Slice of Life
Music was different when I was a kid. Not music. Access to music was different…how we listened to music was different. Listening to music has always been a big part of my life. We listened to the radio in the car. We sang along!
I had a record player in my bedroom. I remember desperately wanting to see the movie “Grease” but I was too young. I begged and begged until I got the record to listen to in my room. I listened to it over and over and over again. As I grew older, my music delivery system became more and more sophisticated. That record player turned into a stereo. This is the one I had…
Stereo with record player and double cassette deck
I’d sit for hours and listen to the radio…lots of time the waiting was purposeful. I was waiting for a specific song to come on the radio so I could tape it. I would have to get it right as it started and hope that the deejay wouldn’t talk over the song too much. Finding just the right song could take hours, but it was so worth it when I captured it on my tape!
The double cassette deck was the best because once I taped a song (or many songs) from the radio, I could copy them onto another tape and make a mix tape for a friend. I was addicted to creating the best mix tapes! Friends would make them for each other. It was a way to share a part of yourself, by making a mix tape. Pick the songs. Copy them onto the tape and then we had to make the list on the cover of the tape, so our friends knew what songs were on the tape.
Mix tape list of songs
Music needed to get mobile. We needed an easier way to move around and be able to listen to our tunes. Boom boxes were the first step. The Walkman came shortly after that. We needed to be thoughtful about which tape we’d bring with us because we could only have one in the walkman or the boom box. I owned boom boxes like these in high school…
Cool yellow sport boom box!
Cute mini-boombox. Brought one like this to college with me.
When the walkman came out, I couldn’t believe how amazing it was!
Walkman!
Being able to carry around music while I ran or mowed the lawn was the best thing ever! I have vivid memories of mowing the lawn in listening to Rod Stewart’s album, Downtown Train, over and over again. I loved my walkman and it came everywhere with me.
With the dawn of the internet, music has taken a backseat in my life. I miss it. It’s time for me to turn off the internet and the television and turn on the tunes! Making a new playlist filled with Rod Stewart, Duran Duran, Cyndi Lauper, Eagles, Billy Joel, and many more of my childhood favorites.
