Remember when we actually used CD players? A time before the ipods and mp3 players arrived. Now when you walk down the street, it is difficult not to see someone holding an ipod or a zune, or some other type of mp3 player. I honestly haven’t used a CD in quite a while, the last physical CD that I bought from a store was Paramore’s album Riot! That was probably in my freshmen or sophomore year in high school. Of course CD stills exists and many people still buy them, but I, like many others, enjoy buying music from itunes or other websites online. You can’t scratch it, and it is super simple to buy.
Before reading this New York Times article entitled “When The Beat Came In A Box” I didn’t really think much about how not only does music change over time, but also what we play our music with. It seemed so natural to me to switch from a bulky CD player to a tiny little nano. It just made more sense to have something that I can actually fit into my pocket (and now response to voice command). This article pointed out to me that our cultural is not just reflected on the music itself, but how we play it. Technology is such a vital part of our society that it affects every aspect, including music. Another interesting part of this article is how old boomboxes are part of art pieces to reflect on history. It may feel like it’s been forever since you’ve used or even seen a boombox, but when you think about it, how long could it possibly have been? The technology moves so fast that CD players which I remember using not even ten years ago are probably considered ancient to some people.
Just out of curiosity, when was the last time you used a CD player? Or a cassette tape? Do you miss carrying that around? Would anyone want to go back to using that?
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To answer your question, I don’t remember the last time I used an actual CD player besides the one built into my car! But I certainly do not miss carrying one around! This post made me think about how things considered “art” now may not necessarily have been considered art during their time. When the boombox or CD player came out, I doubt that people thought it was some great work of art. However, now that it has pretty much faded from society, it is becoming valuable and now worthy of being called “art”. This is the case with so many other things — paintings, music, movies, etc. I wonder why that is!
I owned LP’s. I also had an 8-track tape player in my 1969 VW bug. (It was white.) Later cars had cassette players. I used to record pieces I wanted to own from the radio onto a cassette. Then came CD’s, the mP3. But then, I am really, really old.