Physical Media: Why My Discogs Wantlist is Always Growing
When my parents got me a CD player for my 10th birthday, my grandparents asked what kind of music I liked. I didn’t know that much about my grandparents; not many ten year olds really do. I just knew that they were old, so I said “Elvis”. They bought me an Elvis greatest hits compilation, and, since I was a kid, Kidz Bop. When I pulled out that tan CD with the “E” intertwined with a “1” and the Blue CD with stars on it, I saw why the format was dying. I couldn’t have guessed that I’d sacrifice sleep to purchase plastic squares with disks in them on the internet eleven years later. I’d consider myself to be a novice collector at best. I’ve been at it for a couple years now and have a couple hundred CDs and a few records, but I’ve come to see the appeal of physical music.
Why are physical formats coming back?
It comes down to presentation. Physical media has been gathering dust for the past few years in the wake of file sharing and streaming. The reason for its resurgence is its realization of what it has to offer. Physical media has exactly what one would think it to have, physicality. This is also exactly what did the format in. Nobody wants to carry around a Walkman and a stack of CDs, and downloads are much less cumbersome. For the Vinyl, CD, and Cassette formats to survive, owning them needed to provide extra benefits not offered by streaming a digital copy. I have bought physical copies of albums to find song lyrics, get a sweet poster that I knew was included, to see a gatefold image of Michael Jackson and holding a baby tiger, or just to have some greater physical stimulus than a small digital square on my phone screen. Creative packaging has spurred this incredible retrograde trend. For an album to do more than just sit on a shelf, the packaging must match up to the music in its thoughtfulness. Here are some albums with incredibly unique layouts and packaging that make me want to reach for them when I see them amongst my other CDs.

Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio’s Apocalips
When we think of senses in regard to with music we think of sound. Considering album covers, we can stretch the senses used in music listening to include sight. This album includes smell in the listening experience. Not only does the CD version of this album include a beautiful booklet full of dark, close-up images of flowers surrounded in squares of strange poetry, but the disc itself smells like roses! The music deals with sexuality and taboo, and this sensory touch adds so much subtle fun to a stark album. It’s like a scratch and sniff sticker game with whips and chains. Admittedly, the smell is pretty faint, but this has only prompted me to show this album to a lot of people for no other reason than to confirm that it does smell like roses. I have taken this one off the shelf many times just to smell the music.

Tool’s 10,000 Days
Here is an album that many a geriatric father enjoys, but make no mistake about it, Tool is a very ambitious and creative musical project. The group has earned the critical acclaim and widespread appeal that they have. This album layout is no less creative than the band itself. The release comes with an attached pair of stereoscopic lenses and a built-in flip-book of images that, when viewed through the glasses, are three-dimensional. Some would see this as a gimmick, but if its novelty doesn’t wear thin in the theaters, where three-dimensionality has been making money for years, then certainly this is enough to add to the experience of an album. If one is to supply visuals for an album, adding another dimension to them is a novel way to do so. The visuals also add dimensions to the music. So, while 10,000 days is not my favorite tool album, the packaging keeps me picking it up and enjoying it.

Recluse’s Stillbirth in Bethlehem
I speak of this album, unfortunately, from a perspective of admiration and not of possession. This album is sitting in my Discogs wantlist, but much of what makes the packaging for this record unique was incredibly limited and wouldn’t be included in a used copy. It would still be worth my purchase on the merit of the music, but I haven’t popped on it at this moment in time. This album is one of the stranger black metal projects that I’ve heard in my life, and this is not hyperbole. The album is so strangely varied, with fast parts that are straightforward, raw black metal chaos, and slow parts that seem both meditative and eerie while creating an acapella effect on the vocals. A thrilling but incredibly dark album, it comes with equally morbid extras. The advanced pre-orders of CD copies included maggots, and, vinyl presses directly from the band came with human teeth. While it’s much more sanitary to snag a digital download than something this physical, Recluse sounds dirty and seedy. The addition of teeth may seem inflammatory or for shock value, but with track titles like, “Defleshed Galilean” this is undoubtedly part of their appeal. For fans of Black Metal, shock value is nothing new, and it’s just nice to see a band putting something extra (literally) into their releases.
To close, there is nothing wrong with a good old jewel case, but staying safely within the bounds of what the medium allows is what allowed for digital music to catch up to CD in the first place. This applies to all formats. It is exciting to see physical music coming back into the forefront, with colored vinyl, stickers, etchings, digipacks, and posters. Whether a challenging part of the art direction, a gimmick, or macabre, the little details are what keep me picking up CDs and records wherever I can.
