Preface: So much of listening to music in 2023 feels…impersonal. We consume and discard songs/albums/entire artists at an unprecedented rate, and thus lose out on a lot of what, at least in my experience, makes music special. At the risk of divulging my approximate age, CDs were the most popular means of listening to music for the majority of my life-to-date. I’d save up whatever money I could from my minimum wage job(s) as a kid and go buy my favorite artists’ albums from places like FYE, Walmart, Target, Sam Goody, or my local record store. There’s something about holding a CD (or, for those into it, Vinyl) in your hands that increases your connection to the music, and I think it goes beyond the mere financial investment. There’s a sense of pride in ownership, and with that comes a sense of duty to give the music the time and attention it deserves. This is far from a preaching moment – I’m now an avid streamer of music – but when it comes to the artists that I care about the most (especially those who have had some sort of nostalgic hold or notable impact on my life), there’s no substitute for having that music on me and being able to look through the pictures and/or display them.

It dawned on me that so much of my experience with music is centered around things that I physically own – from CDs to apparel – so I decided to kickstart a new series based upon those items. I own more CDs than I could ever write about, so the volumes pertaining to compact discs will be centered around either my favorite artists or packaging that I find particularly alluring. Feel free to share your own experiences, and/or favorite physical musical merchandise, in the comments – I’d love to hear your stories. Please excuse the ugly blue carpet…yes, I took all these pictures myself.

So without further ado, here is Volume 1:

(1) Manchester Orchestra – A Black Mile to the Surface

One of my all-time favorite albums, if not my favorite outright, is this dark and emotional indie-rock record. I’ve always enjoyed physically owning it because I feel like the artwork truly embodies just how bleak and desperate the music is; from the front cover showing someone holding on for dear life to the strange and disturbing photos contained within the inside sleeve. Enjoy (or feel very uncomfortable) scrolling through the mysterious images below, all contained within the standard version of the compact disc:

Just a band sitting on a roof after some kind of serious carnage.

Is that the maid? That’s got to violate, like, 100 different workplace safety rules.

I get a knot in my stomach just looking at this.

E.T., is that you? It’s an aaa-lieen…it’s an aaaaa-aaaaa-lieen

Uhhh,…

(2) Yellowcard – Paper Walls

The year was 2007, and Best Buy was still a semi-acceptable place to purchase music. I bought Paper Walls on my birthday, and couldn’t have been more ecstatic to peel the plastic off the case (do you remember how trying to open a CD used to be like trying to break into Area 51?). The cool designs, themes, and artwork immediately piqued my interest long before the album’s opener, “The Takedown” knocked me on my ass with its brilliant instrumentation. They say don’t judge a book (or in this case, an album) by its cover, but in this case I think the artwork alone made the CD worth owning! I especially love how the front cover shows the houses lit up, and on the back cover they’re all burnt to the ground. On the album’s eponymous closing track, Ryan Key sings, “let’s take what hurts and write it all down / on these paper walls in this empty house / and when our ink runs out, we’ll burn it to the ground.” Gotta enjoy the way the lyrics tie into that series of images.

I don’t know why, but the glowing house is so gorgeous.

Come back Longineu! Yellowcard needs you!

…and when our ink runs out, we’ll burn it to the ground

(3) Radiohead – Kid A

This is arguably the most terrifying album I own, and it’s all because of the artwork. I mean, these have to be the drawings of a demented extraterrestrial. The longer I look at the images, the more unsettled I become. It largely matches the sensation of eerie isolation evoked by Kid A in the first place. There are all kinds of strange conspiracy theories out there about how this album and its artwork predicted 9/11, but that’s all a bunch of baloney.

…OR IS IT???

That shadow creeps me the fuck out

That thing has no eyes, but I feel like it’s staring directly into my soul. *shivers*

Ah, yes, alien monster things descending from the mountains and some kind of tunnel…totally normal

(4) Honey Harper – Starmaker

One thing I love about Honey Harper – besides his music – is his willingness to buck country trends. There’s a tendency in country music to appeal to this perceived target audience of manly men, these rednecks sitting on their back porch with straw between their teeth drinking an ice cold (non-Bud Lite) beer. But Harper’s brand is a bit more…glamorous. Like his music, his entire image and brand is not afraid to transcend the genre. Had I opened this CD and looked inside knowing nothing else about the music or the man behind it, I wouldn’t know it was country music…and that’s kind of cool.

Nothing says boots-in-the-dirt, tractors-in-the-field country like rainbows and makeup!

(5) Westelaken – The Golden Days Are Hard / I Am Steaming Mushrooms

If there’s one thing that’s even better than owning music in a really cool physical format, it’s when that format is personalized. Westelaken is a small and mostly unknown band from Canada, but they couldn’t be more likeable. They only hand write their lyrics, and they will personally deliver CDs and other merch to you if you live close enough to them. In this case, I don’t, so I ordered the music from their bandcamp page expecting to simply receive the two CDs that I paid for. Instead, I was given a whole package – clearly handmade with care – accompanied by a note from the band thanking me for my support, a pin depicting the artwork of their debut LP, and a cool picture with notes/lyrics written on the back. It’s artists like this who truly deserve our support and monetary backing; they care, and they want their listeners to feel like they’re part of something special. I immediately felt connected to them after getting this in the mail.

Pictured above: what it looks like when a band puts their heart into their craft. On an unrelated note, if anyone can tell me where that picture is from (see: top), I’d appreciate it!