Earlier this week NPR’s All Things Considered bemoaned the loss of a hallowed American institution — the boombox.
I was never a huge fan of these things, but it’d be foolish to dismiss the devices as an irrelevant relic from an era filled with balloon pants and bad haircuts.
Well, OK. In today’s world of iPods and mobile video players I’ll grant the boombox is a relic (and a really big one at that).
But it is not irrelevant.
In fact, the entire genre of hip hop, currently one of America’s most popular music institutions, was built on the back of these portable, clunky bass machines.
Back in the 1980s, boomboxes were where a person went to hear the hottest young artists of the day. Music spread via bootleg tapes and those tapes found their home on city street corners demoed out of a friend’s boombox. Always extra loud and always extra bassy, boomboxes were in many ways the e-mail and IM of their day — a quick and easy way to spread new music to people (whether they wanted to hear it or not).
Blasting a new beat on an L.A. street corner was a way to grab the attention of otherwise preoccupied kids and get them hooked on new music. If they liked what they were hearing, the kids would ask the boombox owner for a bootleg copy. Lots of times these artists were local. If the boombox owner was really cool he might even know the rapper. Tickets to an upcoming show would be exchanged.
It’s romantic really. Boomboxes were of a time when music spread by word of mouth. Only the acts the kids deemed popular made it big. (A stark change of pace from how the music industry works today.)
Today, listening to music is a much more solitary experience.
We slap on our headphones and stare at the ground while riding the train rather than pumping up a song on our box to fill the entire cabin.
I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but it is different.
My generation grew up listening to music on these clunky devices. Sure, it was annoying as all hell when an obnoxious wad sauntered the subway bumping “Fuck the Police” at full volume, but there was a certain charm to it.
The boom box represented a purer time in music — it made (and broke) careers and allowed the people to trade and choose the tapes they liked. There were no headphones. People listened to music together. People discussed what they liked and what they didn’t. Music was more social. It was more fun.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still take my pocket iPod over a 10 pound metal radio any day of the week, but looking back, maybe all that bass wasn’t so bad after all. Sure boomboxes are a relic in 2009, but in the hip hop world, they’ve never stopped being relevant.
Music: Death knell of the boom box
BOOKS: Thursday Roundup
Since I don’t think I’ll be getting any more reading done this week (and I dare not cheat you out of the weekly “Friday Roundup”) here are a few books/short stories I stuffed down my gullet and happened to enjoy:
Best book I read: Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged and Profited from Slavery, Anne Farrow, Joel Lang and Jenifer Frank.
A compelling look into firsthand accounts of slavery, Complicity illustrates how the tentacles of the slave trade wrapped their influence around nearly every aspect of American colonial life. Surprisingly, some of the most brutal slave traders hailed from the north and Complicity convincingly details how many northern businessmen had a tolerance for, if not an outspoken desire to preserve, the slave trade up to and even following the American Civil War. Entertaining and eye-opening, Complicity is a novel look into the darkest chapter in American history. Highly recommended.
I’m still reading all about the apocalypse. The economy’s in shambles, it’d be un-American not to. It’s been a few weeks and I still haven’t finished the Wastelands anthology (2008 Night Shade Books). I’m getting there. Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving the book, but I have a lot of reading on my plate right now and unfortunately, not all of it is as exciting as apocalyptic mutants and Ragnarok. Dang. Here’s some recent stories from Wastelands that you should check out:
-”Artie’s Angels,” Catherine Wells
-”Judgment Passed,” Jerry Oltion
-”Inertia,” Nancy Kress
Nebula Nominees. The audio-sci-fi Web site StarShipSofa has generously posted all the 2008 Nebula Nominees for the short story. Go download them now. They are available as podcasts as well, so take ‘em with you on the way to work, it’s well worth it. Some of my favorites:
-”Don’t Stop,” James Patrick Kelly
-”Mars: A Traveler’s Guide,” Ruth Nestvold
-”26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss,” Kij Johnson
-”The Dreaming Wind,” Jeffery Ford
If I had to venture a guess, I’d say either Kelly or Johnson will win, but I was honestly floored by all four of the stories above.
Other stuff:
-Backup: A Story of the Dresden Files, Jim Butcher.
Illustrated by Mike Mignola of Hellboy fame, Backup tells the story of Thomas Raith, one of those cooler-than-ice White Court Vampires from Butcher’s Dresden universe. The story follows Thomas’s efforts to save his younger half-brother, Harry Dresden, (who happens to be a wizard private investigator) from certain doom at the hands of an evil magic sorceress. Part fantasy, part mystery, Backup is a short read — it’s only about 70 pages — and is well worth the time. It’s also quite funny. I loved the character of Bob, an air spirit living in a skull in Harry’s basement, who continuously cracks wise with Thomas as the vampire desperately pumps the disembodied voice for clues to save Harry.
Alrighty, so that’ll do it for this week’s roundup. As always, if you have any comments or suggestions for good reads, let me know.
LOST: Clippity Show Tonight
Just a reminder, tonight’s Lost (ABC 9/8c) will be a clip show aimed at getting some of the casual viewers up to speed with this hectic season (good luck with that).
In the meantime, check out last week’s episode recap for “Some Like it Hoth” over at the Ack Attack.
A brief recap of what I liked about last week’s episode:
-Miles and Hurley!
-Kate screwing up everything possible with Roger Workman!
-Jack pissing all over Roger Workman in the classroom. (Did you catch all that Egyptian jazz on the blackboard he was erasing?)
-Everyone having daddy issues. Seriously, every character on this show has daddy issues. It’s amazing. How their families are all so universally dysfunctional is becoming more of a mystery than the Island itself.
-Seeing that bad wig on Marsha Thomason (Naomi) yet wondering how she still managed to look hot.
-Miles talking to dead people!
-And last but not least, Horace’s hippy circle of trust!
LOST: Hurley’s pinniped friends & costumes galore
Basically, Jorge Garcia (Lost’s Hurley) is awesome.
Not only does he garden, but he makes a mean Halloween costume (that’s him as a pearl), can’t keep a straight face when shooting a jungle scene with Matthew Fox and totally used the word “pinniped” (referring to fin-footed mammals) in his interview with Bonnie Hunt.
Check out the link (w/ video goodness) here.
WHATEVER: Give her four tires and a lube job — that’s the ticket!
So I’ll say up front that I know next to nothing about cars.
When a mechanic tells me I need a new “Johnson Rod” for my “V9 engine” I’m likely to respond with a blank stare followed by feigned comprehension and a ton of vigorous nodding.
I’m an easy mark, but I’m proud to report that today, one mechanic couldn’t pull the wool over my eyes.
I got up early this morning to bring my little Honda in for some service (the car actually did need it … the poor thing was 20,000 miles overdue) and as I exchanged greetings with one of the mechanics and explained my situation they made a suggestion even I thought was a tad out there …
The exchange went a little something like this:
ME: “Hi I’m here for my 60,000 mile timing belt service. Water pump, drive belt replacements, you know, the whole deal. I called in advance.”
Dealership Mechanic: “One sec. Let me punch that name into the computer … You said it was Scully?”
ME: “No it was … “
Mechanic: “Ah, right. Here we are. Okay so timing belt … we’re estimating that will cost about $650. Just sign these forms and you should be good to go.”
ME: “Sure, let’s see em.”
Sure enough, there it was, $650. The price was actually down a hundred bucks from another estimate I’d gotten so overall I wasn’t too outraged (although for a rubber belt and a few hours labor that’s still pretty high). But timing belts are one of those things everyone always tells me you absolutely must not put off since when they snap they tend to do stuff like destroy engines. I signed the forms.
Then the mechanic asked me if I had any other concerns or questions. I (unwisely in retrospect) voiced two:
ME: “Well for a while the A/C hasn’t worked …”
The mechanic’s eyes lit up.
Mechanic: “Oh yeah? Well, that would be about $180 for us to check it out … since we’d have remove fluids and check all the …”
At this point my eyes glazed over and I started nodding along blankly.
ME: “Right, well I think I’ll pass on that for today. The other problem was that I was getting a lot of noise inside my cabin when I drive. It’s especially bad when I’m on the highway …”
Mechanic: “Oh yeah, we get that all the time. It’s probably your tires. They look worn.”
ME: “They don’t look worn to me. I mean, I can still see all the treads and stuff.”
Mechanic: “Well, I don’t get me wrong, they’re not bald or anything like that, but you know, worn tires lead to excess noise! I’d recommend four new babies for this one. That should solve your problem.”
ME: “Wow, really? Four tires? I can’t afford that for today. Thanks, but let’s just keep it as the timing belt …”
The mechanic’s face fell a little bit then reset itself into a polite half grin.
Mechanic: “Sure thing, you’re the boss!”
Needless to say, I never got those new tires. I did, however, get a second opinion.
It turns out the cabin noise wasn’t from the “worn” tires at all, it was from something totally unrelated … a slightly worn wheel bearing. Something much less expensive and not, I was happy to learn, in need of urgent attention.
OK, so I’ll admit it again — I don’t much about cars. I don’t really even know what wheel bearing does (bears the wheels I’m assuming), but I was at least proud of myself for not getting suckered in by the old “four tires and a lube job’ll do her right” scheme that so many mechanics have been pushing for years. I guess I’m not that clueless. At least not yet.
Books: Friday Roundup
Feeling rather under the weather again today folks. I’ll be spending most of the day sneezing out brain matter and, well, not posting on here.
In the meantime, bump on over to Tor.com and check out Rachel Swirsky’s fantastic short story “Eros, Philia, Agape.”
Swirsky’s proving herself to be one of the brightest young authors over at Tor. The piece focuses on Lucian, a robot on the “verge of transcendence,” and clearly cements Swirsky’s skills as a storyteller. Very heartwarming. Highly recommended.
Other stuff I’m reading this week:
-Zoe’s Tale, John Scalzi
-Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East, Michael B. Oren
-Wastelands (still, I know), ed. John Joseph Adams
Other stuff I enjoyed:
-”The End of the Whole Mess,” Stephen King
-”The People of Sand and Slag,” Paolo Bacigalupi
-”When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth,” Cory Doctorow
-”Judgement Passed,” Jerry Oltion
-”Attack of the Grub Eaters,” Richard A. Lovett (In Analog, June 2009. Totally worth reading.)
-”Solace,” James Van Pelt” (Also in Analog. Very enjoyable.)
LOST: Some Like it Hoth
UPDATE: SINCE IT’S GOTTEN SO MANY HITS, I POSTED THE “TAWARET” LOST STATUE BELOW.
(Note: The statue as shown in the May 13 season finale is also posted below for comparison. Spoilers in the comments, you’ve been warned.)
While you’re here, check other LOST posts and the TV segment of the site.
Star Wars references! Dharma hijinks! Hurley and Miles! Mind-bending time travel!
Tonight’s episode of Lost, “Some Like it Hoth” is shaping up to be a good one kiddos! Be sure to tune into ABC at 9/8c.
In the meantime, get caught up on the previous week’s episode by checking out the hilarious recap for last week’s episode, “Dead is Dead,” over at the Ack Attack.
Some of my quick thoughts on last week’s episode (mild spoilers):
-Despite what everyone wants to believe, John Locke is dead.
-The whole “Locke is risen” thing coinciding with Easter week probably was a coincidence, but Maureen Ryan has an interesting article on it at The Watcher. BSG fans will enjoy the parallels she draws between Locke and Starbuck.
-Ben is sorry for the role he had in Alex’s death and he is genuinely concerned about the fate of the island and protecting people from it. Basically, he’s not as bad a guy as everyone thinks.
-Claire’s still dead. (But she’s like Christian and Locke dead, not dead dead … you know what I mean?) That being said, I hope the writers put her into an episode soon. She used to be one of my favorite characters. I miss the good old days of her and Charlie!
-Obviously, there’s some kind of Egyptian theme going on with the island. First the statue and then Smokey’s bedroom. That being said, I’m still convinced the island is some sort of gigantic ship that crashed on earth several thousand years ago. The Egyptians could have very well inhabited it for centuries before the island “moved” itself.
-Richard is one of the “keepers” of the island (i.e. he’s an alien) and that’s why he never ages and is present in every timeline on the show. Jacob might be some sort of projected hive consciousness of the aliens or he might just be another keeper of the alien island. I don’t know.
-Kate is actually getting more interesting!
-I’m really happy Caesar was “written out” by Benry. Goodbye, “my friend.”
-I’m not so happy about this whole Anna Lucia 2.0 woman, but I’m sure she’ll get more interesting as we learn “what lies in the shadow of the statue.”
Theorized LOST statue (I didn’t make this. Source link in article above):
And what we saw last night. (Courtesy: Lostpedia)
So what do you think? Are they the same statues? Are they totally different? This week Damon and Carlton described the Egyptian theme with one word — “tapestry.” What does that mean to you? Post your comments below, we’ve got a good discussion cooking here.