I’m getting to know my new iPod mini and was heartened to see that I’m not the only one who goes about the process of building up a “relationship” of sorts with my music player. I gotta say I like mine – it’s simple to use, lightweight, and makes going to the gym a damn sight more enjoyable. Pleasant to look at, simple to use, excellent crisp sound, good battery life – not much more I could ask for, really. I would have enjoyed having a go at the Shuffle, which does look like it has the edge in terms of being lighter, but I’m finding the mini to be a very pleasant experience and a nice introduction to the world of MP3 players and having my music in my pocket wherever I go.
Besides, immature as it may sound, there is something very amusing about walking down the street or exercising at the gym and listening to something like The Sex Pistols’ “Friggin’ in the Riggin” or South Park’s “Unclefucker” at the same time. What can I say, I think it appeals to the large part of my sense of humour that could charitably be labelled “schoolboy”.
When I think about it though, the iPod was always going to look good to me. The last thing I had that I could play music on as I walked down the street was an awful white plastic walkman that took 4 AA batteries to keep going and had a voracious appetite for chewing up cassette tapes. As if the white plastic and the “tape killer” habits weren’t bad enough it came with those horrible headphones with the orange foam padding at the ears, and all in all the thing had enough heft in it to kill a man if it fell from even a moderate height. Think of a white housebrick that you could stick a tape in, and you’re there. Long lasting bit of kit though, I still have that old walkman and it still works – though whether that says more for 1980s manufacturing quality or my tightness with money is anyone’s guess.