ALBUM VERSION

This morning while getting dressed for work…I heard a song on the radio that I recognized from years ago. It started out differently than what is usually played on the radio…with some intro music before the vocals started. The thought…’album version’…popped into my head. As that thought rattled around in my brain for a few seconds…I realized those words…’album version’…would mean nothing to my grandchildren. Those words…show my age.

If I were to ask my grandchildren what an ‘album’ is…they might think of a ‘picture album’…but they likely wouldn’t think of a ‘record album’.

The more I thought about it…the more I realized I could age myself even more with words from my younger years. The grandkids also wouldn’t know what a…’45’…is either…or what an…’8 track’ is. They might think the word…’cassette’…was referring to…’their old days’…when we used to put a ‘VCR cassette’ in for them to watch a movie on TV. They’d never relate a cassette to something that has music on it.

I can still remember purchasing my first ‘45’ record in 1967…Kind of a Drag…by the Buckinghams. Then there were more 45’s…stacks and stacks...until I realized that for only a few dollars more…I could buy ‘albums’ that contained lots and lots of songs besides the ‘hit’ song that was on the 45. Then…I could buy 8-Tracks tapes and have the music in my car! I remember my first 8-Track player…and the agony of having it stolen out of my car on prom night…and friends buying me a new 8-Track for my birthday. 

All this ‘old’ lingo would have my grandkids confused…'8-Track player'…’cassettes’…’needle'...phonograph player’…’45s’…’albums’.

They bring back wonderful old memories to my mind…but they’d be like speaking a foreign language to the grandkids.

Oh the frustrations of growing old!

Dan