October CD Sales Down As Economy Struggles With Recession

Despite the release of AC/DC's Black Ice, CD sales in October 2008 slumped mightily when compared with the sales from October 2007. On a whole, sales were down 19.4% from last year. While last October produced a more noteworthy list of releases — including Bruce Springsteen's Magic, the Eagles' Long Road Out of Eden, Britney Spears' Blackout and Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride— this October was no slouch either, with Black Ice and the sustained sales of September releases like T.I.'s Paper Trail and Metallica's Death Magnetic. Comparing September 2008 to September 2007 finds another 20.4% decline. The decline is indicative of what's already going on in the music industry, plus the added influence of an overall economic recession. CD sales were only down 12.7% for the year leading up to the last two months, so the fall of the stock market goes hand in hand with the CD market. November looks somewhat more promising, however, with big ticket releases from Guns N' Roses, Kanye West, David Cook, Beyonce, the Killers and Nickelback.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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