Did you ever use the term "Hi-Fi" in reference to your home audio system? Then this article, by Tom Hannaher, our former vice president of advertising, is for you.

For many of us, the 60s and 70s were decades where music dominated our lives. A good stereo system was our most important possession. Every evening and every weekend was built around listening to music. If you had a party, it was a music-focused party. If you sat around and played cards, there would be a minor power struggle over who controlled the turntable. And sometimes we would, gasp, just sit around and listen to music--without a word being spoken.

But then things changed. We grew up and had babies. Got jobs that were a little more demanding. And, very importantly, VCRs and cable TV entered our lives. I grew up in a Midwestern town that had only two television channels. There was a big celebration when ABC finally acquired a local affiliate. And let's face it, when 'Welcome Back Kotter' and 'Mork and Mindy' are the peak of your television viewing week, it makes a few hours of Little Feat, Talking Heads and Captain Beefheart seem awfully appealing in comparison.

When I worked at Advent in the mid-70s, I remember how exciting it was to go to a party and watch a bootleg videotape of a movie (Star Wars on a 3/4' U-matic Sony VCR) on a big-screen TV in someone's home. I remember the big Advent dealer in Philadelphia being ecstatic about home theater because "when you need to go to the bathroom, you just stop the thing!"

The ability to rent movies and watch more than 5 or 6 channels of bad TV programming changed my life, and the lives of many others. After years of maintaining an 'I'm too hip for TV' attitude, I got rid of my 9" black and white TV and got a good color monitor and a VCR. I got cable. I connected my stereo system to my TV. Then I replaced my stereo with a Dolby surround system. And slowly, almost unnoticeably, I started listening to music less and less. Movies, old movies, new movies, foreign movies, all kinds of movies became my primary source of entertainment. Recently I even stopped listening to music in my car, opting instead for talk shows! What, pray tell, was I becoming? Old, I guess.

But while there may be no cure for aging, there is a cure for 'nomusicitis'. For me, the cure, as yet incomplete, has had many phases. Here's what I did, I recommend you give it a try:

1. Go through those boxes of CDs in your basement. Amazing how they pile up, isn't it? We have CDs stored in at least six places in our home, with the majority residing in cardboard boxes in my basement. Now, about once a month I go through them all and pull out 10 I want to listen to again. Guess what? They're great! Bonnie Raitt's first album, the one recorded in the barn with Willie Murphy on a Crown SX-744 four-channel tape deck, is still one of the most wonderful listening experiences every created. Captain Beefheart's 'Lick My Decals Off Baby' is, well, still wonderful and weird. 'Sympathy For The Devil' and the rest of Beggar's Banquet is simply amazing. And Lowell George is still the greatest guitar player who ever lived. We miss you Lowell.
2. Listen to your kid's music. Maybe I'm lucky, but my last remaining at-home kid has pretty interesting musical tastes. I've started borrowing CDs, one at a time, from him. I play them during my morning workouts in the basement. Tool and Radiohead are excellent bands. So is Nine Inch Nails. The Beastie Boys really are pretty interesting, and funny. The vote's still out on Fat Boy Slim. But I'm listening to different music, and having fun doing it.
3. Exchange CDs with your co-workers. Some of them have very interesting tastes in music. Some of them like Garth Brooks. You'll sort things out. Give it a try.
4. Put a jukebox on your hard drive. If you don't already have an MP3 jukebox program on your hard drive, get one. The software that comes with the Creative Jukebox® is terrific. 'Real Jukebox' works very well and so does 'MusicMatch'. Both are available for free on the Internet. Get one on your hard drive and start downloading music. You can get absolutely free, absolutely legal MP3 downloads from a number of sites, including MP3.com. Listen to these bands who are trying to make a name for themselves. If you don't like them, erase them. If you do, you can probably buy--or download--a CD's worth of music from them. Blatant plug: this works best if you have really good multimedia speakers hooked up to your PC. If you don't have them, $39-$149 is all you need to spend.
5. Try a DVD music video-or get a DVD-Audio demonstration. MTV showed us how engaging music videos can be. The DVD format delivers them with great surround sound. Eric Clapton's 'Unplugged' DVD is terrific. And the new DVD-Audio format, with ultra-high-quality music in 5.1 surround, is very involving. This is a case where new technology, in and of itself, can re-spark one's interest in music. Old recordings sound better, more alive, more realistic and - with multi-channel sound done right - more fun. We can finally successfully achieve what "quadraphonic sound" attempted in the 70s.
6. Add music to one more room in your home. Use one of our multi-room speaker add-on kits we sell. Buy a Model 88CD or MusicWorks system. Get some good multimedia speakers for your computer. There are lots of affordable ways to add good music to another area of your home.
7. Spend $50 on new CDs. Go ahead. Splurge. Listen. Have a good time.
8. Watch the Ken Burns' special on Jazz. If you didn't see it, you should. They'll run it again. Or order the DVDs from your local PBS station. You should especially do this if you don't think you like jazz.
9. Seek and ye shall find. Use the seek button on your car radio to try new stations that play different styles of music. I find myself listening to hip hop, klezmer music and P. D. Q. Bach when I use seek--so clearly there are risks involved. But the rewards are worth it.
10. Create a party mix. Then create a party. We've all seen the TV ads where people do this and yes, the right way to do it is with a CD burner or a hard drive, not a cassette deck. But however you do it, create an interesting mix of music that reflects a certain party mood, then invite people over and listen to it. Life is short. It's time for another party. With music.