New arrival! 43 minutes, 43 seconds

Revolution State & Noizekatt
Revolution State Vs. Noizekatt

Yesterday I mentioned that a Wikipedia entry on the history of the compact disc cast doubt on the legend that when the CD was originally invented, Sony and Philips decided it should be just large enough to fit Beethoven's 9th Symphony. That is to say, 74 minutes. This morning I went to the Philips Web site, which offers its own detailed account of the invention of the CD, and it affirms the story, attributing the length request to Sony's then-vice president (and Beethoven fan) Norio Ohga.

According to Philips's history, the CD was originally meant to hold a maximum of 60 minutes' worth of music, a few minutes more than a double-sided LP could contain. That meant the disc could indeed be "compact," at 11.5 centimeters in diameter. But accommodating Ohga's request meant expanding to 12 cm. Still pretty compact, if you ask me.

Unfortunately, Sony's history of the CD is much thinner on these sorts of details, preferring instead to focus on the dawn of the CD player, rather than the disc itself. However, it does note that the first CD release was Billy Joel's 52nd Street. Blecchh. Some choice. Imagine if the first book that rolled off Gutenberg's press had been The Da Vinci Code.

Also today:

35:35 Der Blutharsch, The Moment of Truth
35:34 Maelifell, The Summerlands
New arrival! 73:16 Slow Six, Private Times in Public Places