May I explain something to all of you youngsters and Grammy voters? The Kinks’ “Time Song” is a song. It’s written by one person, Ray Davies of the Kinks. Now it’s been released for the first time as part of the 50th anniversary of the Kinks’ “Village Green Preservation Society.” All you people who think you are songwriters because you lifted a “beat” please listen to this song. This should win the Grammy this year for Best New Song. Just lovely.

For Nicki Minaj, the charts today are good news, bad news.

The bad news is that her “Queen” album finished fourth for the week, behind Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, and Drake. Nicki’s music struggled with total sales of 89,863. Most of that was streaming. She had CDs and downloads of just 25,000.

The good news is that she’s featured on a horrible rap single by 22 year old 6 by 9, or whatever he’s called. It’s just completely unlistenable, like all of his stuff. But it’s number 1 in streaming. It’s called “Fefe” and it’s on something called ScumBag Records. So she can take heart in that, her consolation prize.

Last week, meaning ending a week ago, “Fefe” earned $192,500 in streaming revenue. Nicki’s single, “Barbie Dreams,” made $155,193. That will keep her in wigs and eyelashes depending on her cut of “Fefe,” which Tony Bennett is not covering on his new album.

I was going to print the lyrics to “Fefe” but they are of course X rated and filthy. They are accompanied by “music” sampled from something immemorable.

Ariana Grande sold over 230,000 copies of her “Sweetener,” more CDs and downloads than streaming. Her royalty rate is higher and she actually has songs. Manager Scooter Braun did a great job, and of course she did, too.

Aretha Franklin’s “30 Greatest Hits” sold 50,000 copies all in after selling about 25,000 copies last week just on Thursday after her death was announced. Her dedicated station on SiriusXM, 49, is a big hit there and will continue through Labor Day weekend. It’s quite a tribute.

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, will get a royal send next Friday in Detroit. Her funeral, which is said could last as long as four hours, has incredible line up.

Former President Bill Clinton leads the list of speakers that includes Clive Davis, Smokey Robinson, Cicely Tyson, and Bishop TD Jakes. Aretha’s great friend Jesse Jackson is on the list as well as former US Attorney General Eric Holder, Al Sharpton, and award winning actress Cicely Tyson (who by the way is 91 years young).

Performers include Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill, Ronald Isley, Jennifer Hudson, Chaka Khan, Yolanda Adams, Jennifer Holliday, Shirley Caesar, and the Clark Sisters, as well as Aretha’s son, Eddie, who has a beautiful voice and is a chip off the old block.

A clutch of politicians, clergy, and prominent friends of Aretha’s will also make remarks including professor and TV personality Michael Eric Dyson. The Rev. Jasper Williams, Jr., Pastor of Salem Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA, will deliver the eulogy.

Was it only six years ago that Korean rapper Psy conquered the world with “Gangnam Style”?

Today, Sony’s Columbia Records released a compilation album by South Korean boy band BTS, and it’s like the Beatles, NSync, and Backstreet Boys mania rolled into one.

Columbia signed BTS in the US only, but the instant monster success will save the label and its new chief Ron Perry, who’s been aching for a hit.

The BTS album has shot to the top of the iTunes album chart, beating Ariana Grande, Drake, and One Direction’s Liam Payne.

The individual tracks from the BTS album now occupy most of the top 20 of the iTunes singles chart. Twelve of the top 13 singles are from the BTS album.

In South Korea, BTS hails from the KPop label. In Japan and elsewhere, they’re distributed by Def Jam.

BTS is also known as the Bangtan Boys. There are 7 members. The group formed in 2013. The Sony/Columbia album was first released by Big Hit Entertainment last September, almost a year ago. It sold 96,000 copies but vanished once Sony signed on and planned this relaunch.

I don’t know why I’m surprised by this. Last May I called Best Buy’s PR department and asked them if the company was going to stop selling CDs.

A spokesman sent me this statement: “The way people buy and listen to music has dramatically changed and, as a result, we are reducing the amount of space devoted to CDs in our stores. However, we will still offer select CDs, vinyl and digital music options at all stores.”

Hello, he lied! (Tip of the hat to Lynda Obst.) I walked through Best Buy last night on 23rd St. and Sixth Avenue. The CD’s are gone. Are you selling CDs, I  asked a clerk? Answer: “Whatever’s left in the discount tubs.” There are no more shelves of CDs. It’s over.

On the Best Buy website, CDs are non existent. Gone, baby, gone.

Target is still selling the silver disks on line. But WalMart is almost done with them. There’s very little left on the WalMart site. If you want CDs, you’re down to a smattering of physical retailers, like FYE in your mall, if you have a mall. Other than that it’s amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Think of this: you cannot walk into Best Buy and purchase a Beatles CD. Or Rolling Stones, Dylan, Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers, Frank Sinatra. (You can buy a coffee maker.)

I’m actually amazed that hi end audio companies, like Cambridge Audio, Denon, Marantz, and Creek are still selling CD players. Who’s buying them if there are no CDs? Now I really have to keep my Creek player in good shape. There will be few ways to replace it in the future.

Of course, the new music is so bad, and the so called music is so poorly produced and engineered, why buy a CD or a player anyway? Of Kanye West? The Carters? Drake? Most new releases aren’t even being produced on CD, they’re just “dropped” digitally onto streaming services or onto iTunes and amazon for downloading.

The compact disk, RIP 1982-2018. That was fast, man. I look at all boxed sets, Miles Davis, the Beatles, Sam Cooke, Aretha. They are relics. When the 50th anniversary of the “White Album” is released, it will be via blockchain or telekinesis or through vents in the air conditioning. Good lord.

Oh yeah, so Best Buy lied. I mean, so what? Look at the White House. All bets are off in the truth department.