the Sony Walkman came out I was in junior high at St. Anne’s Catholic School in Houston. The student body at St. Anne’s was a mix, mostly middle class and some poor kids who I guess got some financial aid. There was also a considerable contingency of wealthy River Oaks kids. I went to school with the Mayor’s niece. Her name was Kiki. There was also a Muffet and she had anorexia. I honestly don’t know where I fit in. I’m not sure if my father sent money from Arabia or if we were getting financial aid. I do know that there was no chance in heaven or hell that I would be getting a Sony Walkman.
one of my wealthy friends got one. Not the wealthy friend who touched my private parts and later committed suicide in a manner clearly meant to make his parents suffer (he called them and asked them to come over so they could find him hanged in his apartment). This was the one who was an average troublemaker but since his father was the D.A., the family handled this trouble-making in high fashion and he was off to military school.
before that though, found him and me in his forest-green spacious upstairs bedroom just a couple of backyards and an easily surmountable rotted fence away from the River Oaks Country Club. There, in his room, he plopped a cassette from an unknown band (to me anyway) into this awesome gadget and placed the ear plugs into my ear. In this manner I was introduced not only to the Sony Walkman but also to Tom Sawyer. I had never been so close to music. It still seems like THE most “wow” musical moment I’ve ever had.
later I stole a cheap knock-off “walkman” from Eckerd’s Drugs. Sounded the same really. Earphones shut everything out so the music is quite personal. However they irritate in short order. And being stuck in your own head listening to recorded music gets old. And batteries are expensive. And I had already become so depressed over all the crap I stole from Eckerd’s Drugs that I had already started going back there and stealthily putting Erasormates, yo-yo’s and other stuff back on the shelves (probably drove them mad at inventory time). And by the way I wasn’t feeling depressed with guilt so much on account of the sin of theft, but on account that the stuff truly wasn’t worth stealing (So I was 12 already –you got to learn some time).
I can no longer listen to the Beatles. But I can listen to their mangled remains re-crafted into hip hop. This is cool.
I guess you really didn’t want mrshl to read this?
I am afraid that he would use the personal stuff against me.
I was wondering which of us would be the first to title a post “My thoughts on the iPad.” Well done.
I don’t understand why so many people are bent out of shape about the iPad. It doesn’t look like something I would use. It would be cool if it were something new and revolutionary, but I’m not going to cry because it’s not magical. I have plenty of other things to cry about.
Great post. Sounds oddly similar to my Texas youth. Don’t miss it a bit. Also, can’t stop crying over the iPad.
I accept your interweb noogie.
Also, I think my ah-ha Walkman moment came later, when I saw the first model that didn’t require you to flip the cassette. By the time I was “culturally aware” of the Walkman, there were already a bunch of knock-offs, and they probably outnumbered the real thing. I didn’t have a real Sony Walkman until I bought my own in college.
As for iPad, I’m not down on the actual device. I’m sure it’ll be a hit. I think Apple’s trying to replace the text book. And if they succeed, that will be a welcome change. I was just tired of all the messianic predictions from the tech press.
Which probably means I should read fewer tech blogs.
FITA, this is going in your permanent record.
I actually read some funny stuff articles on the iPad. But this one made me want to vom.
Here’s a thought. There’s been a lot said on the absence of a camera. Being someone with a child, scattered relatives and so a video chat user, that is a consideration.
What the hell is a “vom”?
“Listen to the technology; find out what it’s telling you.”
Oh, right; vom.
Well in any event, I hope it doesn’t just create more unhappy hipsters.
Everyone knows hipsters can’t afford to live in those places. Those people are yuppies.
Yuppies became bobos and they like to keep their extravagances to themselves. These are archi-hipsters, sort of a spin off hipster like foodies.
I would argue that both archihipsters and foodies are spin-offs of yuppies rather than hipsters, due to the monetary requirements involved.
I would prefer not to argue about either yuppies or hipsters.