The 1970′s 8-track iPod
The latest issue of Fortune has a really beautifully designed pullout showing blow-ups of four iconic personal music players. I’d scan it in if I (a) wasn’t worried about copyright issues (b) had a scanner. The coolest one of the lot was easily the Panasonic “Dynamite 8″, which was a portable 8-track player designed to look like a detonator. You pushed down the plunger on the top to change tracks, instead of blow things up.
Just like the iPod, the Dynamite 8 came in a variety of colors. There are a tonne of nice pictures over at 8-track heaven, including a white one which you can almost convince yourself Apple could’ve made. If you squint a lot and don’t concentrate too hard.
Although 8-tracks sound like a huge pain the arse to use, the player itself is pretty damn, well, pretty. If you’re interested they can still be picked up on eBay for less than an iPod.
Sadly there isn’t much information on the net about these little beauties. This guy has some fond(ish, the fading between tracks doesn’t sound like so much fun) memories of them, and there’s a kinda funky coffee mug version for sale.
“Copying Beethoven” – This looks like it’s going to suck
Copying Beethoven (official site) is the name of a movie supposedly portraying the last few years of his life. Well that sounds promising – except that it’s been “jazzed up” by completely fabricating a “heartwarming” story involving Beethoven slowly gaining trust in an inspirational female copyist. Doesn’t that make you feel nauseated already?
It’s received some glowing reviews, e.g.
“If you love the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, avoid this film” – Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile
And:
“Copying Beethoven aspires to the sublime, but it stalls at the merely ridiculous” – Nathan Rabin, Onion A.V. Club
Or even better:
“Watching Ed Harris clomp around in “Copying Beethoven” is like lighting a roman candle and swallowing the discharge.” – Brian Orndorf, FilmJerk.com
There’s a tonne more over at Rotten Tomatoes.