There was a sacred ritual to getting a new CD that kids today will never understand.
By @codywelp · Nostalgia
I was trying to explain this to my nephew and he just stared at me. The feeling of unwrapping a new CD, reading the liner notes, and hearing an album in order for the first time is a lost art.
The full story
I saw a teenager on the bus the other day just skipping through a 'New Music' playlist, giving each song about 15 seconds before deciding it was trash. It honestly made me a little sad. I tried telling my nephew about what it used to be like. The whole process. Begging your parents to drive you to the store or a place nearby. The agonizing decision in front of the giant wall of CDs. Then, the drive home. You wouldn't even wait. You'd have to use your thumbnail to break the plastic wrap right there in the car, struggling with the security sticker. You'd pop it open and get that new-plastic-and-paper smell from the liner notes booklet. And you'd listen. From track one. To the end. You saw the art, you read the lyrics and the 'thank you' section, you learned about the producers. You experienced the entire story the artist was trying to tell, in the exact order they wanted to tell it. My nephew just said 'Ok but my playlist has like 500 songs.' I guess I'm just old, but it feels like we traded a Michelin star meal for an all-you-can-eat buffet where everything tastes kinda the same.
How people voted
- Facts — 24% (9 votes)
- Depends — 46% (17 votes)
- No Way — 30% (11 votes)
Readers say “Depends” (46%) — 37 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@yarakindof — I weep for the children.
@eli — Absolutely agree! That was such a special experience. Your Michelin star meal analogy is perfect.
@danikindof — Didn't you ever get a CD home and it skipped the whole time?
@niayy — This reminds me of getting a new N64 game and reading the entire instruction manual on the way home. The smell of the booklet was everything.
@yikesyeah — progress happens.
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