I’ll always remember the moment I decided I wanted to make a CD of my own. It was a magical moment. And now, more than ever, with streaming taking over the music industry (and CDs getting harder to find) I feel that magical moment slipping away from so many…

Time to Blast to the Past ?

I’m 10 years old and I have the radio on while figuring out my math homework. It’s not making sense at the moment so I fling my pencil down and turn the dial up, right as the DJ announces a world premiere single. A girl’s voice comes on singing “When you think Tim Mcgraw, I hope you think of me…”. I listen through the whole song, it feels like she’s singing to me—like she’s someone I’ve met before. I want to hear the name of the artist, but the connection dips out at the very moment the DJ starts talking.

The song plays on the radio periodically. A lot of people are requesting the “Tim Mcgraw song”. They also don’t seem to know her name. (And at 10 years old I was not accustomed to ‘googling’ anything—that was something brand new. ‘Googling’ wasn’t an everyday term yet. I didn’t even know I could look her up!)

The Surprise! ?

And a few months later, I turn on the radio in the middle of her second single. It’s definitely her, because it’s the same cute and sweet voice. So one day while I’m in my gymnastics class, my mom and brother run to Best Buy and surprise me with her album. It’s the first time I see what the singer looks like! And I know her name now too! She’s got curly blonde hair and blue eyes that are staring out from the cover of the album. And her name is like an announcement across it: Taylor Swift. So, Taylor Swift, a girl with blue eyes and curly blonde hair, has been singing the songs I love on the radio. I savor the fact I finally can put a name and face to a voice.

We hurry home and I spend a good 20 minutes unwrapping the musical gift—peeling off the glove-tight glue strip from the top (and bottom!! Don’t forget the bottom or you might break the CD!), stripping off the cellophane, gently snapping the disc out of its unused plastic case. I slip the album booklet out, study each page and listen to, what feels like, an ocean of new music.

…And We’re ?

This is how I found many other artists. It really was an experience and an effort to discover them. It was like this when there were vinyl records, cassettes, and CDs. You went out into the jungle of the record store to pick up the album, and made the trek home with your treasure. It was a journey!

That’s why my first album was available in a jewel case with a 12-page album booklet. Some of the best moments in my life are cracking open new CD cases, and I wanted to add a CD of my own into the world.

I truly can’t wait to add my next album into the mix!

From,

Me 😀