A Eulogy for the Mix CD, the Best Way to Tell Someone 'I Like You'

For tech-savvy millennials in the late ’90s and early ’00s, burning a CD was the perfect substitute for a hand-written love letter.

When we are grieving record stores, mixtapes, old-school romance, and friends goofing around in ‘90s high schools, what are we actually grieving? Delayed gratification. Deeper connection. Play and fun. Risk and thrill. Life with less obsessive self-scrutiny. These are things we can reclaim—if we remember what they are worth and roll back the phone-... See more