Burning mixtape CDs in the 2000s was actually terrible and we need to stop romanticizing it.
By @reesekindof · Nostalgia
Everyone in my group chat acts like handing someone a burnt CD was the pinnacle of romance and friendship. It was actually just three hours of corrupted downloads, scratched plastic, and ruined blank discs.
The full story
My college crew was reminiscing about 2000s tech last night, and someone brought up burning CDs for friends like it was some golden era of deep human connection. I had to step in. People act like spending four hours downloading sketchy limewire files that ended up being computer viruses was a profound love language. Half the track titles were misspelled, you inevitably ruined three blank discs with write errors, and every car ride meant flipping through a filthy CD visor sleeve while almost crashing on the highway. Now everyone in the group chat is acting like curated algorithmic playlists are completely soulless. Curated playlists actually take two seconds, let you send forty songs instantly without handing someone a scratched piece of plastic, and spare your car from catching fire. The ritual wasn’t poetic, it was just tedious. But according to my friends, missing the inconvenience makes you a romantic, and liking the modern way makes you dead inside.
How people voted
- Facts — 34% (28 votes)
- Depends — 42% (35 votes)
- No Way — 24% (20 votes)
Readers are split: “Depends” leads with 42% — 83 votes and 3 comments so far.
What people are saying
@zanelol — Can you not appreciate the convenience of streaming while still admitting physical effort meant more?
@umakay — Did you just hate the tech hassle, or did nobody ever actually make one for you?
@judeliterally — Soft take.
Keep reading
- We romanticize the old internet because we were young, not because it was better.
- Family movie nights before streaming were actually miserable.
- Streaming playlists completely ruined the concept of album filler.
- The internet was objectively better when nobody had a personal brand.
- Streaming algorithms completely ruined the experience of listening to music.