Sometimes I get nostalgic so I take A Walk Down Memory Lane — check out previous posts!
So I’m in the process of getting all the crap out of my old room in the house I lived from 8th grade until I got married and one of the most daunting parts of that is figuring out what to do with all my cds (SERIOUSLY WHAT DO I DO WITH THEM ALL?). I have hundreds and hundreds of cds from my childhood through college and I was getting all sorts of nostalgic.
I was thinking about how I haven’t bought a new cd (aside from 1989) in YEARS. I buy off Itunes and I pay for Spotify monthly. Listen, I love these things. Like Spotify? My love for it knows NO BOUNDS. But sorting through my cds made me kind of miss cds in a way but also think about my listening habits.
I mean, here’s the thing. I am obsessed with Spotify. I have playlists upon playlists. I love having access to ANY SONG I WANT AND NOT HAVE TO HAVE A BAJILLION CDS EVERYWHERE. I love not having to buy an album if I don’t want to. Because, let’s be real, back in the day before I could preview songs on the internet, the worst thing in the world was to hear a new song and rush out to buy the album only to hate EVERY OTHER SONG on the album.
But on the other hand? I’m feeling overwhelmed by ALL THE OPTIONS. I’m finding myself having SO much music that I just feel like I can’t even keep track of EVERYTHING I like/get to all those artists/songs I like (kind of similar to my too many book choices thoughts?). I have SO MUCH MUSIC that I can’t even decide what to listen to half the time.
The biggest thing I’ve realized? While I obviously do still listen to albums all the way through, I’m listening to playlists I’ve made A LOT of the time. Picking and choosing songs from various albums. (Sure, I used to make mixtapes/cds a lot but the majority of what I listened to an album all the way through.)
AND THAT’S WONDERFUL. IT IS A WONDERFUL WORLD IN WHICH I CAN LISTEN TO JUST THE SONGS I LOVE. LISTEN TO WHATEVER I WANT. WHATEVER MY MOOD DICTATES. ALWAYS. ON THE GO.
But? (You knew there was a but…)
There is nothing like a well crafted album. I mean, the art is in the start to finish. Not in one or two, ready for radio hits. But it tells a story from beginning to end. It’s complete. Those albums, that even your least favorite song, is pretty great. Putting together an album is a craft. It’s an experience. I can think of so many full albums that I probably know EVERY word to every song. THERE IS JUST SOMETHING ABOUT THAT. And sure, not every album is like that. AT ALL. But today I’m so used to just giving the album a quick preview and picking my favorite songs out and never giving the album another thought or a second listen. With cds, I mean sure I could skip songs I didn’t like, but most of the time I popped the album in and listened. And SOMETIMES songs would grow on me or I’d see them in a different light after a second or third listen. It was just a full listening experience.
And I’m not even talking about just the LISTENING part of the experience. But oh my god I miss the liner notes. Just ripping open that cd (UGH cd packaging was the most pain in the ass thing though) and pouring over that booklet — looking at the lyrics, any pictures and any other sort of thing included.
I REALIZE THESE MUSINGS SOUND CRAZY. I mean, it’s not even like cds are totally a thing of the past but I’m looking at my own life and ALL my music listening is done through my computer or my phone AND IT IS MAKING ME NOSTALGIC (even though I’m thankful I don’t have to have a bajillion cds to store and I can listen to whatever I want). And I KNOW I can listen to full albums easily. It’s just…in this pick and choose digital world, I don’t always. And sometimes I feel like less people care about the ART of making an album because of the way listening habits are evolving.
And today’s vagrant musings are brought to you by the letter N (for nostalgia because I’m sippin’ heavy on it lately) and the glass of wine I just consumed. Let’s not even talk about how I just cried my way listening to some music that reminded me of certain college nights with friends. GET AWAY FROM ME, NOSTALGIA.
Runwright says
Reading this post makes me want to pull out my fav CDs too. In fact, I think I might.
Critica says
You’re not crazy. I am the one who’s crazy – I don’t use iTunes or Spotify and I only ever download songs when I know I don’t like 98.5% of an album. I still buy CDs; I never stopped… I love them THAT much. I suppose part of this may be because I like to listen to my music through a stereo rather than headphones. People always think that’s weird, but for me, buying physical copies of CDs is almost like buying physical copies of books. There’s a peculiar excitement that goes along with both, about getting a shiny tangible piece of media that I know I’ll enjoy basically forever. The Internet has really only changed WHAT I buy… Because of the Internet, I know that the radio is an incredibly limited sample of what music is out there. There are so many ‘underground’ bands in existence that I wouldn’t have known about without having the Internet. In a weird way, I feel like my whole life would be different if I hadn’t discovered my favorite artists.
And I totally understand the nostalgia. It’s so cool to rediscover music you listened to a while back because it really takes you back, and at the same time, it’s great when you still love a song/album from a decade ago.
Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit says
Evan still has all of his CDs and a 1000 disc CD changer – he keeps it organized on his computer so that he can figure out what he wants when. He also still buys albums at independent music stores (but he waits until he’s heard the whole album to decide what he wants, then he does a spree). We use our iPods and computers a ton to listen and to make playlists, but we have so many CDs!
Bottom line: you’re not crazy. Owning CDs is always going to be a thing. I don’t think people will ever stop releasing music on a physical space because there’s something about holding that piece and seeing the album art in real life, reading the liner notes and lyrics while you listen. I have a feeling owning physical books will eventually go this way, but I also know that physical books will never stop mattering – partly because sharing books and reading to people will never stop, but also because that feeling of holding a book in your hands really matters.
PS now that Spotify has come to Canada, I can’t stop making playlists either. I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
Ashley says
I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot lately, because I recently was cleaning out my room, like REALLY cleaning it and I found all my mixed cds and actual cds from high school and I was playing them and woah. Flashbacks. Don’t get me wrong, I could probably play most of them on itunes, but there is something different about listening to them as an actual CD. I had the flashbacks to that guy, and learning how to drive, and graduation. I mean, high school wasn’t my favorite time of life HOWEVER having those memories just from a mixed cd or an actual album? Awesome.
Hollie says
This is so me. I hardly ever listen to an album in full, all the way through in order any more. I’m either listening to playlists or hitting an artists full catalogue on shuffle, and, whilst I still love the music just the same, there really is nothing like listening to an album in full. I always think there’s a reason why an album has a specific track listing, and sometimes it feels wrong listening to all those songs out of order. And a playlist is nowhere near the same as a mix cd painstakingly put together through Windows Media Player. Cds give me so much joy, but I really find myself questioning if it’s worth buying them anymore thanks to iTunes and Spotify.
Sydney says
I have a LOT of CDs from my childhood still (I still have the first two HSM sing-a-long CDs, and every single Hilary Duff CD that ever possibly existed). About a month ago I did this major room clean in which I tried to get rid of old things I don’t use anymore, but I just COULD NOT part with those CDs no matter how many times I told myself they were just taking up a LOT of space. So I put them in a box somewhere and maybe in 10 years I’ll un-box them and have my own nostalgia-fueled breakdown.
I’m like you, though. I worship at Spotify’s feet for its ability to bring me music RIGHT NOW, and to bring me a LOT of it. It’s rare that a song isn’t on Spotify, or that an artist doesn’t have at least SOME songs on there. I would honestly rather pay $10/month for unlimited music than $14.99/album, or even $1.29/song. I don’t want to devalue art (Taylor Swift, I’m looking at you!), but I definitely think there are certain luxuries not EVERYONE can afford to buy all of the time. I can’t spend $17.99 on books all of the time, and sometimes I can’t even spend $9.99 on the paperback. You just don’t have the money sometimes! So I really love Spotify for bringing me new music, even if it is a bit of an overload sometimes.
Unfortunately I still have to MAKE CDs to listen to in my car. Siiiiigh. I have an AUX cord but it comes through the radio and is terrible quality, and doesn’t do the wonderful sound system that came in my used vehicle justice. So I make CDs (often, considering how many new songs I discover a week). Those tend to pile up in my center console, but whatever. Great post, Jamie!
Ginger @ GReads! says
I was actually just having a conversation with my sisters about this recently. I have an entire storage bin full of my old CDs. I am limited to closet/storage in my apartment, so that bin is sitting in the corner of my bedroom and a complete eye sore! I want to do something with my CDs, but wasn’t ready to get rid of them. My sister suggested putting them into sleeves inside an album. I think I’m going to do that. Then I can keep the paper booklet inside the CD, along with the CD itself, but get rid of the plastic case that seems to be taking up so much space. I’m not ready to part with my 20 year old CD collection! haha
Rina says
I’ll admit I’ve recently gone back to buying CDs after using iTunes for years. I just love having a hard copy of the music I love
Alexa S. says
You know, I love listening to albums all the way through! While I initially might not like a song or two or more, it often winds up growing on me as part of the album’s collective presence. Like you, I used to have a bazillion and one CDs, but now, just download things online and enjoy the songs I like. Even though it’s fun, there’s still nothing like a full album experience (and listening to it on repeat)!
Tiffany says
I’ve had this same dilemma about all of my old CDs, so they are just hanging out in a box waiting for me to decide what to do with them. Although, some are so embarrassing they are going in the trash (I can’t imagine anyone wanting them)! I get irritated with iTunes and all the digital music because if I’m buying something I want to physically own it, which is the same struggle I have when buying movies…. Ugh! Not to add to your never-ending music list, but I think you would really like the band Midnight Hour… https://play.spotify.com/album/34IFut8UM5RCuZuNh4eBlt
Emmy (Just the Books) says
I still have a bunch of my favourite CDs but purged a few years after the husband and I moved in with one another. Of course now we have to clear out the bedroom they’re in for baby, so I’m not sure what I’ll do with them! I don’t really use them but keep them for nostalgia’s sake — a lot of collector CDs and imports and whatnot — but it would still be hard to get rid of them. Like you, though, I rarely buy a CD these days, usually get my music on iTunes. If I’m buying a CD it’s usually a special edition with perks!