Recently, my old Sony Walkman radio died. I went to a department store to look for a replacement.
The sales clerk was mildly amused by my request but did help me find one. There, among shelves displaying snappy new MP3 players and iPods, was a tiny area devoted to radios. I picked up a Walkman---which looked almost exactly like the one I was replacing. I guess, not too much effort had gone into developing a refreshed version of this dying product.
That’s too bad.
I like my radio and would rather listen to it rather than an MP3 player when I exercise in my gym. I am not a Luddite---not at all. I own all the gizmos, iPad2, iPhone and all that. However, the radio provides me with something thse other products do not.
First, there is a friendly voice guiding me through the music I listen too. I generally listen to the Western Classical music, and the short summary provided by the announcer gives me useful context and enriches my knowledge base. An MP3 player does not do that.
Second, no matter how large is my library of music, I can not match what a radio station has. So, I listen to selections I would not have otherwise encountered if I were attached to listening just my collection on an MP3 player.
The most important reason I like a radio is the word “like”. By definition, the stored music on my iPod is what I have liked. That means I would not listen to something I have no knowledge of and, therefore, has no preordained “like” associated with it.
How can I prevent my taste from stagnating if I do not explore something new? With a radio, it is just the matter of moving the dial---so to speak. I can listen to anything I want, and then decide if I like it or not. If I wish, I can always down load the best of that new “like” on my iPhone. Yes?
Radio---what is not to like?
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This sounds like a "defense for the radio". I see no one criticizing the radio. I just see that the mainstream has moved to other forms of listening to music and hence the salesman was a bit amused by your taste. I can see people making a similar case for a newspaper, or a camera with b/w film rolls, or vinyl records or a desktop PC. They all have their pluses and their fans. Stores do business by selling the latest stuff (higher price, margin and volumes) and salesmen's bonus is based on revenues.
ReplyDeleteIn my life, I have relegated radio to the car. I guess, most people now use different devices for listening music in different situations in their daily lives - based on convenience, quality and variety. The choice has grown immensely - even for the radio, with Pandora and other Internet radio stations for the PC, iPhones etc.
If you ran Sony, would you put your R&D and marketing budget and teams on new Wiz-devices, or in developing a new radio?
ReplyDeleteSharad, I of course agree. My point was more toward the tyranny of "like" using radio as an example
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments. If one keeps listening to the same songs from one's own collection, how is one going to get exposed to new, different music? If we did so, we would still be stuck just with our old Hindi Mukesh songs. Only if we listen to the radio or see TV,we are going to be exposed to a variety of music, opinions, news, talks etc.
ReplyDeleteI go a little further. I tell our kids that sometimes, they should not listen to anything while walking or exercising but just keep the mind totally free, which may give it a chance to get some new thoughts, bright ideas. It would be difficult to get bright ideas if you keep bombarding your brain with same music.
May be I am more old fashioned than my older cousins and brother?