My Walkman Will Kick Your iPod’s Ass

That’s right, you heard me, my walkman will kick your iPod’s ass. Sure, Mr. iPod, you may have the ability to hold every song ever recorded and be able to bring it to listeners via trendy white in-ear headphones, but my walkman will still kick your ass. Case in point, my trip to the city this past Saturday where I rocked, you guessed it, my walkman.

This past Saturday my good friend, and former artist of the week, Ope, was throwing an event called “Summer of ’87 Style” and it featured a large number of prominent old school Hip-Hop artists. Roxanne Shante, who was the guest of honor, along with MC Shan, Just Ice, DJ Luv Bug Starski and DJ Ralph McDaniels were all in the house at B.B. Kings for the event, as was I, but before I made it to the party I had my train ride in, rocking my walkman.

While waiting for my train to arrive I received more than a few interested looks. I simply held up my walkman to the people taking a peek and proudly announced “I’m old school!” I figured if this was going to be a party celebrating 1987 I was going to make sure I was in full 1987 style, which for me meant t-shirt, jeans, Chuck Taylors and my walkman. For an added touch I threw The Last Dragon soundtrack into it, which really blew some people’s minds. I had told Ope I had a special accessory for the night and when I told him what tape it was playing it was the icing on the cake.

Once in the city I had a long walk from the east side to the west side so I put my headphones on, not the in-ear kind, but the kind with the puffy earpieces “for added comfort,” and let the songs from one of the greatest 80’s movies of all time serenade my stroll. Dwight David’s “The Last Dragon” played as I started my walk down 42nd street and amidst all the people looking at me and wondering what was that glorious piece of equipment attached to my belt, that amazing electronic device, that colostomy bag that could play cassettes, I felt like I should be fighting crime. There’s just something about hearing Dwight David telling me all about how I posses the power of the glow combined with the feeling of having a ten pound weight attached to my left hip that made me feel invincible. Maybe I was invincible.

Making it to Times Square I spotted the Quicksilver store, a store I had been in earlier in the year with a fellow writer friend of mine (whaddup Bear!). I decided to go back in. Upon entering the securing guard looked at me and shook his head. Clearly he was clueless as to what cool looked like because cool, my friends, wears a walkman. Of course said security guard was playing air guitar to the 80’s rock that was playing on the store’s overhead speakers, so cool was probably so foreign to him that it spoke a totally different language altogether.

Walking around the Quicksilver store and the rest of the city I received three different kinds of looks, the first being the completely appropriate and 100% correct “wow that’s fucking awesome!” look. These people knew the deal. The second type of look I received was that of “what’s wrong with you?” That went well with the third type of look of “why is your iPod so big?” How about because it’s not an iPod, it’s a walkman and it rules!

Heavy, obtrusive, and requiring a steady diet of AA batteries, many might mock the walkman in 2007. Many might prefer their tiny iPods with their endless playlists. But I have news for you; I have a collection of 90 minute mixtapes that say my music will never end either, so what you think about that!

Cower in the corner tiny iPod and bow down to the mighty walkman!