…you come across your nearly obsolete music collection, and, without hesitation…pack it up and move it to the new home.
From Jock Jams to Jamiroquai, Duran Duran to Dave.
In my basement sit hundreds of memories – organized and honored – all in the form of Compact Discs.
Staring at this bountiful collection gives me a much deeper appreciation for those old Mama’s and Papa’s, Bee Gee’s, and Carpenter’s records that (I’m sure) still exist in my parent’s basement. Those old vinyls were much more than some classic songs my siblings and I would mockingly dance to at the drop of an old stereo needle. They were a soundtrack to my mom and dads’ lives.
And, let’s face it, these CDs are the soundtrack to mine. Even if they’re so scratched listening to them would be unbearable, or I honestly don’t even have a workable a CD player anymore, they’re here to stay.
Why?
Because I can still recall my first CD ever – the My Girl soundtrack – and driving west on Manchester with my dad and brother to Streetside Records to pick up a CD of my very own (a very big deal when you’re the youngest of 4 and hand-me-downs are a staple).
And, well, because I still remember the glory that came during the BMG years – when myself, my brothers, and the rest of the world could purchase 12 CDs for the price of 1! And, no matter how b-grade those free albums were, we did it. And we loved it.
And, then of course, I will always hold a place in my heart for the rise of the fall – Napster.
When it first hit the web (before it was deemed unlawful and shut down by the District Court), my college roommates and I would spend hours every night at our duplex on Pimlico, thinking up every song we could ever imagine, and downloading them till our hearts content. The next morning, we’d burn as many “mix” CDs as our old computers could take, the drive around campus, showcasing our newest creations. Those CDs might be the most valuable of all, as each song was chosen with great care and great meaning.
And, of course, beyond the memories of collecting each disc is the memory of listening to each and every song on repeat. I hear Mariah Carey’s Always Be My Baby, and just like that, I’m sitting on the sandy white Destin beaches during Spring Break ’96. Or Bob Marley Legend, the album that spurs the memory of my family floating on our noodles at our summer lakehouse. Or when I was incredibly sick my senior year of college, and scared of leaving the comforts of my home — my brother-in-law made me a CD with R. Kelly’s World’s Greatest repeated 12 times to lift my spirits. (It worked.) And 0f course, those little, random moments like driving around in my friend Julie’s Saturn blaring Nelly’s Ride Wit Me or dancing away out our duplex in Southridge to n’sync’s Bye, Bye, Bye.
Yep, music – and its subsequent memories – are unforgettable. And though this collection of discs could very easily be transferred into mp3’s on my ipod/iphone in the matter of a night, I have no plans to get rid of them anytime soon. Not only would I be sacrificing the opportunity for my own children to have the experience of getting lost in their parent’s music collection, I would be taking away a glimpse of what this girl was like long before she was ever a “mom.” (fyi. I’m speaking in future terms with all the “mom” talk)
~ So, now I can’t help but be curious. What songs or albums spark your biggest memories? Do you still have the record/tape/cd to show it? ~
Living Room 
