Over the week I returned home for a couple days and picked up an old Roberts R606-MB radio (c.1974) that was collecting dust in our old chicken storage barn.
Listening to the radio made me think about the following things.
- The detachment of physicality (regarding modern digital media) and nostalgia
- The lack of ‘purity’ in the medium and how it effects the listing experience
When listening to the radio, if you intend to listen to a certain broadcast, you are fighting a battle to maintain and find that perfect frequency. Much of what you hear is not what you actually intend to listen to, but is the signal noise of surrounding frequencies.
With digital media, we (generally) take it for granted that when we press play the audio will be flawless, of high quality and will not degrade over time.