Break Out Your Adidas, Boomboxes Are Back in Connecticut
At first I thought it was funny, then I saw someone else doing it the very next day, that's when I knew our day has come. Have you noticed that the boombox is on the comeback trail here in Connecticut?
It was very common in 1985 Connecticut to carry around a 20 pound radio on your shoulder as you strolled the city streets. I loved the age of the boombox. I had a Panasonic that had a record player in it, seriously. They featured separate low and mid-range speakers, tweeters, dual cassette decks, and amplifiers. Boomboxes were portable audio component systems, and the manufacturers went big with them.
That's why I almost crashed into a curb in New Milford the other day on 202, there was a kid by New Milford Hospital rocking a 3 foot boombox on his shoulder while he skated down the hill. It's such an unusual sight in 2023. Just last night, I saw another skateboarder in Torrington doing the same thing! Audio speakers have been getting smaller and smaller to the point that earbuds are the norm now.
Those just won't do for a certain segment of our society, the ones that endured the great rap vs metal music battles of the late 80's. I'll never forget the NWA vs Guns n' Roses battle at Hammonasset Beach. One city in Connecticut isn't waiting for more boomboxes to roll out, the Stamford Police Department just issued a statement on their social media warning resident that additional patrol units have been added to monitor noise levels in the city's parks. This comes after numerous noise complaints were called in from area residents.