Whatever happened to the ghetto blaster?
It died. And it needed to die. Because just like with its older brother, the transistor radio, technology improved, tastes changed, and the blaster found itself replaced by smaller, smarter, sleeker siblings.
There was a time when the ghetto blaster reigned supreme. King of personal electronics, crowned with imposing woofers and outsized volume knobs, the mighty blaster rode proudly on the shoulders of trendy kids everywhere. They were huge, they were flashy.
And they were loud. Obnoxiously loud. And that, in the end, is what killed them. Because for everyone who wanted to hear the latest hit song at full volume from their battery-powered uberstereo, there were ten people who didn’t.
Personal electronics began to change accordingly. The portable cassette player, smaller than a paperback and using headphones rather than gigantic speakers, appeared. Not long after, the portable CD player came along. They were fashionable, light, and most of all, personal.
Suddenly, portable music became a solo affair. Personal music was truly personal, not shared with the rest of the world at full volume. As the popularity of these new devices grew, the ghetto blaster became yesterday’s news, a tired, somewhat laughable relic. King Blaster, alas, is king no more.
Posted on April 26th, 2011 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized