I'm kind of old school (and it kind of sucks).

I couldn’t stay away forever, could I?

Getting back into the blogging scene is something I’ve wanted to do for a while –- I just haven’t felt a serious urge to do so until now. If you read the old walkingparty.com, you’ll understand that things here can sometimes get interesting. Not very often, mind you, but often enough that it keeps people coming back.

So here you are, and here I am. We’re both back, and it’s the cutest thing ever. At the risk of turning this into a reunited-and-it-feels-so-good moment, however, I would like to proceed with today’s topic...

I went to Barnes and Noble last night because I wanted to buy the soundtrack to The Darjeeling Limited, Wes Anderson’s new film starring –- get this –- Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman. I've been a big fan of his previous soundtracks, so I thought the new one would be worth picking up.

That little piece of information, though I wanted to share it, is not the point of the story. The point of the story, as the title of this post subtly suggests, is that I am one of the few people out there that still buys CDs.

Before you call me crazy, I would like to explain why I do what I do. I buy CDs because a) I like supporting the artists, as cliché as that sounds and b) I like having the physical product in my hands. Sure, buying music online is easier (and cheaper), but purchasing a file just isn’t as satisfying. You don’t get to see what the entire case looks like (do you?), you don’t get to flip through the liner notes and see pictures of the production, snippets of lyrics or whatever clever things artists these days choose to include.

It just isn’t the same. And as long as “they” keep making CDs, I’m going to keep buying them.

Well, the ones I want to, anyway.

Just for the record, before I go any further, I want to state that I do own an iPod. Actually, I’ve owned an iPod for about 6 years and was rockin’ the little white gadget while most of you were plugging your gigantic black headphones into a Sony Discman and thinking you were hip. But I’m not an elitist, so I’d appreciate if you didn’t label me as such.

As someone who appreciates music and is always searching for something new -– both physically and in the ground-breaking sense –- most of you would think that I would be one of iTunes’ biggest customers. I am not, though, because I think iTunes sucks. I do download, yes, but in a fashion some would call “borrowing,” “sharing” or “illegal.”

(Note to the RIAA: if you’re reading this and want to sue me for all I’m worth (close to nothing), I’d like to acknowledge the fact that this post is about me buying a CD.)

Anyway, there I am at B&N, searching for the soundtrack for The Darjeeling Limited. I preview it at one of the listening stations, decide that it’s probably a decent purchase and pay the man.

And here’s the point of my story: I couldn’t fucking open the thing.

Seriously, I began to open it even before I exited the store, and by the time I walked to my car, I still sat there for 5 minutes -– no exaggeration –- before I could get the actual CD out of its case. Whoever decided that shrink-wrapping the packaging until it couldn’t possibly be any tighter needs to be shot. The little corners that you should be able to stick your fingernail under and start the process? Pretty much non-existent.

And don’t get me started on the title / artist label that prevents you from opening the case after you’ve gotten the cellophane off. You’d think that after all these years, someone would’ve realized that putting that information on the outside of the packaging would make a bit more sense.

The bottom line? Opening CDs, for those that haven’t done it in a while, sucks. Period.

I dropped countless f-bombs throughout the ordeal and even had to turn the air conditioning on because I was getting so flustered. It was terrible. Finally getting the disc free was like nothing I had ever experienced before, satisfying enough that I had to light a cigarette immediately afterwards.

So there it is -- my story about being somewhat old school. Sure, it’s cool on the exterior, but it’s not nearly as convenient as being a soldier in the digital revolution. Buying CDs is for losers, and whoever wastes five minutes of their life trying to open one is a loser by association.

It’s good to be back.