blood.bank

Today I received a present. A present know one would know to give unless they know me well. The gift was the Blood Bank cd by, who else, Bon Iver. His latest cd following For Emma has definitely lived up to his crooning falsetto voice with the instrumental buildups that make listeners gush.

With lyrics like:

That secret that we know
That we don't know how to tell
I'm in love with your honor
I'm in love with your cheeks
what's that noise up the stairs baby

Is that Christmas morning

And I know it well

[BLOOD BANK]

His voice sheds my exhaustion.

Aside from me bragging about Bon Iver (real name Matt Vernon) all the time, this post was to actually discuss the lost era of CD's. Most people in the twenty-first century get great use out of free downloads through Torrents, Limewire, Frostwire, etc. etc. etc., buying cheap tracks through Itunes and other equivalents, or other forms of getting cheap/free music off of the Internet. I think the last time I stepped foot in a music store to buy an actual cd was about three years ago, and it was a gift for someone who was computer illiterate. Regardless, there is a distinct attraction in holding a tangible music product that has the authentic cover and literature on the inside flaps. The artwork, the unique signatures artist's sometimes write, the stories, secrets, and thank you's that litter the inside foldings- it all collaborates together effectively. I've missed the care we take in sliding the cd out of the cover, poking one finger through the middle hole so we don't smudge the shiny plastic, and the manual inserting into a player that leaves a memory.

I didn't know I was missing it until I had rediscovered it.

My new idea is to start collecting my favorite cds, maybe records if I decide to take that route, and display them as treasures. Then when I am older I can pass them over to people who'd appreciate a cd from the past, that maybe others will have neglected to remember.

This gift was by far one of the best. Not only do I love the artist, but someone took the time to dissect a moment and make it a memory.

Thank you for the gift although I doubt you read.