In days of yore, the ironic and the retrophile expressed themselves through an overt affection for vinyl records. While the practice is still alive and well in say, Brooklyn, technological progress has improved hipsters' opportunities to show off just how unique and eccentric their tastes really are. Rather than look to the actual chronological predecessor — the CD — as the new vehicle for self-conscious hipness, recently a paradoxical aesthetic of low-tech, other-era technology made to accompany high-tech gadgets has begun to percolate. As if they were experiencing a nagging nostalgia for an era they barely remember, kids these days pay homage to the classic mix tape by transporting their mp3s on a USB drive shaped like a cassette tape, or blasting their music on an iPod dock crafted from a real-life gramophone.
ARTINFO rounded up a selection of these contradictory marvels, culling examples both brilliant and obnoxious. Take a look.