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AM Radio is dying
- Thread starter Ronnie Milsoup
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Did that record player use the tv speaker to play through? I actually still have my brother’s wind up Victrola that was our grandfathers, and it still works as far as I know. I got the wax cylinders transferred to digital, so I don’t use it.
That was before most people in my neighborhood even had TVs.
That was one version of the standard RCA player that only handled 45's and not 78's or 33 1/3 RPM albums. They had a little speaker in the box. There was also a lid that snapped on, too.
Cool!
Please tell me you're exaggerating for effect. It can't be that bad already, can it? 35?
The millennials and zoomers are in the midst of creating a revival of vinyl, CDs, cassettes, and even VHS. They're simply fascinated with the retro-vintage physicality aspect of them, having grown up knowing only virtual abstractions like files and streaming.
Maybe all that's needed to get younger folks interested in (and aware of) radio again is to approach them online, on social media, through the angle of their ongoing vintage equipment craze, by dropping retro shops like this guy's and eye candy like this comparison into their fields of vision. Not because they'll jump at the chance to buy hi-fi vintage systems to listen to FM on, but because those systems are high powered floor shaking machines that have ample aux inputs for the cassette and CD and vinyl players they're now gobbling up. And through their acquisition of that kit, they simultaneously bring FM into their homes and end up exploring it. At the perfect time, no less, what with "classic hits" stations now everywhere, playing the actual music those very systems were designed for once upon a time.
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Oh, I can beat that.
My parents were antique collectors. When I was little, we had an actual ice box in the kitchen. Sometimes featuring an actual block of ice and cold drinks inside.And I still remember being scolded if I forgot to change the steel needle any time I cranked up the antique phonograph to play one of the bakelite '78s.
Come to think of it, in the mid-80s, my home's interior basically resembled Joe Rinaudo's house in that Huell Howser Fotoplayer episode.
So yer tellin’ me….that yer house…had an ice box?! That’s amAAAAAzing!Oh, I can beat that.
And I still remember being scolded if I forgot to change the steel needle any time I cranked up the antique phonograph to play one of the bakelite '78s.
Come to think of it, in the mid-80s, my home's interior basically resembled Joe Rinaudo's house in that Huell Howser Fotoplayer episode.
I can still remember "when the iceman commeth" with a big block of ice held with huge prongs which was inserted in the device.Oh, I can beat that.
Never had to do that!
Actually I saw a statistic yesterday that the age is 25. The data was showing how persons 15-25 haven't listened to terrestrial radio in at least one month or more.
But surely ALL persons polled in that age range didn't respond that way, right? What percentage of the 15-25s actually use radio that infrequently?
My grandmother(keeping in mind that my parents were old enough to be my grandparents)had an icebox in the utility room. Also there, was a wringer for washing clothes manually!
That's the point; persons between 15 and 25 years old aren't listening to the radio for longer periods. Think about it for a second.
Millennials who started to use streaming and podcasts are now parents themselves. If parents are listening to less radio, if at all in the car, are their kids being exposed to radio?
It's a curve---most pronounced for 25 and younger, but there are absolutely people between 25 and 35 who grew up without the radio habit and who rarely use the medium.
Let's remember that today's 35 year old:
- Was born in 1989
- Graduated high school in 2007 (the year the iPhone was introduced)
- Graduated college in 2011
My oldest is 33. I don't recall her listening to the radio once she got her iPhone in 2009. And before that, it was only in the car. If she was at home, she was listening to her own music.
I still have a vivid memory of her getting that iPhone, because everytime we plugged it in when I was giving her a ride somewhere, it would default to the first song in the library, sorted alphabetically:
Got to the point where I expected to hear that immediately after the seat belt chimes even when I was getting in the car alone.
Hell I still call it an icebox!
I was wondering why my reply wasn't getting more traction.
I was going to ask "Hard or floppy?" but thought about the innocent kids who might be reading this thread. (You know, those outlier kids who listen to doo-wop and standards.)
Oh, the thread persists?
-or-
The tavern was a dimly lit cavern of shadows, the only illumination coming from a few flickering candles that cast long, dancing shapes on the walls. A lone figure, cloaked in darkness, stepped through the swinging doors, their silhouette outlined against the faint light. They paused, surveying the room with a wary gaze.
The air was thick with the scent of stale ale and tobacco smoke, and the only sound was the low murmur of conversation from a few patrons huddled around a small, round table. The figure's eyes scanned the room, taking in the familiar faces of the regulars. They knew these people, had spent countless nights drinking and gambling alongside them. But tonight, something felt different.
A chill ran down their spine as they recalled the rumors that had been circulating about the tavern lately. Tales of strange occurrences, of shadows that moved on their own, of whispers that carried the echoes of forgotten secrets. The figure hesitated, their hand hovering over the door handle. A sudden gust of wind blew through the open doorway, extinguishing one of the candles and plunging the tavern into near-complete darkness.
Without another thought, the figure turned and fled, their footsteps echoing through the empty street. They had seen enough. The tavern, once a place of comfort and familiarity, had become a place of fear and uncertainty. And they, for one, would not be returning.
-or-
The tavern was a dimly lit cavern of shadows, the only illumination coming from a few flickering candles that cast long, dancing shapes on the walls. A lone figure, cloaked in darkness, stepped through the swinging doors, their silhouette outlined against the faint light. They paused, surveying the room with a wary gaze.
The air was thick with the scent of stale ale and tobacco smoke, and the only sound was the low murmur of conversation from a few patrons huddled around a small, round table. The figure's eyes scanned the room, taking in the familiar faces of the regulars. They knew these people, had spent countless nights drinking and gambling alongside them. But tonight, something felt different.
A chill ran down their spine as they recalled the rumors that had been circulating about the tavern lately. Tales of strange occurrences, of shadows that moved on their own, of whispers that carried the echoes of forgotten secrets. The figure hesitated, their hand hovering over the door handle. A sudden gust of wind blew through the open doorway, extinguishing one of the candles and plunging the tavern into near-complete darkness.
Without another thought, the figure turned and fled, their footsteps echoing through the empty street. They had seen enough. The tavern, once a place of comfort and familiarity, had become a place of fear and uncertainty. And they, for one, would not be returning.
My grandfather called the refrigerator an icebox, too.
@michael hagerty Granted, I'm an outlier, but I've been listening to radio my whole life practically, though I did get an iPod Nano back in 2009 or 2010, and I used it like everyone else at the time. I even dabbled in online streaming as far back as 2005 with Rhapsody, and file sharing with eDonkey2000, eMule, and eventually BitTorrent, so I was a model Millennial in that sense. I missed out on the Napster craze, though I had heard of it as far back as 2000.
It was all secondary to radio, though. I only gave up on radio – except as a source of news – for the past decade or so because basically there wasn't anything I wanted to listen to. Only recently, with the handful of actual oldies stations coming online that play the music I grew up listening to have I become more interested in listening to the radio again.
But again, I'm an outlier, so I don't represent the majority of my peers very well, if at all (I don't care much for any pop music more recent that maybe 1990, for example, in particular most "radio" music (music played on most modern CHR stations) recorded in the past 10 to 15 years or so, and I actually hate the recent trend of everything needing to sound like some sort of loud, angry sounding rap music).
In many ways, I seem to identify more like a Boomer at twice my age, maybe even older (early Rock n Roll is about as hard as I want to get most of the time, though there is some later rock from the 70s and early 80s that I don't mind. And then there's soft rock, AKA "yacht rock" (in my defense, millennials and zoomers are actually re popularizing that stuff a bit)).
Anyway, this is a fine subject and all, but what does it have to do with the title of this thread?
c
@michael hagerty Granted, I'm an outlier, but I've been listening to radio my whole life practically, though I did get an iPod Nano back in 2009 or 2010, and I used it like everyone else at the time. I even dabbled in online streaming as far back as 2005 with Rhapsody, and file sharing with eDonkey2000, eMule, and eventually BitTorrent, so I was a model Millennial in that sense. I missed out on the Napster craze, though I had heard of it as far back as 2000.
It was all secondary to radio, though. I only gave up on radio – except as a source of news – for the past decade or so because basically there wasn't anything I wanted to listen to. Only recently, with the handful of actual oldies stations coming online that play the music I grew up listening to have I become more interested in listening to the radio again.
But again, I'm an outlier, so I don't represent the majority of my peers very well, if at all (I don't care much for any pop music more recent that maybe 1990, for example, in particular most "radio" music (music played on most modern CHR stations) recorded in the past 10 to 15 years or so, and I actually hate the recent trend of everything needing to sound like some sort of loud, angry sounding rap music).
In many ways, I seem to identify more like a Boomer at twice my age, maybe even older (early Rock n Roll is about as hard as I want to get most of the time, though there is some later rock from the 70s and early 80s that I don't mind. And then there's soft rock, AKA "yacht rock" (in my defense, millennials and zoomers are actually re popularizing that stuff a bit)).
Anyway, this is a fine subject and all, but what does it have to do with the title of this thread?
Yeah, I'm almost, kinda-sorta, pretty much in that category (not only did I grow up listening to oldies, but I also listened to lots of standards, and I was really into it (to the extent that I actually bought several box sets full of Big Band and swing stuff)).
Indeed!
c
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