Boombox

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For the box set by No Doubt, see Boom Box (No Doubt box set).

Image:Ghettoblaster-family.jpg A boombox or boom-box is a portable stereo system capable of playing radio stations or recorded music (usually cassettes and/or CDs) at relatively high volume.

1 Ghettoblaster
2 Trivia
3 Models
4 Compressed digital audio and boomboxes
5 External links

[edit] Ghettoblaster

The synonym ghettoblaster or ghetto-blaster is a term that can be considered insulting or complimentary depending on the context. The word ghettoblaster originated in the U.S., apparently reflecting the belief that such systems are popular in poor inner-city neighborhoods (ghettos), especially those populated by black Americans, whether as a sign of economic power or simply to play some music/throw a party. Ghettoblaster rather than boom box became the common term in the UK and Australia for large portable stereos, perhaps because the pejorative connotations were not as clear in those countries.

The term carries a connotation of power and disregard of social rules, shown in the ability to blast music to overwhelm those around you, as portrayed in the film Do the Right Thing by director Spike Lee. Dispute over a ghettoblaster was a central role in that movie's culminating riot.

Image:Sony Boombox circa 2005.JPG

The word is racially inflammatory in some circumstances but has also been embraced as a term of black, urban pride — and, like many such terms, has been adopted by parts of the non-black American community. It is used as the name of at least one magazine and one recording company, and is also a popular stereotype element typically associated with funk, hip-hop and rap, African American culture, 1970s and 1980s culture, breakdancing and even racist jokes.

The ghettoblaster is seen as one of the stereotypical accessories of the b-boy (breakdancer), having been introduced to the mainstream consciousness through music videos, television and documentaries. It is also a phenomena often associated with New York City, New York, the birthplace of Hip hop culture, with b-boy, rapper and Hip-Hop fan alike crowding around the beats emanating from this not-so-little machine.

[edit] Trivia

In the James Bond film The Living Daylights, during the customary trip into Q's workshop, loud music is heard emanating from a large portable stereo carried on the shoulder of a technician. A missile then fires from the end of the stereo at a human dummy target, which is destroyed by the resulting explosion. Q turns to Bond and says, "It's something we're developing for the Americans. It's called a ghettoblaster."

The town of Willimantic, Connecticut has started a popular tradition called the "Boom Box Parade." No "real" bands are allowed. Participants and spectators are urged to bring radios (boom boxes), tuned to local radio station WILI (1400-AM). It is the largest parade of its kind in the world. For more information, visit http://www.wili.com/am

The Autobot Blaster transforms into, and is named for, a ghettoblaster.

In relation to the derogatory US term "ghettoblaster" and its connotations, the urban UK has the even more unfavourable term, "wog box", which has long since fallen from favour in social discourse.

Another term popular in the UK was "Brixton briefcase", which referred to the suburb of south London, and is another example of the use of these devices being associated with a predominantly black inner-city neighbourhood.

[edit] Models

Some notable makes and models from the early to mid-80s are:

Hitachi TRK series (eg: TRK-8080)
JVC RC series (eg: RC-550)
Panasonic RX series (eg: RX-5350, RX-7700, RX-7000)
Crown SZ series (eg: SZ-5100)
Lasonic series (eg: TRC-931)
Conion (known as Clairtone in Canada)
Sharp GF series
Sharp VZ series (This model included a turntable)

The popularity of large portable stereos declined in the early 1990s and few models are currently manufactured. The rectangular, angular, chrome aesthetic of many 1980's models were replaced with black plastic in the 1990's, and modern designs are dominated by curves instead of right angles.

[edit] Compressed digital audio and boomboxes

Even though traditionally boomboxes were made with dual cassete decks and included dubbing, line, and radio recording capabilities, the rise of recordable CDs first and of high-density MP3 players later have further reduced their popularity to such an extent that it's difficult to find a new dual decked boombox.

While modern boomboxes include a CD player compatible with CD-R and CD-RW, which allows the user to carry his own music compilations on a higher fidelity medium, most boomboxes still lack direct support for MP3 or other similar compressed digital audio formats such as OGG and WMA.

The simplest way to connect an older boombox to an MP3 player is to use a cassette adapter, which interfaces an MP3 player's output directly to the cassette player's heads. The 'line in' can be used if the boombox has one.

Some modern boombox designs provide other connections for MP3 (and sometimes other digital formats) such as a USB connector for use with a removable USB drive, slots for various flash memory media such as Sony Memory Stick, SmartMedia, MMC and SD, or even a CD drive capable of reading MP3s directly from a CD, thus allowing for a relatively cheap and large music storage to be carried and played back at full volume.