It was my birthday this weekend and I got one of these new-fangled devices: The I POD.  I know I am super late on this, but hey I grew up in a household that only got rid of its wood-paneled answering machine within the last 5 years, so I have always been more than a little slow on these things, ask anyone.  Despite the existence of this blog, I am not a huge fan of technology. 

So, the I Pod. 

I drive a car that's from 1993.  It has its original stereo, a tape deck.  At the suggestion of other more technologically inclined folks in my life, I've tried getting CDs to play in there with the whole tape-to-CD Walkman contraption, to no avail.  I resigned myself to listening to tapes and the radio, and had given up hope on anything else.  When it was suggested to me to try an I Pod, I scoffed in said suggestor's face.  I didn't even want to give it a go.  But I was eventually convinced and to my amazement, the suggestor's  I Pod WORKED....I realized I could listen to ANYTHING I WANTED IN MY CAR!  But I STILL didn't want to cave and get an I Pod.  Technology, you see.  It scares me.  Like I said, I just am not a fan.  Too complicated.

Also, I am kind of old skool in general.  I like to play records.  I consider records a superior way to "take" my  music.  It sounds the best.  I know that sounds maybe snobby, but I truly believe it.  I like to see artwork.  I like to see liner notes.  I like to feel and smell and see all of it together....I guess what I am saying is that at its best music is a sensual experience for me.  The idea of this little computer holding all of that seems kind of cold and most definitely uninviting.

I don't want to be that person blasting their I Pod at the train station, oblivious to anything around them.  I like to stay connected to what is happening, I don't like watching those kinds of people.  

I don't enjoy the I Pod ad campaign, assaulting my eyes from different billboards everywhere I go with its ultra modernity, screamingly bright colors and irritatingly excited I Pod users.


Yes, I am perhaps a tad bit judgmental. (Maybe more than a tad?) But hey, obviously from this entire post it's plain to see what a hypocrite I am....

I even despise the word: I Pod.  Pod.  Ew. 

But still, witnessing that I Pod sending epic music through my crappy car speakers that had never been there before, a tiny flame must have suddenly been lit in the back of my brain, because when I really thought about it:  Hell, with one little tiny computerized device, I could potentially listen to ANYTHING I WANT--- IN MY CAR!  Mind over matter at last.

So, to get back to what I began with, what do you know, for my birthday I get an I Pod of my very own.  It was even pre-loaded with a bunch of CDs that I love.  I have not yet had the pleasure of using it, but I already know this will be life-altering.  The freedom of it staggers me to even think about.  My brain may explode. 



I'll let you all know how it goes.  Will I ever forgive myself for such blatant hypocrisy?  Will the technology get the best of me?  Can I truly learn to let go of my stubborn assumptions and just let myself enjoy this gross yet grossly enjoyable technology?

Stay tuned.

Anyone have any thoughts or strong feelings about I Pods and how they have changed the way we "take" our music?