RIP: My CD Holder 1998-2015
My old CD holder.
Back around 1998, during the height of the CD era, my collection was growing by heaps and bounds, so I needed to find a way to actually listen to the discs in places other than exclusively in my room–like while I was driving my aging little Nissan pickup–just so I could hear them all. At the time, I was too poor to invest in a proper car stereo, so I decided to go the low-budget route and spin my ever-expanding collection of silvery coasters on a Sony Discman with earbuds. Luckily, the police never did spot me with those white wires dangling from my ears and pull me over! To facilitate carrying around the CDs, I built my first homemade CD holder, shown in the top photo, out of super thin cardboard. It held 10 jewel cases snugly, preventing them from flailing all over the cab of my truck at every turn. Every few years, I had to re-tape the holder whenever it threatened to fall apart. Duct tape, masking tape, packing tape–you name it, I used it to reinforce that aging cube.
My new CD holder.
Finally, after 17 years, the whispy, dried out old husk finally had enough as it let out a huge yawn, splitting wide open along one edge for the very first time in the process. Even as it began to disintegrate before my eyes, and all of the sedimentary layers of tape began to peel away, I continued to use the CD holder for a good month or two, finally forcing myself out of the grips of procrastination to fashion a sturdy new one out of brand-new, thick cardboard. Yeah, I still like listening to CDs. They sound better than mp3s, and I love looking at the booklets. Plus, since 2002, I’ve had a car stereo that plays them, and I just replaced it with a new one, so it sounds awesome–no earbuds needed. Here’s looking forward to another 17 years of the homemade CD holder!
Words and photos ©2015 Arcane Candy.
Leave a Reply