Assignment 2-2

     For my three contemporary icons I chose Johnny Cash, the iPod, and cell phones. All of these items I feel very familiar with and have a real interest in. I feel these few things have had an impact on my life, even if only a small impact.

     Johnny Cash didn’t seem to be a household name to me until the release of the movie Walk the Line. Before then some people had heard his music or of his name, but they didn’t truly understand his life or know much about him. After the movie it seemed like so many were instantly life-long Johnny Cash Fans. I’ve been a fan for a long time and grew up listening to his music. It’s a shame sometimes that it takes a movie for people to take an interest in someone or something but it’s nice at the same time that they are now informed on the person’s life and struggles. His music is gritty, blunt, and to the point, which I really like. No holds were barred in his life or during the music writing process.

     Now onto the famous iPod. Before the invention of digital music players we used portable cassette and CD players, which gave a limited number of songs to the user. That’s simply not the case nowadays. Music listeners now have hundreds to thousands of songs at their fingertips in a tiny portable device. I love music and the fact that I can literally load hundreds of hours of music onto my iPod and not have to worry about carrying CD’s or cassettes around with me. I can integrate my iPod into the radio in my truck, in my living room, or in my kitchen. Wherever I go I have all of my favorite tunes at my disposal.

     It’s 2010, who doesn’t have a cell phone? Cell phones have most certainly become an iconic piece of our culture. In the 80s and early 90s nobody knew what a cell phone was. Communication was basic with callers needing to use home phones or pay phones on the street. If you weren’t near a phone then you had no way to keep in contact with others. I’m not the type to spend every waking minute on my cell(like others I know) but I do enjoy the convenience of keeping in touch with family, checking weather radar ad reports, and receiving work e-mails that need an immediate reply. Cell phones are so common these days and it’s funny to think back on a time when nobody had one.