In Defense of the Compact Disc

I am a child of the 90s. That decade shaped my adolescence and prepped me for an adult life in the new century. Like any adolescent, music was an important participant in the shaping of who I am today. I heard music through the radio and television, but the main format of my music consumption was the compact disc. I had a few cassette tapes in my earlier years, but the CD became the storage medium of choice for all my music needs. Trips to the music store were a weekly event, borrowing and copying CDs from friends were even more common, and yes, I even belonged to Columbia House to get 12 CDs for the price of one. Multiple CD cases were filled and were constantly being updated with new music. Furniture was bought for the sole purpose of CD storage. Obtaining a CD burner threw out limitations. It was a good time.

Towards the end of the decade, computer-based music and downloads were starting up and I fully took advantage of the high-speed internet in college to create a new library of music. But even with this, I never gave up on my CDs. There was something that these digital downloads could not replace. To me, it was something about the experience of the album as a whole. Each song meant something to the songs before and after it. I would be able to sing the first notes of the next song as soon as one song ended; you just knew the order. There is just something special about listening to the whole album, not just a single here and there.

Yes, I am well aware that digital players and media libraries have album-playing capabilities and you can experience the music just the same as if from a CD. But for me, there is a difference. I don't know if it is just having something tangible with you or if disc artwork makes a stronger impression, but I enjoy having a collection of CDs at hand. It becomes a more important decision when cycling through pages of CDs and their covers as opposed to scrolling through lines of text or hitting 'random'. It is a slower process, but it can also be more satisfying.

So even today, I still have soft cases of CDs in my car for my car's CD player. I could update to a digital based system, sure, but I like my discs. I like paging through the cases and picking out that CD that fits the mood I am in at the time. I don't mind that it sometimes takes some creative reaching and poor driving choices to get that certain CD out and in the player. Yes, the occasional CD skipping is an annoyance, but it makes me think of just how many times I may have listened to that album and maybe I need to do some backing-up, repurchasing or re-burning.

I think I am chalking this opinion up to pure stubbornness on my part; something in me that is holding on to those years in the 90s that molded my ears into the custom music receptors they are today. I experienced music in album format, off a plastic disc. I liked what resulted. I will continue to listen to those discs and experience those 80 minute journeys one at a time. Efficiency and durability may have improved with the adoption of newer formats, but CDs still provide me with a feeling that the new ways cannot. It may take a bit more care and maintenance, but I will stay loyal and stick with my spinning plastic discs that have always treated me well.

Haters gotta Hate

A few days ago, President Obama made a televised statement in the middle of the night declaring that the man behind the 9/11 attacks and sworn enemy of the United States, Osama Bin Laden had been found and killed. This man had been in hiding for 10 years, eluding our military in the search for justice. This man caused insurmountable tragedy here in the US killing thousands and affecting millions, so surely his death would be a welcomed announcement. Well, you would think so.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. There was immediate political response making claims about the President's timing and the questioning the legitimacy of the deed. Fear mongers immediately worried about potential backlash. Diplomats wanted to know about Pakistan's involvement. Conspirators want to see physical proof, not believing 'buried at sea', or the whole event for that matter. Peacelovers claimed murder is never the answer after hearing the President made the order to kill the guy. Even Native Americans got into the mix by being offended at the terrorist's code name of "Geronimo".

I understand having differing view points and sticking to your morals and ethics, but how is this event not a good thing for all Americans? Why must there be instantaneous pessimism and insolence? Sure the talking heads on TV need something to argue about, but if you scour the internet or newspaper, there are reactions all over the charts, bringing up other subjects and trying to relate them to this event and why they are allowed to hate. It's just sad.

The worst of all is the people who claim that Obama did nothing and should deserve no gratitude or respect. It doesn't matter if he sat in a recliner while the whole thing went down or if he was the one who actually pulled the trigger. He is the presiding President, the Commander in Chief and he was in office when this happened. It got done. Period. This condescending viewpoint is often linked to claims that former President Bush should be given more credit; him being the initial hunter of this terrorist, without whom the current President would not have succeeded. I find it depressing that people cannot just be happy that an evil person is now gone from this earth. People are not satisfied with being relieved of wondering if this man would strike again. Instead, the event gets twisted into some sort of political power play including new conspiracy theories to befuddle the interested.

The events following the announcement only solidify my opinion that no matter what good things may be done, there are enough people now that there will always be someone against it or finding fault with it. People are so different and so numerous that pleasing all of them is impossible, no matter the action. If you take this all in and think it matters that people get along, the only remedy for this realization is apathy and ignorance. The alternative is agitation, arguments, vitriol and hate. I will choose to knowingly ignore the hostility, reducing it to an easy cliche that I am comfortable lumping all of these people in: haters gotta hate.