Here's an interesting, if sad, observation.

I went to the downtown Virgin Music Store last week, looking for a new CD rather than my usual method of purchasing online. I know that buying compact disks is a bit old-fashioned, but I savor the fuller sound and greater sonic detail of compact disks over digital files downloaded from Apple or Amazon. But what I saw at Virgin still surprised: I was the youngest customer in the shop.

Now I'm not that young, sorry to say, and I can remember when a music store was the center of youth culture, filled with those thirty and under--and somewhat hostile to those who were past that important number. This is the digital revolution that the music companies have failed to adapt to.

How long before Virgin, which was rather empty, goes the way of Tower Records and closes? You can already see the shift in the strategy; the store has fewer compact disks and more music-related merchandise, more video products, and more video games. Still, such moves seem to me to be more of a last-ditch effort unlikely to do more than the inevitable...

CDs listened to today:

• Richard Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie, disk 1
• Varius Artists: Twist This Pussy 2
• Steven Winteregg: Visions And Revelations
• Charles Wuorinen: Two Part Symphony
• The Joggers: Solid Guild
• Duke Ellington: Suite from "The River"