Millenials and Edison cylinder phonographs

[orpington]

In the future, your (and my) phonograph 'junk' just might not be that desirable!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/boo ... story.html

[snallast]

Thanks for posting... really appreciate the non-materialistic side of this, but then we ARE on the planet earth and I have a strong feeling there will be a backlash soon and people might start feeling that their own brain and consciousness are more interesting (and have a lot more possibilities and unopened doors) than their computers/smart-whatever...

Maybe sensorial experience will come "a la mode" again? After all life is change... and then - who knows - maybe these marvelous machines will find their homes in the future? Just a thought?

[Phonofreak]

This goes through cycles. My parents were part of that Post WWII generation.They got rid of great stuff in the 1950's during that prosperity. Fortunately, I had other relatives who saved stuff that I got. I'm sure the next generation after the millennials will want this collectible stuff. I remember during the 1970's -'80s, there was the Nostalgia craze. Antiques and collectibles were expensive. That slowed down in the late 80's. Then in the 90's was a resurgence. That lasted until the economy tanked in the mid 2000's. Like I said, maybe there will be a resurgence in the next generation. If my family members don't want my collection, I'll sell it. I enjoyed my collection all these years. That's my observation.
Harvey Kravitz

[Jerry B.]

There is no argument that collecting is an investment but that is not my reason for collecting. I collect because I really REALLY enjoy it. You are either a collector or not. If you are collecting to invest, you could do much better investing your money in more traditional ways. The next generation will have people that enjoy old phonographs and records. If there are not many, prices will drop and those new collectors will get good buys on unusual items. If that proves to be a fact of life, I can and will continue to enjoy and be active in our hobby.

Respectfully, Jerry Blais

[bbphonoguy]

This is just one of the typical "filler" articles that newspapers print. One generation rejects the stuff of the generation before it. It's been going on for centuries, but it helps to sell ad space in the paper if they write about it and act as if they're the first ones to tell us.

[welshfield]

This article is a gross generalization. We in this hobby are a extremely small proportion of the general public -- always have been and always will be. I saw this same kind of prediction for the antique-car (pre-WW-II) hobby several years ago. But that hobby (I can speak for 1914-1938 Dodge Brothers vehicles only) is doing quite well among the upcoming generation, thank you. On the other hand I do hope the supply will exceed demand a bit to get these ridiculous prices down, as happened in the antique-car hobby.
It may also help to get rid of the "strippers" like neelam and croakinfrog who tear apart good machines for their own profit.

[De Soto Frank]

Some thoughts from one who "just missed" the Baby Boom ( born in 1967 ), and is far too young to be a "Millennial" (Thank GOD !)


"The 20- and 30-somethings don’t appear to be defined by their possessions, other than their latest-generation cellphones."

"Defined by"? How about "Completely consumed with" ?! It seems that every time my wife & I go out to a restaurant to eat, we notice that parties made-up of so-called "Millennials" are sitting at their table, each absorbed in their own personal digital device, rarely engaging in genuine, direct interaction with the human-being next to them, or across the table.


“They are living their life digitally through Instagram and Facebook and YouTube, and that’s how they are capturing their moments. Their whole life is on a computer; they don’t need a shoebox full of greeting cards.”


"Take Kelly and Josh Phillips, who rent a 700-square-foot apartment in the District’s Shaw neighborhood. The couple frequently sells things on Craigslist and calls an Uber instead of owning a car. “My parents are always trying to give us stuff,” says Kelly Phillips, 29, a real estate marketer. “It’s stuff like bunches of old photos and documents, old bowls or cocktail glasses. We hate clutter. We would rather spend money on experiences.” Her husband agrees. “I consider myself a digital hoarder,” says Josh Phillips, 33, who is opening a Oaxacan restaurant, Espita Mezcaleria, this fall in Shaw. “If I can’t store my memories of something in a computer, I’m probably not going to keep them around.” "

Yep. And they are just one hard-drive crash away from losing all that stuff. And then there's the inevitability of having to update / convert / re-save all that digital info, so that it can still be accessed with the latest technology, once the original formats / software are "no longer supported". Last time I checked, a "hard-copy" photo-album did not require periodic updates to keep the information "retrievable"... you just open the album, and there are the pictures...


“Millennials have stuff on discs and flash drives,” she says. “I don’t think my sons are going to want my walnut table, eight chairs and buffet. We will downsize maybe in five years, and I will either sell this stuff or give it away.”

I wonder how many of these "Millennials" will be singing a slightly different song, a few years or decades down then road, when Mom & Dad aren't around anymore ?

I can appreciate the limitations of younger folks - whose lives are in transition - who don't own a home, and perhaps are still in a "nomadic" pattern with their careers... and big ugly "brown furniture" ( such as that couch in the lead photo ) would be an onus.

Likewise, if my parents had bought trendy, "stylish" furnishings through the years, instead of the various antique pieces they acquired over the years, I can't see myself wanting " a la mode" furnishings from the 1950's - 1970's... yuck.


But I sure as hell want the family photos, and (probably) any letters or scrapbooks... the boxes and boxes of musty "Better Homes & Gardens" from my parents' last move in 1972, those can go to the dump as far as I'm concerned.


To me, there's something more intrinsically valuable and enduring about furniture and other stuff made before WW-II. A Victrola is a prime example - I don't know if Victor Talking Machine had a "targeted product lifespan" in mind when they designed and built their machines ( let's say between 1906 and 1929 ), but short of fire or extreme wet climate, their products still work ( or can be made to work ) as good as when they were new, over 100 years down the pike. ( Yes, I know there was also "cheap crap" made 100 + years ago, but most of that stuff is gone by now. )

According to WP article these smart "Millennials" "don't want Mom's walnut Colonial-Revival dining room suite," but they'll eagerly drive to IKEA and bring home Volvo wagon-load of particle-board "furniture"... where's the value in that ?


I think another fundamental difference between the Boomers and the Millennials as that the Boomers' parents were "children of the Depression", who tended to be savers, and to make things last, and who, when they did spend their money, tried to buy items that were going to last.


For those of us who have "Millennial" children, if our offspring do not want our talking machines, I hope that there will be young folk who DO. Better to to find out sooner than later.

[fran604g]

I think there have always been and always will be people that collect "junk" as it is known by the uninterested non-collectors. God love us all.

[Bruce]

I think this article is a lot about nothing. Every generation (speaking in broad generalities) for the last century has rejected the things of their parents. They have gone on to create their own styles and tastes.

Some like us value items from several generations ago. But I tend to agree I would not be accepting some large leather sofa which has seen 20 + years of family life even for my basement (already have one of my own).

"Viva la difference"

Bruce

[phonogfp]

I agree with every post here regarding that article. The author uses a pretty broad brush in describing what everyone values who was born between 1946-1964. And the author takes a subtle, approving stance while using the same broad generalizations regarding those born between 1980-2000. Yet I suspect this journalist wouldn't for a moment consider writing such stereotypes aimed at race, gender, or sexual orientation.

That said, my children (aged 29 and 33) and the children of many of our friends certainly show little or no interest in our antiques, family heirlooms, photos, or memorabilia. But all it would take is another show like "Roots" grabbing popular imagination to spur another fad for genealogy as it did in the mid-1970s. I hope so. Our society could use a little more spirituality and humanity in my opinion.

Plus, those of us who preserve those boxes of old family photos & artifacts might possibly be seen as visionaries, instead of the hopeless hoarders we are!

George P.