I’ve always been a huge fan of music. I credit my older brother for this! He’s always been a sucker for a nice sound system–even before it became “fashionable”. He always had a great sound system in his car, and in his home– and he had plenty of music to play on both. He loves all kinds of music, and so do I. I loved spending time with him when I was a “tween” (he’s 9 years older), and always looked forward to my summer visits with him and his wife.
When I turned thirteen, I convinced my parents to let me join “The Columbia Music Club”. (Wow, now there’s a blast from the past!) Back then, vinyl records were still the rage, so every six weeks or so, I’d get a new album in the mail. After I left home and married Ed, I continued adding to my album collection for a while, along with a few 8 track tapes. I still have every one of my old albums, and we have our old turntable, too! Thanks to the internet, we were able to find and purchase a new needle for it. Who doesn’t love the music of the seventies–scratches and all?!
Fast forward through four decades of music collecting–first there were the 8 tracks, then cassettes, followed by cd’s. I have an extensive collection of cassettes and cd’s, but Ed and I discarded our old 8 tracks about 5 years ago, when we discovered they no longer played. Suddenly, I began to notice that music stores were closing, and cd’s were disappearing from the shelves of Walmart…I decided I’d better get with the program! I’ve been way behind with my knowledge of new musical technology for several years now.
I’ve been content listening to my old cassettes and cd’s, along with the radio, but recently I decided to upgrade to an MP3 player. I did my homework, and decided on a Sony Walkman MP3 player. I’m in love! I had no idea such great sound could come from something so small! I also had no idea that something so tiny would hold so much music! I can’t stand wearing ear buds, so I bought a super comfortable set of headphones–and a few accessories so I can listen to my music out loud, too.
A couple of weeks ago, I took my new MP3 with us to the beach. I was in heaven, sitting there gazing over the ocean listening to the sounds of the seventies! When I tired of those, I simply switched over to Jimmy Buffett or Kenney Chesney’s music with a more “tropical flavor”! Imagine my surprise when I discovered that our hotel room included a clock radio with an adapter for MP3 players. I went to sleep that night after listening to “Under the Boardwalk”…
I’ve been immersed in the world of music for the past month or so, and I’ve been making lots of new discoveries, which I’ll share with you in future posts. One of my first shocks came as I was browsing YouTube, and discovering what some of those “seventies” musicians actually looked like…
I just couldn’t get over that black fish net shirt, complimented by the red scarf–and those pork chop sideburns!!! Oh my! It’s an image that will pop into my head , forever more, whenever I hear this song–which happens to be one of my summertime favorites!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Reflections...by Kathy 