A lot of people wrote posts yesterday about this tragic story of a teenager forced to use an old-fashioned Walkman in polite society. As someone who still insists on using a portable tape player regularly, I was mainly reminded of how a Walkman seemed kind of uncool when the players were launched back in 1984. Uncool to me, that is, but my opinion was influenced by the then-new video for EBN-OZN’s “AEIOU Sometimes Y.” It’s a great pop song, but it was the first time I’d ever seen a Walkman being used, and the singer just didn’t seem like my kind of guy.

Sadly, EBN-OZN made an entire album after the dancefloor success of “AEIOU Sometimes Y”—with their second single being the baffling “Bag Lady.” Marvel at the video for that one, with poor Imogene Coca being dragged into a pathetic display of the new social consciousness that poseurs were striking in the Reagan Era. And say what you will about Michael Jackson, but at least he never embraced new-wave percolating as dance music.

 

What did you think of this article?

Liked
Disliked
No Opinion