Now and Then

A few weeks ago, the last Beatles song, "Now And Then" was released. The last time I was excited about a new Beatles song, new episodes of Friends were still being made, and America Online (AOL) was one of the few ways to get home Internet access. Vinyl was dead, cassettes were on their way out, and the only other way to get that new Beatles album was on CD. Some went to Sam Goody or Kmart for their CDs while others got a discount from Colombia House or BMG. Though, I don't think Beatles albums were ever offered at a discount. 

I can remember listening to CDs on the family PC while popping in and out of AOL chatrooms. In just a few years, I would experience my first streaming radio stations while customizing my MySpace profile. That all changed in 2007 with iPhones and Facebook. After that, I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to sit at a PC or buy physical copies of music. 

It wasn't until the first app release of SpaceHey this week that I realized the nostalgia wasn't just mine. Lots of SpaceHey users commented that they had ditched their smartphones for flip phones and preferred the website version to an app. In previous weeks, teenagers mourned the death of "Chandler," and Taylor Swift's new album wasn't just available to stream but also to buy on CD, cassette, and vinyl. As Black Friday approached, I've been offered "electronic typewriters" and the remake of Polaroid instant cameras. 

All of this clicked for me as I rearranged the icons on my home screen and saw the MySpace-like SpaceHey near AOL. In case you didn't know it, you can still get an AOL email. AOL doesn't offer chatrooms, but their app is one of my favorite news sources. Maybe using AOL for news is actually the weirdest thing about all of this,  because I used to quickly click passed the AOL front page window to check my mail and see who was in my favorite rooms. 

It's nice to know that others share my love of the old and familiar. It gives me hope that slower social media and physical media might survive the digitized, online revolution. It's nice to see that what's old is new again.