Gotta Git a Fix

If you've seen me within the past two years, I probably was carrying my iPod. I will admit it here and now that I'm addicted to music. (I know, I know....I already did a blog about my other addiction, namely, laughter. But this is different.)

Music has always been a big part of my being. As a child, I remember going to sleep with an LP playing in the background. "LP," for you kids, is Long Playing vinyl record. Most of them were about twelve inches and played on a turntable. The record player, as we used to call them, had a needle that fit into a groove on the LP "album." (I have a riddle...I can't use it any more because the kids today don't know what I'm talking about. But here goes..."How many grooves are on one side of an album?" Most of the time, people will say things like, "200" ... "500" ... "1000!" Incorrect! The needle would fit into one (1) groove and follow it until it reached the end of the last song on that side of the album.) Records were very easily scratched; and, due to their size, were cumbersome to carry around. It's funny to me that some recording artists will try to emulate the sound of a vinyl record scratch on their song. I guess they're trying to make it sound vintage.


As a teenager, I had an 8-track tape player put into my car. There's no telling how many tapes I wore out riding around Monroe...looking for fun...looking for girls, mostly. Kids today don't know what an 8-tract tape even looks like. Usually, the 8-track tape would have two recorded sides. If the last song on side 1 was too long, the tape would pop, change directions, and start playing the rest of the song on the other side. For real music enthusiasts, this was like being stabbed in the heart during the middle of a song. Needless to say, this was a product that needed to die.


Later in college, I installed a cassette tape player in my car. At that time, I became a bit on a sound aficionado. My Firebird had one of the best and LOUDEST sound systems in Monroe. I can still remember the warm summer nights, riding around with my windows down, and the sounds of "Turn Me Lose" by Loverboy blasting out of the speakers. I wouldn't buy the recorded cassette, though. I still thought LPs were the way to go. So I bought vinyl records and recorded a cassette tape to carry in the car. Now, when some knucklehead drives up next to me at a traffic light....music thumping so loud I can hear every word...I have to remind myself...that was me 25 years ago. Not an easy pill to swallow.


After Angie and I got married, this new-fangled cd thing started showing up. I kept hearing that all of my vinyl LPs were going to be a thing of the past. I said phfffffttttt. Little did I know, huh? The digital age was upon us and nothing could stop it. I now have a go-zillion cds, sitting in boxes, stored in closets, and most of them are gathering dust.


The iPod is now my trusted music carrier. It goes where I go. I have approximately 32 GB of songs on the thing....no to mention videos, photos, audio books, and sermons. The only problem I have is I'm addicted to the darn thing. I HAVE TO have my fix daily. What worries me is that I'm always on the lookout for cheaper song downloads. (By the way, I don't endorse file sharing. On the large scale that most people use it today, it's tantamount to stealing. It's one thing if you borrow my cd and burn it. It's another thing if you burn it to your computer and let a hundred thousand other people have access to it. At any rate, let's save that argument for another blog.) I still buy cds from time to time. But 9 times out of 10, I download from either iTunes, eMusic, or now, from AmazonMP3. I can get my fix sitting at the computer! Yeah, baby, yeah! (Ironically, after I purchase the downloads, I usually burn them to a cd for safe keeping.)

If you don't have an mp3 player, I encourage you to get one. First, you will help the economy by buying one. And, second, if you like music like I do, you'll be able to get your fix anywhere you go. I know I'm a happy camper. Wouldn't you like to be one too?