Express Yourself
The Art of Making a Killer Mix CD
In the age of endless playlists, the limitations of the compact disc are exactly what make it so special
The drive to Las Vegas on a Friday night is very different from the drive home on Sunday morning. The former is brimming with anticipation and excitement, like the first hill of a roller coaster. The latter is a slog. When I’d road-trip to Las Vegas with some girlfriends for a birthday weekend, the mix CD I’d create for the drive there was designed to capture and escalate those feelings of reckless abandon and unabashed release.
After a long day at work, we needed energy for the six-hour drive. We needed an injection of party plasma directly into our veins. We needed to sing Katy Perry’s “Waking Up in Vegas” at the top of our lungs and bounce around the car while the All-American Rejects’ “Dirty Little Secret” pounded from the speakers. Even the title I scrawled across the CD in sharpie (“VAYGAS”) looked ready for a raging party.
Although our Vegas weekend ended up being more hiking and slumber parties than clubbing and debauchery, the drive home on Sunday was still a struggle. Wondering where the weekend had gone, we were on the road back to real life, with all its responsibilities. As our groggy eyes scanned…
