I was reading something the other day about the death of Rock 'n' Roll and the death of records or really cd's or any sort of long form packaged recording. The theory went that because the younger generation expects their music to be free...they like to download stuff etc...they could care less about albums (is it still correct to call them that?) and won't be rushing out to buy them or collect them the way previous generations did.

Instead they just collect songs. With the way music is now available on the web they can just download the songs they want and could care less about an entire album. So, the prediction was the death of any form of album and that bands, or singers, or whoever, would just release songs to the web...however many at a time...and forget about the whole deal with packaging and assembling an "album". 

This would be cheaper because they no longer have to put together the art and packaging and all that good stuff. Personally I found that idea to be both very sad...as I've always loved going out to get a new album...and also very likely...because it seems to make sense that things would head in that direction.

Just think...our on-demand society would no longer have to wait for records to be released by their favorite band. Instead when they have a song they just throw it out on the internet and you download it...a buck a song or whatever. I don't know it sort of seems to make the music that much more...ahh...disposable.

I also happened to read that the younger generation no longer dates. I'm talking college and high school age kids. They don't even like the idea anymore. Meaning, it's incorrect to someone of that age to ask them out to dinner and a movie. They see having a boyfriend or girlfriend as an ancient idea of their parents generation and sort of like the same as having a wife or husband. They want nothing to do with it. Instead they have "friends with benefits", the benefits of course being sex. The young women in the article liked this idea as much as the young men. They see it as having their independence. They gave this odd stat that said that most young woman in college have had less than 6 dates in their life.

I don't know about any of you but the death of albums and the death of dating in the same newspaper made me feel old. Maybe it's all crap. Any thoughts?