agree with him that absolutely anything digital can be copied and passed on, and that applies equally to album extras as to the tracks themselves. What can’t be copied is the desirable object which contains the music. This is the reason why I still buy CDs instead of downloading songs from iTunes store, which is obviously more convenient ..... I will then transfer the songs to my beloved iPod Touch. Of course, not everyone feels the same. It is true that music business is slacking as it continues to be assailed by digital technology. Our local CD store Sembawang is inevitably having this 50% discount sale for quite a long while to help boost the business. Besides all those extras that come with albums : interactive booklets, sleeve notes, photographs, lyric sheets, even video clips, shouldn't EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and Universal Music (the 4 largest record labels) spend some effort to churn out some eye-catching and extraordinary CD designs ? I find the albums by indie are generally more playful, attractive and at times, provocative, but not necessarily expensive.

I really like Moldover’s extraordinary light-operated theremin-in-a-CD-case, a beautiful design and a really clever use of the wretched jewel case box. And yes, the music on Moldover’s accompanying CD may be swapped around illicitly but no one is going to copy the hardware. Immediately, I've ordered a copy of the "Awesome Edition" which cost USD60 (lncluding shipping charge).


Tristan Perich's 1-Bit Music is another delightful one. An electronic circuit is assembled inside a CD case with a headphone jack on the side. The device plays back 40 minutes of low-fi 1-bit electronic music—the lowest possible digital representation of audio. The "Regular Edition" costs USD25.