The other night I was thinking about all the years I spent listening to music in the car. Just me—with the windows down, one arm dancing in the breeze, the beats driving me forward to the rhythms of the road.
In Southern California having music in the car was a must for me—as there was always one certainty, no matter how uncertain life seemed at the time. Traffic.
But no matter how late or pissed off I was, the radio was always right there with me.
Commercials were like the intermission before the show. They were annoying, sure. The constant drone of Trojan condom and disposable contacts ads wasn’t all bad. It was the build up before the music started again.
That was the greatest moment. That was when all the bullshit went away. It didn’t even matter if you liked the song or not. Remember that?
The ups and downs of the old radio experience were kind of lovely. By today’s standards, it was crappy. Now we have unimaginable options—with no build up, no anticipation.
There is so much instant gratification that it’s never enough. We are never content. We are stuck in the traffic of discontentment. In Yoga, one of the Niyamas is Santosha, which translates to “contentment.”
Often the things we think we need are just wants. Wants are manipulative, and they can fool us into thinking we will not be happy until we get that certain something.
I know that whole I’ll Be Happy When concept all too well. I think many of us do.
By fueling our desires in a constant frenzy, the opposite of the intended result transpires. We thought we were going to become happier after we got what we wanted, but it didn’t work. Or we were happy for a few seconds, then it vanished.
The other day a coworker of mine was running late, because he forgot to plug in his car. The week before that, a couple of the guys were discussing their new home automation systems.
I was floored by these conversations. It’s nothing against my tech savvy coworkers, but all I could think was: Damn, what is this? The Jetsons?
Kind of. Technology keeps on coming, and we latch onto the next big thing. We want life to be easier, quicker, customized to fit every possible “need.”
We are hunting contentment like it’s easy prey. Well, it’s not.
I fall into this mindset as well, get roped up by the ever-changing world we live in. Then I stop and notice. And for some strange reason—though I haven’t owned a car in seven years—recently I started missing my beat-up car radio.
The best times were beach trips with my girlfriends back in high school. We would sing and dance all the way home from the beach. There was sand on the floorboards and our skin was still hot from the sun. Our hair was crunchy and salty, and our muscles were exhausted from playing in the waves.
Traffic was a good thing then. It meant we could hang onto the beach a little longer, avoid responsibilities like chores and homework—those times of dumb innocence we would never feel again.
As adults we see traffic as nothing but a nuisance, and sometimes it can wreck our entire day. Where’s the appreciation for being nowhere and doing nothing? Where’s the singing and the dancing, because we don’t care?
Don’t we all miss those times…when things were so simple?
Anyway, you all know that I’m just another old soul. Or as I like to say…a vintage soul. I rant about technology, but I use it just like anyone else. I use it with a bit of reluctance, as I know convenience doesn’t equal contentment. At the end of the day, we have choices.
I dusted off my journal and wrote this blog post with a pen. It wasn’t quick and efficient, but it felt beautiful to write simply again—without staring at a bright screen while my fingers raced across the plastic keys.
I guess I’ll always be the nostalgic one, preferring to latch onto the past instead of the future. I refuse to forget the ridiculous joy I felt when a good song came on after a commercial break, and I turned up the radio.
It’s okay, you can be nostalgic here. Tell me about your favorite radio memory.
Britt Skrabanek 
Hi Britt,
I still listen to the radio. I have a radio/clock I turn on the second I wake up. I’ve always been a fan of “talk” radio while in bed, or the classic rock station while in the car. One of the best toys I had as a kid was a doll. She was big and chubby with Inuit facial features, encased in a furry coat (only it was orange) and was positioned in a sitting position. The unique thing about her? She had a transistor radio embedded into her back. I would go to sleep with her and listen to the radio.
Good memories … thanks for bringing it back for me xo
eden
Nice, Eden! That doll sounds pretty spectacular. I didn’t have a radio toy like that, but I had several toys that talked…they were my faves!
Actually, my favorite radio memory is when my hubs got me a Sirius Satellite subscription when it first came out. They were offering lifetime memberships for a decent price. One of the best gifts I’ve ever received, because I love having no ads or endless taking. So I guess that’s the opposite of your radio nostalgia, but it was perfect for me.
Haha, you’re such a modern woman! I do love my Google play, since I get radio and albums with no commercials. Sometimes I get bored though, because I listen to the same stuff all the time. I’ve started exploring recommendations to try new things.
I love satellite radio for my road trips. Music, news, and more. Helps pass the time. In fact, I have a long drive tomorrow. I’ll be listening to it!
I firmly believe in music karma – that whatever song comes on when you first turn on the radio will set the tone for your day. But you can’t play with edited spotify or pandora playlists…you need the random-ness of a radio.
Music karma…love that! Random radio can totally open us up to new music. That’s one of the best things to do to avoid a music rut.
After a long, hard day at work I love to crank up the classic rock and drum the steering wheel 🙂 My cousin recently posted an lol where the steering wheel was wrapped in bubble wrap. That would be so much fun – ha! I am not one that needs the newest. I love my classic truck, boombox, years old mobile phone, etc. Happy Weekend – Enjoy 🙂
I always listen to classic rock when work gets to me. Never fails to make me happy.
Coincidentally, I read this while listening to “Oh Yeah!” by Roxy Music. Do you know it? It completely captures that nostalgia of driving around listening to music, thinking love might happen. I can’t hear Madonna’s “Crazy For You” without thinking of one of those moments.
I do not know it, but I just listened to it…so 80s! Love it. Oh, man. Anything Madonna is alright with me.
My car is 13 years old and all I have in it is a radio. I wouldn’t know what to do if the music I listened to wasn’t random! I must like what I have well enough, because I’ve never longed for something more. I don’t know if this confirms I’m nutty or enlightened, but it does tell you I’m cheap when it comes to cars.
Awesome, Ally! You’re rockin’ the vintage all-around. I drove the wheels off my first car, then I ended up becoming a bike commuter. I’m cheap with cars too! 😉
Love being nostalgic with you. It almost feels home already.
I haven’t listened to a radio in ages! wow… talk about nostalgic now…
Ditto! It’s fun to remember radios, right?
For sure! Thanks for making me travel back in time again!
Our fiber-optically interconnected, on-demand culture makes it virtually impossible for us to do one thing at a time anymore; the phones pinging in our pockets with tweets and texts refuse to grant us the experience — the joy — of focusing on one simple task. Speaking of music, the Who frontman Roger Daltrey was recently reflecting on the bygone practice of listening to entire musical albums in sequence — of taking them in and contemplating their meaning in its compositional totality — and had this to say about the subject: “It’s when you’re doing nothing… that we get our great thoughts, and our great artistic ideas. You know, you get epiphanies. You’re never gonna get it when you’re being fed stuff all the time.”
Absolutely agree, Sean! I do my best to focus my mind with regular meditation and Yoga, but sometimes I want to run away.
I use Google play for my music needs these days, and I’ve started listening to full albums again—instead of picking certain songs or going with the radio option. I’ve really been enjoying getting back to that. A good album will take you on an epic journey.
Love that quote!
We had an electric radio which took 20 seconds or so to warm up. It was the backdrop to daily life when I was a kid. My Mum used to sing along to the stars of the 50s and 60s. It was a big thrill listening to the England v Brazil football commentary from Chile in the 1962 World Cup. I was nine.
A little later we owned a new-fangled transistor radio and Dad used to be frantic on a Sunday afternoon as the Irish radio commentary on a big hurling match faded in and out.
Now I don’t own a TV and I listen to digital radio via the laptop most days.
Love hearing about your radio memories, Roy! Haha, that story about your Dad reminds me of the movie, Amelie. Have you seen it? One of my faves. Anyway, there’s a scene where she messes with her neighbor by turning the TV off every time someone is about to score in the soccer/football game. 😉
Set in Paris? Yes, saw it years ago, great little film.
That’s the one. 🙂
Yes, the music breaking in after the commercials. Its important to cherish The Flintstones days! Thank you for reminding that it feels great to wait for your favorite song over the radio!
Such a magical moment, right?! And, I was always more of a Flintstones girl. 😉
I remember feeling so grown up when I switched from AM tunes to the likes of FM’s NPR.
Haha, SUCH an adult!
My favourite radio memory is listening to the Top 40 charts on a Sunday evening and using an old cassette recorder to record my favourites, now that’s vintage 🙂
Cassettes! They were so much cooler than CDs. I was pissed when CDs came out. 🙂
Not so much cassettes, but I was very upset when they replaced vinyl – I still have all my old records 🙂
Nothing beats vinyl. We have a decent collection ourselves.