There’s something almost metaphysical about the way music travels through time. Yesterday, I found myself knee-deep in boxes of CDs – about 500 of them – each one a perfect circle of polycarbonate plastic holding countless moments of human expression.
The collection reads like a roadmap of American music: Kris Kristofferson’s weathered poetry, Gretchen Peters’ storytelling that cuts right to the bone, Dwight Yoakam’s honky-tonk revelations, Jimmy Buffett’s barefoot philosophy, and the Talking Heads’ art-house funk. Each disc represents a different facet of our collective musical consciousness, preserved in this peculiar late-20th-century format.
You might wonder why CDs, in this age of streaming and digital convenience. Well, there’s something to be said for holding music in your hands. These aren’t just albums – they’re artifacts, each scratch and fingerprint telling the story of someone who once held this same disc, probably sitting in their car or living room, experiencing these songs in real time.
Every one of these CDs has been tested, their cases are intact, and they’re ready for their next journey. They’ll be appearing on eBay soon, each one waiting to continue its circular path through the world, carrying its cargo of melodies and memories to the next listener.
It’s funny how things come full circle. These CDs, once the height of modern technology, now feel like artifacts from a simpler time. But the music they contain? That’s timeless. Whether it’s Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down” or David Byrne’s existential musings, these songs still have something to say about who we are and where we’re going.
I will post a link soon to the listings on eBay, so you can browse through them before they head out into the world again.
There’s plenty more where these came from, each one waiting to spin its story one more time.