Support the Eight Track Museum

 

CD’s are on the verge of becoming just another obsolete music format as MP3’s take over the world. And yet vinyl and even cassettes are making a comeback with college kids and hipsters everywhere. So can a resurgence of the eight track be far behind? Well, yes, that seems very unlikely. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of people out there who miss the big clunky plastic cartridges that ca-chunked in the middle of your favorite songs.

Among our favorite eight tracks from our childhood were Arthur Fiedler and The Boston Pops Play The Beatles and the soundtracks to The Sting and A Chorus Line. The ‘70s at their finest. And we’re not the only ones who remember the format fondly. Dallas local James "Bucks" Burnett digs eight tracks so much, has even opened a museum in their honor. The grand opening occurred on February 14 and included a singing party with the Tom Tom Club.

If you’re sad you can’t stop by the museum sometime soon, don’t sweat it. You can subscribe to the Eight Track Museum newsletter for free. Just email your name, email address, city and state to bucks1414@mac.com. Or if you think your passion for the format is going to linger, become a lifetime member for just $30.

And needless to say, if you clean out your father’s attic and stumble upon a box of rare specimens, do music lovers and Bucks a favor and send them off to the museum at 3100 Main Street #414, Dallas, Texas, 75226. They don’t just want your eight tracks — posters, albums, music magazines are all of interest to them. Your donations won’t be tax deductible because ETM is not yet registered as a charity, but do it for the good of posterity.

Visit the Eight Track Museum at 2630 E. Commerce in Dallas, Texas, read more about Burnett’s mission in this Wall Street Journal interview and check out Bucks’ eight track tour in the video below.

  

For more pop culture stories read:

Map of Metal – This Site Goes to 11

Epic Meal Time – Not for the Faint of Heart

Carl Warner Creates Magical Foodscapes

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Liberace Museum to Close Its Doors

 

Las Vegas will be losing a little bit of its sparkle on October 17 when the Liberace Museum closes. This was a must-see destination for anyone going to Sin City for its legendary sense of kitsch. After all, no one dazzled with tongue so firmly planted in cheek as the original piano man, Wladziu Valentino Liberace.

Apparently the board of directors is not “crying all the way to the bank,” and so comes the sad news that the mirror ball piano and matching car will go into storage. Worse yet, 31 employees will hit the unemployment lines. The closure is due to dwindling attendance at Lee’s museum, which averages 50,000 visitors a year—down from 450,000 in its heyday.

You’d think that all the glitz of a glamorous star like the Glitter Man would be a huge draw in a town like Vegas. But with competition like the Beatles’ Love and megastars like Cher on the Strip, Liberace’s ghost just doesn’t stand a chance. Still, it seems a shame that some hotel doesn’t scoop up the memorabilia and set up shop in the corner of one of the mega-casinos’ many malls. Don’t you think they’d sell a lot of feathered wraps that way?

Maybe if Michael Douglas recovers from his current battle with cancer, his much discussed Liberace movie will come out. And then a whole new generation will demand a dazzling destination.

Not everyone is standing idly by, stars like America’s Got Talent third runner-up Prince Poppycock are speaking out and calling upon fans to sign the Save the Liberace Museum petition.