Teenager gives up his iPod for a vintage Walkman

 Posted by on 29 June 2009  Vintage/Retro
Jun 292009
 

walkmanipod

13-year-old Scott Campbell had never seen a Walkman before. At least, not one like this. With up to 90 minutes of hissing music, it was the killer accessory of the 1980s. But Scott wasn’t born until the late ’90s, and he’s grown up with digital music his whole life. Still, for a week, he swapped out his latest-and-greatest, going retro.

Best line in the whole piece? “It took me three days to realize that there was another side to the tape.” I also liked how he thought that the “metal” switch was for metal music.

But the whole article is funny and also illuminating. It’s nice to take a bit of time to really realize how things have changed.

From the BBC: “Giving up my iPod for a Walkman”

(via BoingBoing)

Grant Hamilton

  • http://www.absurdintellectual.com/ Amy Breen

    That is too funny, but also kind of odd to me, because I carried my walkman around obsessively.

    I guess it’s akin to my learning how to use a record player for the first time.

  • Colin Corneau

    I could never hear a real difference between using the ‘metal’ button and not using it.

  • http://www.absurdintellectual.com/ Grant Hamilton

    It reduces the hissing if you actually have a metal tape, but those tapes were few and far between in my experience.

    Also, this could just have been the power of suggestion.