Come on admit it it! If you are old as I am you probably still have an eight track tape of one or two of the artists you thought you could never replace. Here again, if you are like me you no longer have a working eight track tape player so the cartridge is useless but you still can’t bring yourself to throw away that tape because, well, it’s a memory you sort of like to be reminded of.
For those younger folks, it was a storage unit for the music you liked to listen to. It was small enough that you could actually have a player in your car instead of having to wait until you got home to listen to your favorite band. It was created by a man named William Lear and I’m sure that he ended up very wealthy.
It definitely is a 60’s and 70’s kind of thing. You will probably never find an eight track of Justin Beiber, which could be a good reason to go back to 8 tracks (jk)! The way we listen to music will probably continue to change over the years to come. For the most part, it’s better, the cartridges are smaller and store more now. You can carry an entire decade of music in your pocket now. The quality is better and playback decisively improved. But it seems like something we expect these days and we are no longer as impressed as when the 8 track first came out.
The 8 track has gone the way of 37 cent a gallon gasoline and record stores where you could go spend hours looking at what was new on the latest releases. But in some ways there will always be a place for the 8 track in our hearts. It was so new and innovative in it’s time it revolutionized the world, and those who benefited from music sales.
How to celebrate – Dig out your old 8 tracks. See if you can find a working 8 track player. Dress up in 60’s or 70’s clothing.
Unboxing the Bizarre™ 