On Why We Should Bring Back the Mix CD…

Anyone that knows me knows that music is a major part of my life. I don’t think that makes me special or anything – most people love music and I imagine they also have a soundtrack to their day or their life.

Whether I’m working, cooking, driving, or just hanging out, I almost always have music playing, and this has been the case for as long as I can remember. Music helps me tune out, it helps me tap into my emotions, and sharing it with others is a form of communication for me.

Sharing my love of music became easier when I learned how to record songs off the radio onto a cassette. The radio was always playing in my room, and I’d dive to hit the record button when a good song came on to make sure it was captured on the blank tape.

As I entered middle school, I heard about this thing called “burning CDs,” and I was desperate to be able to do it myself. As our at-home technology improved and my knowledge of ways to obtain music for low- or no-cost expanded, I entered the world of mix CDs.

Creating my own mixes has been the gift that keeps on giving. I created my personal compilations to enjoy on my own or with friends. I created gifts for friends and family. And today, I revisit these mixes to go back to a specific place in time.

I have a pretty good idea of what I was going through with each mix I’ve re-listened to, further proving how music can attach itself to a place, a time, a feeling. One in particular I know was created in the wake of a breakup. You’d be fooled by the first track (“Renegade by STYX”), but once you get to “Everything I Once Had” by The Honorary Title, it’s pretty clear.

There are others that I clearly made in the middle of summer that have a carefree feel, no responsibilities, late nights, warm air, bonfires. Those are the ones that feature “Bandages” by Hot Hot Heat and “Helena” by My Chemical Romance.

As CDs faded away and streaming services have come into the forefront, I have access to more music than I ever had before. It’s truly amazing and I love it, but my Spotify playlists don’t quite hit the spot the way a mixed CD did.

With a mix CD, I had limitations. 80 minutes. How many songs could I fit into it? If I could get 20 that was a major victory. Most topped out at 18. I rarely, if ever, listened to any CDs on shuffle, so the order of the songs mattered. Could I get the last note of one song to be the first note of the next? What songs built up to another?

Perhaps best of all was writing out the track list in Sharpie on the CD itself. That’s probably what I miss most of all.

If iTunes hadn’t gone by the wayside, and if the medium was still holding on, I’d encourage us to create more mixed CDs. Instead, I encourage everyone to go back and listen to the mix CDs they still have. They may make you cringe, or they may make you cry, but either way you’ll be transported to a different time in a way that only music can transport you.