Obviously I am a huge fan of music. Despite this, though, I was never really as much of a collector of physical albums as most fans would be. The first CD that I bought was My Chemical Romance‘s emo masterpiece The Black Parade back in 2007 (about 7 months after its release). I was 15 then. Since then, I could easily enumerate all the physical CD’s I’ve owned:
- Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys by My Chemical Romance
- Et Tu Brute EP by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
- Good Views, Bad News by Broadway Calls (a free CD I got from ordering shirts from a punk online store)
- Uno by Green Day
- Dos by Green Day
- Tre by Green Day
- Paramore by Paramore
- Don’t Panic by All Time Low
- What Are You So Scared Of by Tonight Alive
While owning a physical copy of anything is always a satisfying feeling, it occupies space and I find that too much of a hassle. After making a Spotify account back in 2014, I never looked back from digital music streaming. It’s convenient. The ability to play music portably should never be taken for granted.
Now, when I entered my KPop phase in 2019, never did I imagine I would buy physical CD’s again for the same reasons stated above. But here we are, I bought a physical copy of Dreamcatcher’s two most recent comebacks Summer Holiday and Dystopia: Road to Utopia. (Read about my obsession for Dreamcatcher here.)
Unlike rock CDs that only occasionally include freebies such as stickers or whatever, KPop albums typically come with plenty of other shit, such as photocards (which apparently already has a black market like the good old days of Pokemon cards), stickers, photobooks, posters, garlands, photocard stands, etc. The two albums I procured have all of those. Better value if you ask me, compared to rock CDs.
So anyway, I feel like a real InSomnia (Dreamcatcher’s fanbase name) now that I have these. Of course, merch should never be your sole basis for fandom, but you get my point.
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