It's great to hear someone talk about CDs in the same way people of my generation talk about their vinyl. In both cases there was something about the ownership and building a collection that people don't really experience in the same way today.
But it is also right that nothing can ever take the place of the music of your teens. It gets seared onto your hard drive somehow, and nothing that comes after it can affect you in quite the same way.
Indeed! I remember after the umpteenth move finally giving up my vinyl collection to the charity shop. 33’s and 45’s. Cassettes too. Liberating, yet sad.
My first CD was LinkedIn Park's Hybrid Theory. I had my parents buy it for me for a year 7 music assignment. Then I discovered Evanescence a few years later. Grew up, got married, had kids. 12-13 years later, rediscovered Amy Lee's vocals.
Nostalgia tastes better the longer you let it age.
As a lover of music since the age of 13, I can certainly relate to this story. I still have about 200 vinyl albums after paring down my original collection of nearly 1000 or so. I have a CD collection of maybe 300 or so, but after paring that collection, I don't know how many. I started buying CDs in the mid 80’s. My car still has a CD player, and nothing beats a CD (beautifully recorded) on a good sound system in your vehicle! I can relate to going to record stores in those early days and talking with a few particular salespeople who knew music and their inventory. They learned your taste and could take you to the newest album. I have spent thousands of dollars on high-end stereo equipment but rarely listen to it. I am reminded of great sound in a proper environment when I do. Yes, music is everywhere now, at the touch of a button, but it's not the same experience for me; it requires little to no effort.
I’ve been thinking about it all day!! You’ve taken a feeling - a vague awareness of something that thousands of us must sense but never really analyse- and you’ve opened it up and shown the profound depths of meaning behind the superficially mundane- and that last metaphor! ‘The prismatic diamond exchanged for the gaudy trinket!’ Just sublime. Thank you!
Oh, I enjoyed it very much, the scene in which Odysseus' dog, Argos, recognises his master after twenty years and then dies touched me deeply, I gave my dog, Jeff, a big hug. Also, I had no idea that the O's return to Ithaca would take up so much of the story.
A lovely piece of writing.
It's great to hear someone talk about CDs in the same way people of my generation talk about their vinyl. In both cases there was something about the ownership and building a collection that people don't really experience in the same way today.
But it is also right that nothing can ever take the place of the music of your teens. It gets seared onto your hard drive somehow, and nothing that comes after it can affect you in quite the same way.
Indeed! I remember after the umpteenth move finally giving up my vinyl collection to the charity shop. 33’s and 45’s. Cassettes too. Liberating, yet sad.
Very sad. But moving that stuff is so much of a hassle, too.
Thank you, Mike! Yes, I have a massive collection of CDs I never listen to but can't bring myself to get rid of.
And yes, you're right. I have fallen in love with heaps of music since my teens but I don't know if it affects me with the same intensity.
My first CD was LinkedIn Park's Hybrid Theory. I had my parents buy it for me for a year 7 music assignment. Then I discovered Evanescence a few years later. Grew up, got married, had kids. 12-13 years later, rediscovered Amy Lee's vocals.
Nostalgia tastes better the longer you let it age.
Both bands were a part of my teenage years. Like you, I've rediscovered them this year, and I think they affect me now more than they ever did.
You should play them. I only listen to music online when I'm too lazy to walk to the radio.
As a lover of music since the age of 13, I can certainly relate to this story. I still have about 200 vinyl albums after paring down my original collection of nearly 1000 or so. I have a CD collection of maybe 300 or so, but after paring that collection, I don't know how many. I started buying CDs in the mid 80’s. My car still has a CD player, and nothing beats a CD (beautifully recorded) on a good sound system in your vehicle! I can relate to going to record stores in those early days and talking with a few particular salespeople who knew music and their inventory. They learned your taste and could take you to the newest album. I have spent thousands of dollars on high-end stereo equipment but rarely listen to it. I am reminded of great sound in a proper environment when I do. Yes, music is everywhere now, at the touch of a button, but it's not the same experience for me; it requires little to no effort.
You're right - nothing like picking the right CD for a long car ride!
Wow- that last line sums up so much.
Beautiful writing!
Thank you, Rose!
I’ve been thinking about it all day!! You’ve taken a feeling - a vague awareness of something that thousands of us must sense but never really analyse- and you’ve opened it up and shown the profound depths of meaning behind the superficially mundane- and that last metaphor! ‘The prismatic diamond exchanged for the gaudy trinket!’ Just sublime. Thank you!
You are very generous -- thank you for the kind comments!
yes indeed, all this.
Thanks, Martin. How did you go with The Odyssey?
Oh, I enjoyed it very much, the scene in which Odysseus' dog, Argos, recognises his master after twenty years and then dies touched me deeply, I gave my dog, Jeff, a big hug. Also, I had no idea that the O's return to Ithaca would take up so much of the story.
And just imagine reading the book in Greek!
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, the scene with Argos is particularly moving.
And it's so good in Greek! Really enchanting.