If you don’t and want a history lesson, or if you do and want some nostalgia, here is something to check out.  My friend Doug does art installations and currently has one at the Burton Barr Central Phoenix Library Art Gallery that showcases his lifelong (and now over) relationship with this medium, and includes music being played on his old 8-track system:

Here is a link to the New Times blurb about it and here is a link to his Flickr photoset of the installation.  But hey, go and check it out yourself!  Who doesn’t need to make a trip to the library?

Lastly, Doug’s description in his own words:

Are you in a funk because you maxed out your new 1 gigabyte MP3 with only 572 songs? If so, a tonic for your ailments may be as simple as revisiting just how far audio systems have come by attending the artist’s reception for my latest installation, “The Tale of the Tape: A Farewell to My 8-Track Music System.”

The gala takes place during the Downtown First Friday Artwalk from 7 to 10 pm on November 7th at the @ Central Gallery which is part of the Burton Barr Library, 1221 N. Central Avenue. The installation is one of several altars that will be on display during the gallery’s annual Dia de los Muertos exhibition.

The altar traces the evolution of the 8-track tape and how this largely forgotten audio system was interwoven in my life and now departs it. The focal point of the altar is a still-functioning J.C. Penny 8-track tape system playing all *our* favorite artists (the Fabulous Poodles – Mirror Star, Jefferson Starship – Spitfire, the Who – Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass – Greatest Hits etc).

For those unable to attend the artist’s reception, the exhibition is available for viewing from October 25 through November 9th during normal library hours.