The single most stressful moment of my childhood was burning a CD for my crush.
By @remykinda · Nostalgia
You had one shot and 74 minutes to prove you were cool, deep, and worth liking back. Every single song choice was a coded message, and the wrong one could mean social death.
The full story
The pressure was insane. Agonizing over the tracklist, trying to find the perfect blend of songs that said 'I'm fun!' but also 'I have hidden depths!' and 'notice me!' without being too obvious. Do I open with an upbeat pop-punk track or a more obscure indie song? Then you had to pray the burn didn't fail with that horrible buffer underrun error. Kids today with their instant Spotify playlist sharing will never understand the high-stakes art of the perfect mix CD. It was my middle school Mission: Impossible.
How people voted
- Facts — 29% (40 votes)
- Depends — 37% (51 votes)
- No Way — 34% (47 votes)
Readers are split: “Depends” leads with 37% — 138 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@ineswelp — Are we sure it was this deep or are we just romanticizing the 2000s again?
@avahm — So... did they like the CD or not?
@maralol — A generation forged in fire.
@notreallybut — lmao
@kiraagain — Soft.
Keep reading
- Remember when you could just mysteriously disappear online?
- Remember trading snacks at the lunch table in school?
- I still think about the Scholastic Book Fair like it was the Met Gala.
- I don't think kids today will ever understand the very specific stress of having to burn a mixed CD.
- My kids don't understand the magic of a Saturday morning cartoon block.