Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
India

Happy 40th Birthday: Tokyo Exhibit Evokes Walkman Nostalgia

Darpan News Desk IANS, 19 Jul, 2019 09:06 PM

    Walking on the street and, at the same time, listening to music was inconceivable until the appearance of Walkman, a small audio player that introduced the revolutionary concept of portable music that charmed the world 40 years ago.


    A retrospective exhibition in Tokyo's Ginza Sony Park goes over the history of Sony's cassette player that changed the way people listened to music, decades before the emergence of digital music and online platforms.


    "When I bought my Walkman, using my allowance, I was so happy I could burst. I even wore headphones in the bath and on the dining table. My mother would scold me," recalls architect Nobuo Araki in a text that is a part of the exhibition being held in the months of July and August.


    Like Araki, dozens of Japanese celebrities have lent their memoirs for this interactive exhibit that allows attendees to read their stories and listen to the same music as them through different models of the iconic cassette player, Efe news reported.


    With the Walkman's launch in 1979, Sony introduced the concept that listening to music was no longer something that had to be experienced indoors, it could be personalized and carried everywhere.


    "Walkman is the brand that creates the culture of bringing music out from home, and younger people can enjoy music outside due to Walkman. They can enjoy music more easily," Ryoichi Numata of Sony's communications team told Efe news.


    The blue and silver model TPS-L2 was released on July 1, 1979 in Japan at a price of around 39,000 yen, which at the time amounted to about $180, and sold more than 50,000 units in its first two months.


    A second version of this model ended up becoming the best-selling version in Walkman's history, selling more than two million units worldwide.


    The exhibition traces the history of the famous device from its release into the market, through its adaptation to the CD and the MiniDisc, and concluding with the more recent models using digital reproduction.


    A display case showcases some 230 Walkman models that have gone on sale, some of them as iconic as the Walkman Sports WM-B52, known for its distinctive yellow color, as well as other lesser known ones.


    "It is a very important brand to us, and we are still producing the Walkman," said Numata. Currently, Sony's focus is on improving the quality of musical experience.


    With high-resolution audio, up to 256 gigabytes of internal memory, and a price of more than 3,000 euros, the WM1Z produced in 2016 has come a long way since the days of cassettes, and is aimed at a more select audience.


    After a run of three decades and having sold more than 200 million units worldwide, in 2010, Sony withdrew the Walkman's cassette player from the market, unable to survive the competition posed first by the CD and then digital music.


    While portable music is a pleasure we have all enjoyed for years, Sony seeks to bring the nostalgia that is evoked when one is made to hark back to their old Walkman and relive those years when leaving home with headphones was a privilege.

     

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Quota For Sportspersons, Wards Of 1984 Victims In Punjab Pvt Medical Colleges

    Quota For Sportspersons, Wards Of 1984 Victims In Punjab Pvt Medical Colleges
    The reservation already exists in government medical colleges in the state.

    Quota For Sportspersons, Wards Of 1984 Victims In Punjab Pvt Medical Colleges

    Trigger-Happy UP Police Compel Gangsters To Flee To Delhi, Haryana

    Trigger-Happy UP Police Compel Gangsters To Flee To Delhi, Haryana
    The phone conversation between two Delhi-based gangster recorded by the police speaks volume about the trigger-happy police of Uttar Pradesh.

    Trigger-Happy UP Police Compel Gangsters To Flee To Delhi, Haryana

    If Not Sonia, Congress Old Guard May Want Priyanka Gandhi To Lead

    If Not Sonia, Congress Old Guard May Want Priyanka Gandhi To Lead
    The Congress may be veering towards Priyanka Gandhi becoming the new party President to end the current impasse

    If Not Sonia, Congress Old Guard May Want Priyanka Gandhi To Lead

    Dawood's Nephew Arrested In Mumbai In Extortion Case

    The Mumbai Police have arrested underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's nephew Rizwan Kaskar in connection with an extortion case, an official said on Thursday.

    Dawood's Nephew Arrested In Mumbai In Extortion Case

    Kulwant Singh Kohli, Hotelier Who Introduced Butter Chicken To Mumbai, Dies At 85

    Kohli, who was appointed Sheriff for one term in 1998, is survived by his wife, Mohinder Kaur, sons Amardeep, Gurbaxish and daughter Jasdeep Kaur.    

    Kulwant Singh Kohli, Hotelier Who Introduced Butter Chicken To Mumbai, Dies At 85

    Amarinder Singh Yet To Decide On Sidhu’s Resignation

    Amarinder Singh Yet To Decide On Sidhu’s Resignation
    Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is yet to take a call on Navjot Singh Sidhu’s resignation from the state Cabinet, official sources said on Thursday.    

    Amarinder Singh Yet To Decide On Sidhu’s Resignation