Albums R Back

No, I'm not talking about the alleged resurgence of the vinyl LP record, but the term itself. I grew up with LPs, which were also called albums, and so I continued to use the term for a decade or more after vinyl disappeared from store shelves and compact discs took over. Sometime around the turn of the century, I realized that everyone was referring to recorded music as "CDs" instead of albums. Slowly, and with some misgivings, I migrated to the CD terminology.

But then came the digital revolution.

I don't but CDs anymore. Haven't in years really. I download to my computer from the iTunes store. I then upload the music to my iPhone. I use the iPhone when I'm away and listen to music straight from the computer when I'm home. (In my truck, I listen to satellite radio so I know what to download.)

Anyway, it struck me the other day that the buttons I push on iTunes to download music say either "Buy Song" for individual tunes, or, tah-dah, "Buy Album" if I want the entire album. The term is back! No more CDs! What's old is new again!