The Complainer: CD Packaging

Though I will admit outright that I'm a iconoclastic vinyl record diehard, I also own a lot of CDs. I don't outright hate the CD format; it's a necessary evil in this strange era where we're transitioning to digital only music while vinyl record sales are simultaneously up. I would argue this is largely because CDs are the unfortunate mid-point between the convenience and portability of digital music and the classy, fun-to-look-at-and-listen to record format. Also, many new releases of vinyl smartly include codes for free digital downloads. But I digress.

This is not an entry in The Complainer series wherein I eviserate the CD format itself. I don't prefer it, but I've got too many CDs already, and I don't have the time/money to replace them all with vinyl/digital versions. This is also not about the ubiquitous, annoying stickers that are on the tops of CDs. Everybody in the world, everyone who was ever born and possibly could be born in the future, hates those. Rather, this is about the different packages that CDs come in, and what I dislike about them. Note: I'm not going to go into every single CD package style, since I don't own every weird little variation there is. Also, stuff like the 'slimline' CD cases and the lame paper sleeves are self evidently crappy.

The Jewel Case

I would wager that a good 90-95% of the CDs you own are in this kind of packaging. As far as I know, it was the 'original' package that CDs came in when first introduced in the mid 80s, and has always been the most common, though the Digipak format is probably next in line. My issue with this format is that, even though it's the most durable--after all, it's almost entirely made out of plastic--it has a propensity for getting cracks in the cover, as well as the frequent breaking of the little plastic 'arm' bits that snap the clear plastic lid unto the bottom tray. It's up to debate as to whether a CD versus a record, minus all packaging, will be more durable, but I personally own many CDs with ugly cracks on the lid and/or no arms so that they fall off if I turn them upside down.

Digipak

Were you to sit down and devise a way to combine the vinyl record sleeve with the CD jewel case, you'd probably end up with the Digipak. This package is essentially the bottom tray of a CD jewel case glued inside a miniature-gatefold record sleeve. It does have the appeal of a record sleeve--you only see the cover image, and not the black bar of a jewel case next to it--but it also has that package's weakness. That is to say, cardboard, as sturdy as it can be, still bends really easily. I'm sure some people take immaculate care of their CDs, but I use them as a mobile/travel music format, and almost all of my CDs in Digipak have bent corners. That may sound needlessly nitpicky, but that's what this column is all about.

The Double Jewel Case

I debated whether to even put this seperately, since its flaws are similar to the standard jewel case. However, this allows me to single out the ugliness of the double jewel case format. It may allow record companies to put booklets and/or extensive liner notes inside, but it just doesn't look very elegant. I also want to take a running stab at the "regular jewel case, with an awkward foldout tray to fit 2 or 3 CDs inside" format. These foldout trays are ridiculously fragile, and trying to use them is begging for the CDs to fall out of the center grip things.

The Jewel Case with Slipcover

Possibly because someone realized Digipak was flimsy but jewel cases didn't showcase the cover art enough, record companies began to issue CDs in a standard jewel case format, but with a cardboard slipcover that went over them. I'm of two minds on this format. It solves the issues I have with the eventual wear and tear of the Digipak with the eventual ugliness of the jewel case...but I never keep the damn things on the CDs. Call me lazy (go ahead, I'll be over here trying to reach the TV remote with my foot) but these slipcovers are a hassle to get off. It seems like every one that I have fits too tightly to come off easily. So, I've got a pile of these things filed away somewhere, and I'm back with the problem of jewel cases.

The Boxset

While the actual look, dimensions, and materials vary greatly, the CD format did give birth to one magnificent new musical format: the boxset. True, artists were releasing triple and quadruple (possibly even more, I confess that I don't know) record albums during the heyday of the format, but the idea of a "multiple disc" release beyond a 'double album' was something that really came to to prominence in the CD era. It was simply more cost effective to cram so much music unto so many CDs even if the packaging that housed it was more expensive as a byproduct. The above pictured boxset--a live, 6 CD release by Miles Davis--would have spanned at least as many records and cost probably double. I can't technically complain about this CD style, since each one is different, but I don't really want to. They may be far less portable than a typical single or double CD release, but they aren't supposed to be.

Whatever All These Are (The Rest)

Frequently, artists decide it would be really funny if they released their new CD in a weird package. They may look more aesthetically pleasing than a typical jewel case, but because they usually involve Digipak-style containers and/or cheap, slipcover style packaging that 'holds' the CD with a booklet, they're just plain bad. The Bob Dylan ones pictured above are awful, because the other side of the package is a gaping whole, which you're guaranteed to constantly spill the booklet and CD case out of because there's nothing holding them in. Most frustratingly of all, these sundry other CD packages usually have limited edition or short-lived-and-doomed-to-go-out-of-print connotations to them, like the Broken Social Scene album shown above that came with a bonus EP on CD, or the (not pictured) Tortoise boxset, which is like a cardboard version of the container some leather wallets come in, with 3 CDs and 1 DVD packaged in flimy cardboard/paper sleeves. Give me a break.