I’ve been listening to CDs a lot lately. Given my love for DVDs, this probably isn’t a total shock; I’m all about the physical media, baby!
But I don’t love CDs. Digital recordings may have a wider dynamic range than analog, but they sound cold and sterile. Like walking down a hospital corridor three minutes past midnight. You can’t beat the warm crackle and hiss of vinyl, my one true love.
(Not counting Tara and lava lamps and Bloody Marys, of course.)
Plus, playing a record is an immersive experience. You lift the needle, place it on the groove, watch it spin ’round and ’round. You become a de facto member of the band, the fifth Beatle if you will, only minus the groupies and drugs. You just don’t feel the same connection placing a shiny silver disc on a plastic tray and pressing a button.
Now that I’ve dissed CDs, I guess I’ll have to explain why I’m listening to them so much these days. I’m a conundrum is too simple an explanation.
A few years ago, in an effort to downsize – even though we had no idea we’d be moving again soon – Tara and I got rid of 90% of our CDs. This was a collection that numbered well into the hundreds. Even worse, we unceremoniously tossed them in the trash, a decision I soon came to regret. The albums we cared about most we had on vinyl, and pretty much everything else is available on Spotify. (Yes, I stream. This is actually the most common way I listen to music, so don’t you okay, boomer me!)
Luckily, the CDs I did hang onto, other than a few absolute faves, were custom mix CDs. Those cannot be duplicated on vinyl or Spotify or anywhere else…and they’re what I’m listening to lately. On a cheap TechPlay 3-in-1 console system in the basement next to my desk.
I made a lot of mix CDs back in the day. I’d even print up cool labels with rock ‘n roll graphics and give them names, some more creative than others (there are at least seven volumes of “Mark’s Mix”). Some of them were themed, like “Deja Vu” (cover songs) and “Geography Lessons” (Counting Crows “Omaha,” Sufjan Stevens’”Chicago,” etc.) I even have a “Dark Clouds & Stormy Skies” bad weather mix CD with songs like “Lightning” (REO Speedwagon), “Tornadoes” (Drive-By Truckers), and “Blizzard of ’77” (Nada Surf).
Welp, I have officially outed myself as a huge nerd, I guess.
Because most CDs only hold 19 songs at most, you really had to put a lot of effort into making these mixes. I have Spotify playlists with 500+ songs and they don’t feel anywhere near as intimate, you know?
In any case, listening to these CDs makes for one hell of a nostalgia trip down memory lane. I’ve even rediscovered a bunch of songs that once had heavy rotation but had since faded from my memory. They’re mostly indie and alternative rock from 2004 – 2012(ish), a very turbulent time in my life. There was a divorce and unemployment, but there was also Tara and a published novel. Like the CDs themselves, life was a real mix. Despite more lows than highs during this period, the music is, was, and always will be awesome.
And that’s what really counts, right?
How do you listen to music? Do you still own CDs? Did you ever make mix CDs (or tapes)?
Mark My Words 
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