Friday, February 11, 2005
Floojioniers?
90's TV is so... '90s.
I have a confession to make. I'm a mix CD whore.
Today I was looking through my CDs... and I have a whole portion of my CD collection devoted to CDs that guys have made for me. They go way back in time. The collection even contains cassette tapes. That's how old it is. Some women save ticket stubs from movies they saw on first dates. They keep them forever and never throw them away. That's sorta how I am about CDs I guess.
Unfortunately, what sets CDs apart from ticket stubs is that CDs are useful. Once you see a show, what are you going to do with that ticket stub? You can't re-see the movie with it, you can't eat it, (well... maybe you could... but that would be weird) and you certainly can't throw it in a stereo and re-experience it.
If you really think about it, mix CDs are very powerful. They're almost like photographs. If you give a girl a mix CD that contains songs that relate to your current situation with said girl, you've marked a moment in time with sound. Sorta like taking a picture. What makes pictures so awesome, is that you can look at one and remember how you felt when it was taken... what the world was doing then, and why the people in the picture are relevant in your own life. A mix CD is similar. They have songs that were all put there for a very specific reason with a conscious intent and effort. There was a time when someone picked out that song, just for you, sat at his computer, and saw to it that the song burned itself onto a disk for you to have and listen to and gain some sort of feeling. It represents a time.
When you make someone a mix CD, chances are you're not thinking about where that CD will be in a month, a year, two years, ten years. You're thinking about what "she" will say when you give it to her, or whether or not she'll read too much into the songs. Think about it. Even when you make that CD, you don't even know what's going to happen in any moment after it leaves your posession. You could have a big fight and never speak to each other again, or you could fall madly in love and elope in Vegas. You don't know! You don't know what kind of history is going to be written in the future, and what kind of feeling the songs on the CD will evoke for the recipient in the future. It's all kinda weird if you think about it.
It's no secret that songs contain emotional attachments easily. We probably all remember the first song we slow danced to, or the song that was playing when we heard the news of a loved one's passing (what a cheesy term... "loved one's passing") or some other such event. So, it seems to make sense that songs on mix CDs will, from that point forward, contain new meaning. I bet you didn't think of that the last time you made one! You're altering sonic history!
I know this all seems a little too weird and involved, but it's really sorta true. I listened to my old mix cds. I still love the songs. I still miss the people too I guess. I miss the relationships (not neccesarily romantic) that I had with those people when those CDs exchanged hands. A lot of those CDs' creators don't talk to me anymore and I wonder what they're up to, or if they would ever think of me if they heard any of those songs.
Does this whole entry seem weird? I'm sure it probably does... all this falsely deep stuff... I didn't mean to make a shallow concept sound deep, it's just hard to describe it any other way.
There's another question involved here, however. Is there something weird about listening to a CD... from another man? What if my favorite CD was a mix CD made for me by an ex-boyfriend. Should my current boyfriend find that weird? (This is all hypothetical, by the way, there has been no mix cd conflict, I'm just wondering in general out loud.) Is there such a thing as mix CD cheating? There's this sort of age-old assumption about things like jewelry. If a guy gives you a ring, especially if it's expensive, there's this big symbolic thing that goes with it... if you break up, do you give it back or do you keep it? And if you do keep it, would you wear it? And if you would wear it, would you dare wear it around a new boyfriend? I don't know, it's all very weird.
Would you feel weird if your girlfriend was like, "Listen to this CD... it's amazing" and she took it out of her CD case and it was all pink with a pink and red label that was like, "Too Schnookie Princess from Love Pumpkie"? Would that make you feel weird, or would it not bother you at all?
I honestly don't know the answers to these questions.
In the meantime, I'm keeping my timeline o' CDs. Despite my relationships with those who gave them to me, I really do treasure each one. Good songs. Good memories.
I have a confession to make. I'm a mix CD whore.
Today I was looking through my CDs... and I have a whole portion of my CD collection devoted to CDs that guys have made for me. They go way back in time. The collection even contains cassette tapes. That's how old it is. Some women save ticket stubs from movies they saw on first dates. They keep them forever and never throw them away. That's sorta how I am about CDs I guess.
Unfortunately, what sets CDs apart from ticket stubs is that CDs are useful. Once you see a show, what are you going to do with that ticket stub? You can't re-see the movie with it, you can't eat it, (well... maybe you could... but that would be weird) and you certainly can't throw it in a stereo and re-experience it.
If you really think about it, mix CDs are very powerful. They're almost like photographs. If you give a girl a mix CD that contains songs that relate to your current situation with said girl, you've marked a moment in time with sound. Sorta like taking a picture. What makes pictures so awesome, is that you can look at one and remember how you felt when it was taken... what the world was doing then, and why the people in the picture are relevant in your own life. A mix CD is similar. They have songs that were all put there for a very specific reason with a conscious intent and effort. There was a time when someone picked out that song, just for you, sat at his computer, and saw to it that the song burned itself onto a disk for you to have and listen to and gain some sort of feeling. It represents a time.
When you make someone a mix CD, chances are you're not thinking about where that CD will be in a month, a year, two years, ten years. You're thinking about what "she" will say when you give it to her, or whether or not she'll read too much into the songs. Think about it. Even when you make that CD, you don't even know what's going to happen in any moment after it leaves your posession. You could have a big fight and never speak to each other again, or you could fall madly in love and elope in Vegas. You don't know! You don't know what kind of history is going to be written in the future, and what kind of feeling the songs on the CD will evoke for the recipient in the future. It's all kinda weird if you think about it.
It's no secret that songs contain emotional attachments easily. We probably all remember the first song we slow danced to, or the song that was playing when we heard the news of a loved one's passing (what a cheesy term... "loved one's passing") or some other such event. So, it seems to make sense that songs on mix CDs will, from that point forward, contain new meaning. I bet you didn't think of that the last time you made one! You're altering sonic history!
I know this all seems a little too weird and involved, but it's really sorta true. I listened to my old mix cds. I still love the songs. I still miss the people too I guess. I miss the relationships (not neccesarily romantic) that I had with those people when those CDs exchanged hands. A lot of those CDs' creators don't talk to me anymore and I wonder what they're up to, or if they would ever think of me if they heard any of those songs.
Does this whole entry seem weird? I'm sure it probably does... all this falsely deep stuff... I didn't mean to make a shallow concept sound deep, it's just hard to describe it any other way.
There's another question involved here, however. Is there something weird about listening to a CD... from another man? What if my favorite CD was a mix CD made for me by an ex-boyfriend. Should my current boyfriend find that weird? (This is all hypothetical, by the way, there has been no mix cd conflict, I'm just wondering in general out loud.) Is there such a thing as mix CD cheating? There's this sort of age-old assumption about things like jewelry. If a guy gives you a ring, especially if it's expensive, there's this big symbolic thing that goes with it... if you break up, do you give it back or do you keep it? And if you do keep it, would you wear it? And if you would wear it, would you dare wear it around a new boyfriend? I don't know, it's all very weird.
Would you feel weird if your girlfriend was like, "Listen to this CD... it's amazing" and she took it out of her CD case and it was all pink with a pink and red label that was like, "Too Schnookie Princess from Love Pumpkie"? Would that make you feel weird, or would it not bother you at all?
I honestly don't know the answers to these questions.
In the meantime, I'm keeping my timeline o' CDs. Despite my relationships with those who gave them to me, I really do treasure each one. Good songs. Good memories.
