iTunes Album Art Gets Nostalgic

Before iPods, there were CDs.  Before CDs, there were cassette tapes, but let’s not go there.  Before I got an iPod or iTunes, I bought CDs – lots of them.  We had a local Sam Goody’s in my town (which is now a bank) and I used to go every weekend to pick up a new album.  This warranted a semi-desirable CD collection, however there are many hidden gems in that dusty stack that I still listen to, to this day.

Now, when I started using iTunes and my iPod (old, original white thing…that still works!  Ok I’m not that vintage, I do have an iPhone…), I decided to upload many of my old CDs into iTunes, which made sense.  I didn’t want to just download new music, I wanted to listen to all my old stuff in this new, innovative way.

Everyone knows that when you download a song from iTunes, you download an associated “album art,” which is usually a picture of what the CD cover looks like.  If you upload CDs into iTunes, unfortunately you don’t upload it’s associated album art.  Instead, a placeholder image appears, which looks like this:

via: Flikr

Now, this is lovely if you like musical notes.  However, recently I began to really miss the old CD covers that I grew to love.  A friend told me he started clicking and dragging album artwork into a space at the bottom of iTunes that looks like this:

via: Pain In The Tech

This has been proving to be an extremely arduous task, however, it’s really fun looking up some of my old album covers!  For instance, I found the first three CDs I ever owned, which are (in order or appearance in my boombox):

via: Amazon.com

via: Amazon.com

via: Amazon.com

This really made me think about browsing the shelves of Sam Goody.  And my old CD collection.  Although iTunes really cuts the clutter and makes listening to music so easy, there is something about having a physical CD library on display in your home.  My CDs are still there, collecting dust along with my old Discman, but hey, at least I can “look” at them on my iPhone whenever I want!

WordPress On iPhone

Has anyone else downloaded this free iPhone app? I am blogging on my phone from the Long Island Rail Road as we speak! It so far seems extremely easy to use and navigate. Setting up this post was simpler than using a computer! What do you guys think?

People Are Wearing Perfetto Pants!

There was a time in my middle school years where anyone who was anyone (especially the ladies) wore Perfett pants.  They were so comfortable – soft, cotton, loose-fitting pants with a double stripe down the ouside leg made for a stylish, yet comfy outfit.  Everyone had either black with white stripes or navy with white stripes.  I opted for the heather gray pant with black stripes.  I wish I had a picture of my personal pair to show you, but I must have given these pants away years ago.  Here’s a nice pic from their site:

However, one woman has not given her Perfetto pants away, in fact, she continues to wear them out and about the city!  As I was walking to work a few days ago, I spotted a young woman walking in her black Perfetto pants with no stripes.  For some reason, I recognized the horizontal label on the front pocket from afar and knew immediately that she was wearing Perfettos.  I really got excited!  I haven’t seen anyone wearing Perfettos recently at all, until this one woman.  Granted they didn’t have the signature double stripe down the side, still, the front pocket design and label definitely branded them as Perfettos. 

I visited their website and realized that their business is still going strong.  There were pants/tops/jackets for men and women, in all colors and styles.

Here is a link to their site

Check it out!

T-Shirts Come and T-Shirts Go

Ever open your closet of one of your drawers and think “I have no clothes!!”  As soon as the weather started to warm up here in New York, I started to do a little spring cleaning of my own.  I realized that I have amassed tons and tons of t-shirts from all areas of my life.  T-shirts from high school sports teams, vacations, college events, sorority programs – even my work kickball team uniform (which I plan on wearing tonight at the second game of our season).  Some were chucked and some were donated.  The t-shirts I simply couldn’t part with were refolded and placed back in my drawers.  Those made me the most nostalgic.  Camp t-shirts from the ’90s that I will never give away because I still wear them.  I can’t help it!  Even if I never wear them, like a long sleeved t-shirt I bought at a friend’s high school “Fall Fair.”  It’s not even from my high school, but I’ll never give it away, because it makes me think of my friend. 

Cleaning out my t-shirt drawer was like watching my life flash before my eyes.  Knowing I had to give some t-shirts up was bittersweet, because while those memories are now a little more faded in my mind, I know that I’m making room for more sweet memories to come.

 

In the beginning…

…I created this blog.  The beginning of my blogging adventure.  An opportunity to connect with all of you on an endless array of topics and ideas!  Sometimes my mind works so quickly and so crazily I can’t keep up with it.  I try to write everything down: the observations I observe, the thoughts I think, the ideas I ideate.  So I created this blog in an effort to do so.  Your comments, praise, criticism and feedback is much appreciated.  So don’t be shy.  Really.

I am truly intrigued by the concept of nostalgia.  It’s amazing to me how certain stimuli tickle each of our five senses and cause us to remember our pasts.  Nostalgia though, isn’t just about our past and memories.  It’s a feeling we each get while engaging in remembrance.  Joy, sadness, anger, silliness, regret, appreciation, gratification, etc.  This isn’t just about nostalgia though.  It’s about flashbacks and memories.

I will be posting photos, videos, images, stories, interviews and other ramblings about all things that make me and others feel nostalgic.  Some will be extremely silly, while others will be heartfelt.  It is my hope that this blog triggers a conversation about all the things we used to love, and use to love to hate.

Enjoy!

I leave you with two quotes tonight:

“Memory… is the diary that we all carry about with us.”  ~Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

“Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose.”  ~From the television show The Wonder Years