In June 1998, I was leaving the house I lived at while at college to get some food. It was the day before trash day, and one of the houses down the street had already put their garbage out. As I drove past, I looked at the curb - there was an overflowing blue garbage can on wheels, a couple boxes on the ground, a green halogen lamp (the tall torchiere style that resembles a golf tee), and an old stereo unit. I like gizmos, so I threw the car into reverse for a second look. The stereo was a silvery-grey affair (traditional vintage "stereo" plastic) with two cassette decks and a turntable on top.

I didn't have a turntable. There were lots of used record shops around that sold dirt cheap, and I was a poor college student.

I took it.

Later, back at the house, I was getting ready to go to work. One of my housemates, Heath, was in the den using his Playstation. I told him I wanted to show him something, and ran out to the car to get the stereo. I came back in, proud of my find, and set it on the floor. I probably sounded like a salesman: "See, it's got 2 tape decks and a radio and a turntable," and as I tipped the unit back for a minute to look the the display, I noticed that between the controls for the 2 tape decks was a slot of a kind I'd never seen before on any of my stereos - an 8-track slot.

"DUDE, IT'S GOT AN 8-TRACK!" I was so excited. Heath was nonplussed. I brought the stereo down to my room, then ran out the door to avoid being late for my job.

A few days later, on my lunch break, I vowed I'd go to the local Goodwill (which happened to be right across the road from the Media Play where I worked) to see what cartridges I might find to test whether my deck worked. I walked out of the store six dollars poorer, but held in my hand 6 full length albums on magnetic cassette loops.

On arriving home, I popped in one of the cartridges. The thing clunked into place and 'Paperback Writer' by the Beatles came through my minisystem's speakers. Damned cool. The first 8-track cartridge I've ever owned.

I remember when I was little - my friend Matt Fallon had one wall of his family's basement as an entertainment center. Stereo, TV, Atari 2600 (another cartridge fad of the late 70's)... The 2600 cartridges were on the shelf right next to the 8-tracks, and they looked like a huge collection, together. Even back then his parents didn't play them anymore, but my family never had an 8-track system, so that was the first time I'd seen any.

So now, a few days later, I went to the Record Archive, a local new/used shop, to see if they had any cartridges. None, of course, but in their massive basement that stocks old vinyl, I found the soundtrack to the movie Tron. Man, I still love that movie. I got home and put the record on. Though the sleeve had been pretty well messed up, the disc was in primo shape - not a single pop or crack - and it brought back so many memories.

The Fourth of July was rainy. No park to enjoy the afternoon in, and no fireworks to go see. I went out to a cool little business called The Bop Shop, where I found an old Moody Blues 45, a still shrinkwrapped ELO 8-track, a King Crimson LP, and in a 50 cent bin, a copy of Genesis' Invisible Touch LP.

I was so tired from working the morning shift at Media Play (7am to 1pm, stocking), that when I got home I just passed out on my bed. I woke up in time for work the following day, and once I got home, I threw Invisible Touch on the turntable. That disc, too, played like brand new.

My Dad listened to a lot of Genesis while I was a kid. I remember long car trips with a tape of Invisible Touch or Abacab playing in the background. Life was so simple then... as a passenger, I could sleep while the car was moving and not have to worry about going off the road... My brother and I drawing in the backseat... ...or fighting... After all these years, I could still anticipate which song was next on the disc.

Maybe I'm lucky in that a lot of the music I listen to was made while vinyl and 8-track were popular, but a lot of us grew up then. A lot of us heard the same music. A lot of us, somewhere in the recesses of our minds, still know the words.

Besides, the music is cheap; a CD is often a few bucks shy of a twenty. That's a lot of cash. You can find 8-tracks and records for a dollar in lots of places... Go to a Salvation Army thrift store. See if your neighbors don't want old music anymore; you'd be surprised what asking nicely can get you.

I find it amazing, though. Music is one of the most temporary things in the world. Vibrations, recorded for our repeated pleasure, but really a transient experience, because listening to it is never the same experience twice. Try listening to the same song while you're happy or while sad. Try it with different people. Once or twice, you'll hit certain combinations that work just right, and they'll always bring back a memory. "World Leader Pretend" by R.E.M. always makes me think of car trips to New Jersey. "Hotel California" is a reminder of February 1996. I always think of Israel when I hear "Blister in the Sun."

Embrace your past. Rekindle your memories - even ones you didn't think you had. Remember what it was like to be young again.

[June 1998]