Is It Really The iPod Age? Not So Fast.

Does that little mp3 player that made Apple a player again really define a generation? Michael Agger in Slate doesn't think so, even after reading The Perfect Thing, Steve Levy's ode to the iPod:

Levy, a senior editor at Newsweek, is a prime example of the boomers who think the iPod is revolutionary. But really, they're grateful, because it's made them feel cool again. As the first generation to embrace rock, Levy's cohort faced a musical conundrum as they aged: Do we graduate to classical music or keep listening to the Doors? Both choices have their downsides, but the iPod provided a third way out. Under the guise of converting CDs to MP3s, you could plausibly dig out your copy of Trust and discuss Elvis Costello around the office. The adult engaging in such behavior wasn't doing something as juvenile as listening to the music of his salad days; rather, he or she (but mostly he) was getting hip to the white-ear-budded technological wave. From there, it was only a short step to listening to the Arcade Fire.

Read the whole thing at Slate, and decide for yourself: Is the iPod square, and is it hip to be square?