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Photo Credits: Liam H. Flake

Letter of Recommendation: Sony Discman

An outdated song player offers a different way to appreciate music.

In 1984, Sony released a new kind of product, a successor to the then-ubiquitous Walkman: the Discman. The groundbreaking device offered a portable option to enjoy CDs, mobilizing the new music storage option invented two years earlier. The Discman persisted through the late 80’s, but began to rise in popularity in the 90’s, then anti-skipping technology was introduced. However, this technology saw a decline in the early 2000’s as the MP3 music format grew in popularity.

In the earliest days of my childhood, I can remember listening to Dan Zanes or the Rent soundtrack. One song after another, Without You after Seasons of Love. We’d listen to one CD through, then the next, first to last. My whole family knew albums by heart, each and every lyric, and the words of the next song would resonate in our minds before it even started.

Since the advent of the iPod and of smartphones and of music streaming, CDs have fallen by the wayside. They are neither relevant amongst a world of touchscreens nor old enough to truly be vintage. They are found mostly in thrift stores and the back of Barnes and Noble. And, with the fall of CDs, the Discman has plunged into obscurity, added to a list of obsolete technology. Best Buy is one of the best places to find them, offering exactly one option.

A few days before my sixteenth birthday, I met with a friend of mine for brunch. Over corned beef benedict, he handed me a blue jewel CD case.

“For your birthday,” he explained, “I made you a mixtape to listen to in the car.”

Over the next several days, I was intrigued by the shining silver disc that sat on my desk. Not yet having a car, but knowing that eventually I would come into the possession of a Honda Pilot from 2007, I assembled a shoe box of objects and accessories with which to outfit my would-be car. Bumper stickers, a red button boldly reading “FIRE MISSILES” from my aunt – and a stack of CDs from some nook or cranny of my basement. Upon the top of this shoebox, I placed the waiting jewel case.

Despite my box of albums, from Queen’s Greatest Hits to They Might Be Giants’ Flood, I still was without a car and, ergo, still lacking of a very effective way to utilize my collection for the next month. Impatience overcame me, and I found myself in the checkout line of Best Buy with a generic brand CD player in hand.

I spent the next week listening to the mixtape, the CD player in my right pocket. I learned the songs – picking out which ones were my favorite (So in Love by Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark) and which didn’t resonate with me as much (Burning Down the House by the Talking Heads). I familiarized myself with the order of songs, learning the track list by heart.

Albums are released as more than a collected assortment of songs. Over the course of an album, an arc develops – and the strategy of the track order is uncovered. Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown has 23 tracks divided acts I, II, and III. And, after ingesting the album, the listener starts to develop an overall feel for the album of a whole.

Though the same experience – listening to an album start to finish – is something that can be done with a streaming service, it is something that most people don’t do. Google Play Music and Spotify offer a double edged sword – though the systems offer a vast array of music for one to access, many end up only utilizing a small portion of this, selecting the songs only that they know and love. The CD player subverts this habit – while one can skip certain tracks, they are still bound to one album temporarily while deprived of the convenience of quickly changing.

For the last two weeks, I’ve taken the CD player to school, tucked away snugly in my right jacket pocket. I select the albums I take with me the night before, and carefully pull them out in class – Cleopatra in Geography and The Sound of the Smiths in STEM. I listen to them once, then again, through. The whole system is clunky, and outdated, and I can’t carry any more than three hours worth of music at most, but it isn’t without its charm.

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