There's A Tune On The iPod

Kinfolk, Kindred and Relations,

There was a time when if I wanted a particular song or tune I would sit next to my AM/FM radio and have my cassette tape recorder on the stand by to press the play and record button at the same time - because if it was not in perfect time, I would mess up and miss the song I wanted to record. Yeah, it was like that for me back then. I remember listening to baseball games played later in the evening. Mom, Dad and sisters all asleep. Sometimes, I would fall asleep and have the batteries exhausted from constant use. Ew, frustration!

I listened to AM Radio a lot back, back in the day. I would listen to cassette tapes on my old cassette tape recorder. Listened to Jefferson Air Plane, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, The Monkeys’, The Osmond Brothers (had an incredible crush on Donnie). Bull shit, I still have a mad crush on Donnie. I remember the volume adjust was a knob on the side. My little Hi-Fi, AM/FM radios did me well as a boy. As did my cassette tape player’s and recorder. I took good care to keep the equipment in good shape.

I usually had to earn my batteries, but sometimes, Mom and Dad would surprise me. I mean, I was a half way good Kid. Read books, like kept my face in books reading, listened to the games and Casey's Top 40 every Saturday. For as far back as I can remember I have had a memory chock full of songs and tunes from my very early days.

Before becoming a teen I had saved enough money to purchase my first stereo. Like, it wasn't a Bose, but this thing was bitching! This for an eleven year old boy, was big stuff back the early 1970’s. It had a turn table, a receiver with cassette and two speakers I would have thought were from the set of a Rolling Stones concert. Oh yes, I broke my teeth on Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes, The Isley Brothers...

...then went through the 8 Track stage and carried my boom box next to my ear in my Afro days. Back when my Funk was found and was provided ear full's of the best Funk in the Funking World. I was a rather cool Funk sort. Have been forever and always faithful to George Clinton., The Parliament and The Funkadelics. Bootsy Collins, also yes.

There was a time I had thousands of LP's, and hundreds and hundreds of cassettes. Then the compact discs that placed the dagger into album and cassette sales came out and everything changed...

...I received my first iPod from my daughters. A neat shuffle. A tiny cute looking contraption that held dozens of albums worth of music. The next step was my first nano. This iPod holds "days" worth of tunes...with just about one dozen genre's.

I love music. Always have. It has always been there as if it is supposed to be a fiber in the fabric of my life. My Path.

Sadly, there is something messing up in my nano. It is not permitting access to my pod. The system provides access only to my library of music and one or two videos. I miss my iPod. I do a lot.

There's this tune on the iPod...

...STOP.