We’ve talked a lot in class about the evolution of technology, and the technology we used to use along with all the technology we still use. Although vinyl record sales have, somewhat surprisingly, been surging lately, with so much music being digital many people just haven’t had the opportunity to experience one of the joys of listening to analog music. Mainly, flipping the record.

You see, in the old days we’d use vinyl records, and after the needle got to the end of side A, we’d have to stand up, flip the record to Side B, and start it all over from the beginning. Finding a specific song was worse because we had to examine the record to find where the grooves clearly indicated the silence between tracks.

Good Times

The same was true for cassettes, however believe it or not there was a player that would automatically eject, then flip (rotate, actually), the cassette. It’s great technology, but also the epitome of laziness.

I found an animated gif that made me say “oh yes, I remember that.” I don’t normally like to use animated gifs because they don’t work in all browsers, especially if you’re viewing on a mobile device. In this case however I’m going to break tradition and use one, because it shows perfectly the lengths we would go through to be lazy and avoid having to interrupt our music listening experience.

If you’re interested, the specific player in this image is from the Nakamichi 202 line, released around the mid-late 80s. Bask in its glory.