When I was shopping for a new car, I zero'd in on the Subaru Crosstrek pretty early on. As I looked into it further, I locked in on the 2021 model specifically. Why? It was the first year that offered the larger engine, and it was the last year that a CD player was included. The CD player wasn't a deal breaker, but it was definitely something I wanted.
I saw Donovan Woods for the first time as an opener a couple of months ago, and he was totally great. During his set, he mentioned that he had a CD for sale in the lobby, "not that anyone listens to those anymore." Of course I picked one up during the break. Why do I keep buying CDs, this somewhat outdated tech. Am I just of that age and set in my ways?
Maybe, maybe not. Hear me out.
I own a lot of music that came out before digital versions existed. I have created MP3s from a number of my CDs, but certainly not all. Some albums I listen to so infrequently that it is not worth the effort, and not all of the music would fit onto the iPod I use anyway. Of course I could listen to most of the music online through Spotify or some other service. They aren't going to have those great Live from the Mountain Lounge acoustic albums for example, but I do listen online sometimes, particularly when I hear about a new band I want to check out. But for various reasons I don't want to pay for the service, and the free version has some drawbacks .
One maybe minor reason I continue to buy CDs is the order of the songs. Typically, Spotify shuffles the songs (and inserts an ad or two). In my head, the artist put the songs in a particular order intentionally. I certainly thought about song order when I made playlists and copied them to tape or burned them to CD (which I am also glad to still have). Artists can't really dictate how you experience their work, but I like to think that listening to songs in their intended order is part of their creation.
A more recent consideration is how I can support the artist most effectively. Buying the music or merch from the artist (directly if possible) is orders of magnitude more profitable than streaming their music. An album or T-shirt purchase is the equivalent of thousands and thousands of streams. This is even more true for small, independent artists like the ones I follow on Twitch. Listening online can help the artist reach more listeners, so that is part of it as well, but buy their merch!
Now, I could still buy the music digitally, but I was reminded of other reasons for the physical over the digital this weekend. As I headed out for my road trip to Crater Lake, I knew I had many hours and days of driving ahead of me, and I wanted to lean into music instead of the podcasts I generally defer to. I looked through my cabinet of 300-400 CDs to see what hit my taste buds in that moment. As I thumbed through the shelves, I was reminded of something else I did to more appreciate art and joy.
We all have thousands and thousands of photos buried in computer folders, most never seen or appreciated ever again. When I was on my own again and creating a new home, I printed some of those forgotten pictures into physical form for the walls of my home, so I could be reminded again and again of those moments. When I was choosing music and going through the CDs, it was more tangible and real, like looking through a bookcase and seeing so many disparate works that somehow create a whole. The CD from the random band I picked up thirty years ago has a chance to be seen, and not lost in folders of various computers.
Some 80s albums from my youth jumped out at me and made it into the shoebox for the trip. For two bands, I put their most popular albums in, as well as the follow up albums that were not nearly as radio popular, but that I love as much or more. Would I have thought to include them if I was searching computer files instead of perusing their physical forms. Maybe. But they certainly never would have popped up on a Spotify shuffle to remind me of the album.
Finally, there is also the art of the physical album that feels more tangible. I can feel the brush strokes on Wonder's hand painted CD sleeve, the stitching on Holly Frost's with the cool shirt button closure on the back, and I can't wait to get a copy of the CD that features my friend Holly's artwork, even though I know nothing of the musicians.
Now please excuse me as I queue up another favorite CD that probably never hit the airwaves for my drive home.
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