Walkman Use Brings Old Memories Back

Various models of Sony Walkman audio players are displayed at an exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of the iconic device, in Tokyo on July 10. BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP
Various models of Sony Walkman audio players are displayed at an exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of the iconic device, in Tokyo on July 10. BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP
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Walkman Use Brings Old Memories Back

Various models of Sony Walkman audio players are displayed at an exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of the iconic device, in Tokyo on July 10. BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP
Various models of Sony Walkman audio players are displayed at an exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of the iconic device, in Tokyo on July 10. BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP

In 1989, jewelry maker Tiffany & Co and electronics company Sony released a silver-plated Walkman (complete with a fitted wooden box) to celebrate 10 years of the portable cassette player. Only 250 were made at the time, according to The Guardian.

Several decades on, and long since the cassette Walkman began its slide into obsolescence – outpaced first by the cumbersome Discman and the vibe-less MiniDisc player, then lapped by the iPod and iPhone – you can still find some of these items selling in auctions for hundreds and sometimes thousands of pounds.

One of the Tiffany Walkmans, originally presented to the Who, was later sold by the ex-wife of the band’s late bassist John Entwistle on a 2011 episode of the US TV show Pawn Stars. After some haggling, the traders at Gold & Silver Pawn in Las Vegas agreed to pay $1,250 for it.

“This is one of those weird things that I think someone’s willing to buy just to say they have it,” Pawn Stars’ Corey Harrison said.

But who would spend thousands on a tape player in the age of Spotify and YouTube, when virtually all your entertainment needs can be concentrated into one device in your pocket? “Time can make easy fetishists of us all,” remarked the culture writer Niko Stratis on seeing news stories reporting that branches of Urban Outfitters in the US were selling iPods for $350 (not far off the price they were on release in the early 2000s). There is plenty of such backward-gazing trading to be found online: eBay seller Retrogadgets-UK offers a “factory-sealed” third-generation iPhone “sold for collectors only” listed at £2,499.99.”

US brand Retrospekt sells all manner of refurbished old tech. “Our mission is to give you a product with years of history that works like it was made yesterday,” it declares.

Elsewhere you can find camcorders and digital cameras, VHS and DVD players, “vintage” Game Boys and everything, including the soundtrack to classic teen soap Beverly Hills on cassette (yours for £15.39) and a surprisingly large number of Walkmans.



Aloha, Bavaria! Munich Surfers Riding Wild River Wave Again

Aloha, Bavaria! Munich Surfers Riding Wild River Wave Again
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Aloha, Bavaria! Munich Surfers Riding Wild River Wave Again

Aloha, Bavaria! Munich Surfers Riding Wild River Wave Again

Surfing enthusiasts have cheered the reopening of a beloved whitewater site in downtown Munich, the German city better known for partying at Oktoberfest than splashing in the waves.

The Eisbach ("ice brook") standing wave in the city's Englischer Garten park was closed after tragedy struck in April when a 33-year-old woman drowned during a nighttime winter surf.

After a safety review and a petition to keep it open, the site -- just a stone's throw from an art museum and shopping streets -- was reopened by authorities in recent weeks.

Putting on a wetsuit and taking a board out of its bag after a day's work, Moritz, 43, said he's a regular at the surf spot on an arm of the Isar river.

"It's amazing. A wave right in the city center is something very special," he said. "I missed it during the closure."

Nearby, surfers performed tricks with virtuosity on the powerful wave, formed by the presence of rocks on the riverbed near a bridge.

"It's completely different from the ocean," said Moritz.

"Even if you know how to surf very well in the sea, you don't necessarily know how to do it here where the water comes from the front and not from behind."

Another surfer, Irina, 34, said she tries to come three times a week, "before work, because it gives you energy".

She finds "the power of the wave is good" and said she feels safe at this unique spot, even if "there are rocks at the bottom and you have to be a little careful when you fall".

A German surfer lost her life during a night session in April after being trapped underwater for nearly 30 minutes, her leash caught on an unidentified object.

Friends and emergency services rushed to help her, but she died a week after her accident.

An investigation found no safety breaches on the part of the city or state, which had always warned surfers to attempt the challenge "at their own risk".

New guidelines have, however, been issued: night surfing is banned between 10:00 pm and 5:30 am, and the minimum age for braving the wave is 14.

Surfers must also use a system that allows their leash to be detached in case of emergency.

These rules are "largely reasonable", said Franz Fasel, head of the local surfers' association IGSM, who said between 3,000 and 5,000 local surfers use the Eisbach site.

"Surfing is simply part of the lifestyle in Munich," he said. "Not just for the surfers themselves, but also for the city's image."

It was not always this way. In the past, the Eisbach wave was entirely natural and surfable only occasionally, for example, when gravel accumulated in the riverbed.

Surfers took matters into their own hands in the 1980s, installing a river crossing and adding objects to improve the wave, not all well received by the authorities.

The site is now promoted by the tourist office as one of Munich's top attractions.

Bavaria's state premier Markus Soeder proudly declared during a recent visit that "Munich is a surfer's paradise" and Bavaria "a bit like the California of Germany".