I was perusing CNN's website over lunch today and came across this article, Sony retires the cassette Walkman after 30 years. While I did not get a real "Walkman" until I was on my own and bought it for myself, I have great memories of the Walkman knock-offs I had when I was in High School.
In a technology narrative I wrote for ENG 745 I spent a great deal of time discussing my love for music and that a portable cassette player was my first taste of freedom as a teenager. My walk to school was made with a pocketful of batteries and cassette tapes. I could be found every morning walking down East Washington Avenue my head bobbing to the heavy metal stylings of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Motley Crue. On some days you might even spy me playing a mean air guitar to a Randy Rhodes guitar solo on an Ozzy Osbourne song. When my headphones were on the world around me ceased to exist.
When I joined the Army I bought my first "real" Walkman. I even rigged it up so that we could play it on the intercom of the Armored Personnel Carrier I drove while stationed in Germany. My Walkman saved my sanity in Germany, especially during long shifts on the East/West German border.
Where we would watch the Soviet and East German soldiers watch us, watch them watch us. While there were moments of excitement, they were few and far between. For the most part I would stand on duty in the tower looking at the tower in the photo to the right while listening to Bruce Springsteen screaming out "Born in the USA" into my headphones. A song that made me forget I was looking across a minefield at an enemy that I never wanted to meet on a field of battle.My Walkman also serenaded me to sleep on many an occasion. It would block out the sounds of 8 young men snoring away in a squad bay. My Walkman also allowed me to bring a little bit of home with me where ever I went. My sister recorded my favorite hometown radio station for me and sent it to me in Germany. I wore that ninety minute slice of home out. Almost every day I was back home listening to 101.5 FM WIBA Madison.
When I left Germany and was shipped to Fort Campbell, KY my venerable friend the Walkman made the journey with me. I must have gone through four packages of AA batteries on my thirteen hour flight home listening to the same five cassettes over and over. Once at Fort Campbell my Walkman was still by my side everywhere I went while on duty. Off duty my Walkman had been replaced by a car stereo and a 40 watt amp.
When I got out of the Army my in 1989 my Walkman was retired. It was replaced with a Discman, cassettes were out and CDs were in. My Discman only lasted a year, living on my own I had no need to listen to my music privately and with the purchase of a car stereo with a CD player little need to carry a dedicated player with me.
Now, on the eve of the demise of the Walkman, I have three different types of iPods, as I look at them I look back across the years and see that without the Walkman the iPod would not exist. The Walkman made it possible for me to take my music with me, the iPod made it possible for me to take all of my music with me.
I will miss you my old friend the Walkman. We shared many a good year together, you will be missed.
We were singing/screaming 'Born in the USA' on our hour long bus ride. Your walkman has tracked a lot of miles. I still can't believe they were still making them. I wonder what/where the market is? It is amazing how this consumption has transitioned these devices into new formss like the iPod and et. Great images!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the share here Mark. I like how you have provided a link to the walkman. I cannot believe that they are still making them after 30 years that is cool stuff. I also like how you wrote the part about listening to your walkman on the way to school, as this was very descriptive for me as a reader. I could actually picture you on your way to class bumping your jams.
ReplyDeleteAmy,
ReplyDeleteI am sure that there is still a market for Walkmans, there are some people who just won't give up cassette tapes. I still have a turntable and albums and I still use it. The 8-track however, is no longer in my home...although somewhere around here is Cheap Trick In Color on 8-track...how I don't miss hearing..."I want you to want...ker-chunk...me"
George, I have very vivid memories of walking to school that way. Every once in awhile my Dad, who drove truck, would scare the hell out of me...he would see me walking down the street and blow his air horn when he was behind me...that would go right through the headphones and make me jump a couple feet off the ground.
Mark, do you still have your Walkman? Like I said on my blog, I still have mine. I haven't used it in over ten years, and didn't know I still had it. Now I'm debating if I should just toss it or hold onto it. Maybe I should see if it still works.
ReplyDeleteI am sure I have one around here somewhere in a box.
ReplyDeleteI just heard the walkman story on a podcast.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your account of guarding the German border, I thought of my time in Berlin and visiting the checkpoint Charlie site. So weird that you were there before the wall came down.