Remember back when the compact disc was new? It was such a novelty, in fact, that you were as likely to have to go to an electronics dealer or a maverick toy store to get one, rather than your favorite record shop. Back then, a huge percentage of the CDs I saw for sale were classical music. Why? Because classical fans are serious about quality, and many will invest cash and risk new tech in the pursuit of high fidelity. So it’s a little surprising that it’s taken this long for operas to make an appearance on Blu-ray. Regardless, the Opus Arte imprint is now officially ahead of the curve, with a line of operas in high-def now being distributed through Naxos. Among their earliest releases are Mozart’s crowd pleaser The Magic Flute, under the direction of Sir Colin Davis, and Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. Highbrow videophiles who don’t do opera are finding titles to suit them as well, with the occasional ballet like Swan Lake hitting the Blu-ray format, while historical costume dramas such as The Other Boleyn Girl and performance-heavy imports like Saawariya (an Indian musical take on a Dostoyevsky tale) trickle out slowly. Fans of experimental composition, sadly, may have to wait a bit: as with a new documentary chronicling Karlheinz Stockhausen’s elaborate Helicopter String Quartet, those works are still relegated to standard DVD.

These kids today: They think all the world’s music should flow freely onto their computers and that musicians should work for the fun of it — don’t they? Well, maybe not. A new survey conducted in England (and given credibility by digi-savvy sites like Boing Boing) found that the majority of music fans between 14 and 24 (and 80 percent of those who currently swap files online) would be happy to pay for songs. The trick is, most won’t pay using the services that currently exist. Respondents evidently know what many iTunes customers don’t: That most files sold online come with burdensome restrictions and aren’t the highest quality possible; moreover, today’s commonplace pay-per-tune system makes it too expensive to try new music on for size. Instead, fans crave a subscription format — not one based on streaming music that can’t be downloaded, but one allowing files to be downloaded, stored on MP3 players, and burned to CDs. Though the survey’s summary doesn’t mention a price for this hypothetical service, it says respondents would “place a considerable monetary value on” it. Curiously, most of those questioned said they would continue to buy physical CDs even while paying for an ideal file-sharing system. One suspects they might even buy more than they do today, if only they felt that the record companies earning the proceeds had finally stopped viewing them as criminals and begun to understand their 21st-century relationship with music.

Though the Fourth of July brings to mind fireworks, barbecue and a day off for many of us, it’s also a time to contemplate the spirit of American freedom and independence as it is expressed in so many mediums. Think of Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA , James Brown’s Living in America, Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream (read lyrics here), Janice Joplin singing Me and Bobby McGee, Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July, Howard Zinn’s book, A People’s History of the United States: 1492 to Present, and David McCullough ’s narrating the audio version of his Pulitzer Prize-winning 1776 (pictured). At the National Archives, review the the history of July Fourth and download, high resolution, printer-friendly copies of the original Declaration of Independence. Browse excerpts from books on the American Revolution at Questia. At PBS, check out Liberty! The American Revolution (three-DVD set $50), hosted by news anchor Forrest Sawyer and featuring reenactments about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of 13 loosely connected states to become a nation. More recently, the acclaimed HBO series John Adams is now out on DVD ($39). Also consider Thomas Jefferson (on sale for $17.76) starring Sam Waterston and directed by Ken Burns. Take a look at The American Film Institute’s list of the 100 most inspiring American Films (scroll down). Fourth of July sales offer an excellent opportunity to exercise your patriotic right to shop. Check out the Independence Day sale and discount coupons at HerCoupon.

For years now, Americans have been reading less, according to polls and studies. Books sales have been flat. And with the latest surges in the cost of living, it’s a good bet these trends will continue as our discretionary incomes shrink. But even if book sales decline further, it’s possible that reading for pleasure is poised to make a comeback. After all, humankind cannot exist on television and the Internet alone… at least we hope not. Enter Novel Action, an online club that lets avid readers clear their shelves of the books they no longer want in exchange for books they’d like to read. For $25 a year, members can receive as many new books as they’re willing to donate to the centralized library. You select the titles you want by searching the database, order however many titles you like, and then send an equivalent number of books from your personal inventory to the library in exchange. Once they are received, your “new” books are sent to you. Other book-swapping clubs, such as Paperback Swap, which is free to join, have members ship directly to each other. A credit, or “point,” is earned every time you ship a book to someone; these points can be spent on books you want sent to you. Shipping fees are paid by the sender. Just for listing your first 10 titles in the database of over 2 million books, Paperback Swap will give you two points. And in case you were wondering, Novel Action is not just for novels; there’s plenty of nonfiction to choose from. Similarly, Paperback Swap is not just for paperbacks. Still not sure? At Novel Action, nonmembers may purchase books, but there’s a $2 surcharge on each order. If you decide to join, all of the charges for that calendar year (up to $20) can be applied to your account. Love the concept? Check out Swap a CD and Swap a DVD for the same swapping action applied to music and videos.

If you know diddly-squat about Bo Diddley, now’s a good time to find out. Diddley, who died June 2 at 79, was one of the founders of rock and roll who, like Chuck Berry and Little Richard, felt slighted that he didn’t get more recognition – and more money — for the music that Elvis Presley popularized. Like James Brown, Diddley was one of the hardest working men in show business. He toured almost to the very end, giving it his all. I saw one of his last concerts, October 7, 2006 at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. Though diabetes and old age had taken its toll and rendered him unable to perform except while seated in a chair, he gave an energetic, sexy performance and elicited squeals from women in the audience when he sang his hit “I’m a Man” with full-blooded, bravado. He was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Hear Bo play “Bo Diddley,” the song with the syncopated rhythm he was known for, in this clip from his debut on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1955. One of the best collections of his work is 20th Century Masters the Millennium Collection: Best of Bo Diddley ($9), which includes remixes of original recordings of “Bo Diddley,” “Who Do You Love” and “Road Runner.” For those who already know Bo, this amazing CD ($23) has various versions, alternate takes and mixes (scroll down on the site to hear snippets) of many of his early recordings for the legendary Chess label, including “Diddy Wah Diddy.” See the man behind “I’m a Man” in Bo Diddley and the All Star Jam DVD ($11.49), which includes Bo and friends Ron Wood, Mick Fleetwood and Mitch Mitchell (of the Jimi Hendrix Experience) at a concert filmed live at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in 1985.

Given the heat that respected documentarian Ken Burns took when he devoted nearly 20 hours to the history of Jazz, only to be criticized for numerous omissions, today’s fans may take for granted that even the most epic documentary could never do justice to a broad history of music. Try telling that to Brit Tony Palmer, who in the 1970s attempted to wrap the whole of popular music’s history into the 17-episode series All You Need Is Love, just released for the first time in a $100 DVD set. (Too pricey? A narrower, ’60s-centric version called All My Loving is also available.) Naturally, it’s an incomplete story, and Palmer’s sometimes over-educational, sometimes eccentric tone makes it occasionally more amusing than authoritative. But whatever their reaction to its presentation, viewers will have to be impressed by the scope and quality of material contained here: long chunks of performance, highlights from 1,000 hours of concert and interview footage, and script contributions from authorities like Leonard Feather and John Hammond. (In the first hour alone, we see everyone from traditional African drummers and American hillbillies to legendary Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler.) Viewing pop history — from Africa through blues, vaudeville, Tin Pan Alley, et cetera — from a Beatles-era seat and trying to make sense of it all produces some unusual theories about “what it all means,” and some of the examples proffered here may be less vibrant than those available elsewhere — but what a rich time capsule of long dead or retired artists whose sounds still reverberate today.