On the subject of ear gear

I take the L.A. Metro every day -- four buses -- to get to and from Mt. SAC from Alhambra. As such, I get to observe the latest headphone trends firsthand, seeing as most of my classmates spend the uncomfortable commute determinedly not looking at each other and fiddling with their iPods.

In the fall, there was a brief explosion of neon bright gummy earbuds. It was suddenly a faux pas to be using the iconic white earbuds that came with one's iPod.

Then everyone realized that not only were these earbuds of poor quality, but that they looked idiotic (although entertainingly rainbow-y!) when seen together in large numbers. Thus the new trend solution for true uniqueness: skullcandy. I didn't mind; these were more pleasing to look at, even if they're low-quality, high-priced accessories. I minded my own business. I determinedly looked away. THEN IT HAPPENED.


I saw someone wearing these.

And it happened again. And again. Once in red. Then in cream. Then more green ones.

THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. I've been looking for those headphones in powder blue for TWO YEARS. I know they're cheaply made, and I know they're overpriced, an' I know they're discontinued, but I want them. You see ... they are adorable.


This sucks.

Whelp, I don't have the money or the patience to wait for Panasonic to realize it has made a terrible mistake in discontinuing the blue-ies. For now I'll have to stick to the Pixxo earbuds I bought for $5 at Fry's. The irony? They're white, so I look like I have an iPod. I actually have a crappy refurbished Samsung YP-K3 mp3 player.

For now there seems to be a mellowing out of earbud trends. Perhaps to better reflect the beleaguered economy, most people I see are sporting black ones.