The podcast series Ways of Hearing explores shaping of our perceptions of the sound and recording in era of analog following by the digital era and switching in between them. The first episode of the podcast talks about differences of how our perception has changed from the point of view of the time.

After listening to the podcast I realised few differences comparing both eras. Analog time feels more present (‘real time’ recording), digital time provides certain realm of timelessness (easier possibility of endless back and forth editing). After listening to the podcast I realised that recording in the time of analog often required necessity of the musical skills and and way more precision in executing them. Recording must have been done precisely in order to safe material (recording tapes) and therefore money. Of course in the digital world the same skill is still appreciated but doesn’t seem to be so essential as on computers we can edit much easier than cutting tapes or re-recording the whole takes. In the end of the day it always breaks down to the preference and there are people who these days prefer to edit as well as to record the whole takes precisely. However, and that was another important point mentioned in the podcast, in analog era this wasn’t an option.

Coming back to analog-present versus digital-timeless. Digital technology also entered the music composition. Drum machines put music more onto the grid together with evolving but constant repetition. A lot of popular electronic music sort of endeavour to reach some sort of timelessness – being able to tap in at any moment possible. This extends into ways how we nowadays reproduce and stream the sound.

Of course both eras has pros and cons. Digital technology made sound and media in general more affordable and attainable to almost everyone, but according to Damon Kurowski, this came with the cost:

“We give up on the opportunity to experience time together – in the same instant – through our media.”

This extends also to the nowadays common way of communication via texting and social media. In analog time the conversation often had a start and the end and somehow more often encompassed the goal of its content. These we have an option to step out of the texting at any time possible and come back to it whenever later – but later the momentum of the conversation or the necessity of communication of of agent involved in the conversation with another one, might be long pass.

When the Walkman emerged in 1980, it started a revolution in how we consume music and other sonic media. There were, of course, appearances of negative and fearful opinions predicting that Walkman would make people psychotic and disconnected from the surrounding environment. There have always been fears and uncertainties attached to new inventions throughout history, not only from the media realm. For example, the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440 was, by certain groups, considered a threat to public morality because the sudden access and democratisation of wider knowledge provided by books to common people allegedly could cause chaos in what we are being taught. Indeed, at the time, it caused the acceleration in questioning of certain status quo, and the invention of the print press played a significant role in enabling Christian reformation in Europe in the 16th century. Nowadays, we encounter similar discussions regarding Virtual Reality headsets with fears of people becoming utterly detached from reality. Did the Walkman become comparatively influential politically? It may have become another expression or by-product of individualism.

When we discussed in class how the invention of portable audio devices (we can extend Walkman followed by Discman, MP3 players, iPods, and smartphones these days) is influencing our interactions with the environment and our reasons for using them, people were describing similar things. The Walkman became a predominantly urban audio device, and many people use it to conceal or shield themselves from the city environment’s surrounding chaos.

Portable audio devices also change our imagination induced by music (or other sonic art forms). Before, it would be exclusively tied to a place produced live at the gig or at home, reproduced by a record or a radio station. The Walkman suddenly opened the door to the ‘scoring of the life’ on a different level. New sceneries (from urban to natural ones) supported by our choice of favourite music suddenly provided new scales of imagination and possibly even inspiration.

It also changed the way we walk in the environment. I found myself extending my journeys on streets to wherever I was heading on many occasions so I could listen to my favourite music for longer. Occasionally, it became an unconscious ritual reminding me that ‘the journey is the goal’.

All this suggests what is written in the article about the Walkman providing certain autonomy (Hosokawa, 1984: 166). Having the possibility to opt in and out from whatever is happening around you is undoubtedly an advantage, but there are also negatives coming with all of this. I certainly haven’t encountered anybody losing their mind and getting psychotic attacks based on prolonged headphone-wearing. However, hearing damage from quite a young age is real – reducing sensitivity to specific frequency ranges contributes to developing severe and long-term tinnitus (both based on my own experience).

Bibliography:

Hosokawa, S. (1984) ‘The walkman effect,’ Popular Music, 4, pp. 165–180. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0261143000006218.