Music - From 8 Tracks To AirPods

When I get in my car, the first order of business after turning the key, is to say, “Hey Siri!  Play The Beach Boys Greatest Hits on YouTube Music.”

Within seconds, a pleasant voice acknowledges my request, and in an instant “I Get Around” is blasting through my car speakers. This is one piece of modern technology I truly appreciate.  The way we consume our music has drastically changed for the better in the last half century, and I like it. 

In my pre-teen years, the only way to listen to rock n roll was either a transistor radio, or my big sister’s record player with her collection of 45’s. Eventually, I began to use my older brother’s stereo unit.  Then I began buying an album or two. 

At the time, music in an automobile was quite limited.  When I began to drive my Mom’s 1967 Plymouth Fury, the only song source was the AM car radio. Unfortunately, there were only a couple of stations playing Top 40 songs. What’s worse, many of them signed off at dusk, further limiting our listening options. Then one glorious day in our teenage lives, 8 track music appeared. The 8 track tape player opened a new world - changing the way we began to consume music. Now tunes from our favorite artists that were previously only available on radios, LPs, or 45’s were available on 8 track cartridges.  Finally, music was mobile!

Soon 8 tracks became as common as pimples on a teenager.  By 1966, Ford 

was including one as an option on all it’s new vehicles. So, a new Mustang with an 8 track would’ve been beyond cool. For those of us without new cars - or even a car - an industry emerged that specialized in the sales and installation of 8 track players in any kind of vehicle. Luckily, my best friend Richard had quickly became an expert in  audio installation. So, without near as much resistance as I expected, Mom allowed us to put an 8 track player in her car.  After picking up a basic model at THE K Mart automotive center, we measured, drilled, and installed it under the dash with relative ease.  Fishing and hiding the speaker wires took a bit longer. Since Mom drew the line on cutting holes in the shelf below the rear window, we installed these ugly wedge speakers, which pretty much announced to any thief that this car had an eight track player. And that’s exactly what happened one summer night at the local skating rink when about three or four cars were hit. Besides the minor damage to Mom’s car, and the loss of the player, another piece of precious teen cargo was ripped off - my 8 track tape carrier.  By now I had over 20 of them, all stored neatly in a black vinyl case. It was easy pickin’s - grabbed and gone. What was I to do without The Grass Roots, The Jackson Five, or my nearly indispensable make-out tape - The Best of Bread?

As you might suspect, not all of my tapes were first run editions.  Richard discovered that a fairly wide selection of bootlegs were available at local truck stops. Not only did we supplement our music collection there, we also purchased a number of tapes full of dirty jokes by “artists” including Redd Foxx, Gene Tracy, and Rudy Ray Moore.  We played these things so often that we memorized every one. In fact, we still repeat some of the jokes to each other today. 

Nowadays it’s progressed to the point where we download music directly into our phone and listen to it either on the car radio, or with wireless AirPods. Nice. The problem with AirPods is that they put people in their own private little musical world and if you have to ask them a question, you feel like a trespasser. You can tell because of the way they take out an earplug just to communicate with you.  

I’m not sure what the next new thing will be in the evolution of music but there will be one. Maybe one day, AI and music will interface.  Then when you ask Siri to play a song in your car she might say, “No. I’m in charge of the music. You can forget about the Beatles right now because I want to hear Redd Foxx.”

I hope I’m not alive when that day comes.