music monday: on owning the physical copies.

A few weeks ago, I was talking to Lee about packing and he was talking to me about minimalist living. He kept telling me what not to bring with me when I move and included in that list of things was my CDs. I don't exactly remember my reaction when he said that, but I bet my jaw dropped as I said something like, "What? No." Or maybe I had no reaction because I didn't even believe he was serious. So what if I have them all downloaded into my iTunes? It's not the same thing.

But there is a problem with the amount of space available in my car and the number of boxes I want to fit in that space. So I have to decide what to do about the CDs that I have that I don't really do anything with except have them.

But I like my CDs. I like owning the physical copies. I just do. I hate how everything is digital now. You can have the album and the album art and the booklet in PDF form all downloaded on your computer, but it's not just about the content for me. It's the whole presentation. I like holding it in my hands. I like reading the lyrics and the thank you's and other small print information that nobody else usually reads. I like seeing the art and the photography and the layout and design of the whole thing. I like having them displayed on a shelf to remind me and anyone else that music is more than just the sounds that come out of an mp3 file.

I tried to go through them to maybe decide what to do, and this is what I came up with:

The CD that I bought because I couldn't stop listening to their songs on MySpace.
The CD that I listened to almost every night when I worked at Georgina's.
The CD that I impulsively bought at Target because I heard someone say good things about it on Twitter.
The CD that I bought at a show because I was surprised at how good an opening act could be.
The CD that my friend bought me for my birthday, which is one of the best albums I own.
The CD that I listened to while I got my wisdom teeth removed.
The CD that I already owned via iTunes download, but purchased a second time so that I could own the physical copy.
The CD that I got because I supported the band's kickstarter campaign.
The CD that I have multiple copies of because one was a signed copy and one was a bonus edition, etc.

How do you just leave all of that behind? That's my issue.