# Most dated (and obscure) tech reference in song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 30, 2022, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774 "2022-11-30T04:18:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Bashorian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bashorian/32/3546_2.png) [@Bashorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bashorian)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/61 "2022-12-01T04:05:54Z")
The DLR Band song Counter-Blast (from 1999) is fairly dated, asking if someone is online: Tell me, tell me, tell me Who’s your favorite page I’m gonna fax you Into the atom age My engine searching Like a harpoon Like a monsoon In your chat room Who are you Are you online ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/62 "2022-12-01T04:06:37Z")
A few years ago a local radio station had a call-in contest, playing a snippet of that song and asking callers to name the 10,000 things that still exist that the song refers to. The first wise-ass caller said “Stupid Maroon 5 songs.” I loved that answer. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/63 "2022-12-01T05:17:31Z")
Astrolabes? I’ve known about them for years now. 😴 How many people nowadays know what a **rotograveur** was/is? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Wq_AG4QPeqA/maxresdefault.jpg "Easter Bonnet") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq_AG4QPeqA) ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/64 "2022-12-01T07:14:37Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > How many people nowadays know what a **rotograveur** was/is? _Rotogravure_ is one of Ringo Starr’s post-Beatles solo albums, so fully qualifies as an excellent example of dated and obscure technology. Apparently its named after something. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/65 "2022-12-01T07:29:36Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > so fully qualifies as an excellent example of dated and obscure technology Obscure, but hardly dated. It’s still in widespread use. It’s just that hardly anyone thinks about how things get printed in high volume. And it’s no longer used as a metonym for a color newspaper page. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/66 "2022-12-01T11:24:51Z")
[quote=“terentii, post:63, topic:975774”] Astrolabes? I’ve known about them for years now. 😴 How many people nowadays know what a **rotograveur** was/is? Astrolabes? [/quote] Yep. I knew what they were too. Just hadn’t seen one in real life, except for a sloppily built fake for sale at a RenFair once. Off top of head, a _rotogravuer_ is a type of printing press, invented ~1800s. I don’t recell more about them than that. Etymology suggests it was a roller-type so continuous operation versus the earlier mechanical presses that worked by stamping motions. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/67 "2022-12-01T13:30:32Z")
The **Guardians of the Galaxy** films might have refreshed the younger generations awareness of cassette tapes and making recordings at home. But has **Bow Wow Wow** ’s debut single **C.30 C.60 C.90 Go** become an obscure reference? TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/68 "2022-12-01T13:54:52Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > [Car Phone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF-iAV9YOqY&t=11s). It’s a parody of [Convoy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd5ZLJWQmss), which itself refers to a dated tech reference (C.B. radios). Another Car Phone song: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wKYhUnky2IQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Car Phone") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKYhUnky2IQ) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/69 "2022-12-01T14:53:10Z")
Way back in 1966 or '67, my dad and I went on a tour of a newspaper printing plant. We saw how the linotype operator produced the text used to create the paper-mache molds with which the cylinders for the rotograveur were cast. At least, that’s how I remember it. I’m sure the process is completely automated today with computers doing everything. **NOTE:** I was in college the first time I heard about a rotograveur. The secretary in the PolSci department, who was old enough to be my grandmother, explained the word to me in the context of _ **Easter Parade** _. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/70 "2022-12-01T15:11:35Z")
If we’re doing car models, “Beep Beep” by the Playmates is about a Nash Rambler, which Wikipedia informs me were made between 1950 and 1954. Quite a small production window there. The song came out in 1958. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/71 "2022-12-01T15:19:06Z")
Put another nickel in In the nickelodeon All I want is having you And music, music, music ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/72 "2022-12-01T15:20:30Z")
“John Henry”: “A man ain’t nothin’ but a man, But before I let your steam drill beat me Down, I’d die with a hammer in my hand. Lord, Lord. I’d dies with a hammer in my hand.” Then there’s “Hello Central Give me Heaven” from 1901: “Hello central give me heaven For I know my mother’s there And you’ll find her with the angels Over on the golden stair” There’s probably an old folk song out there somewhere about the automated loom. And if we are counting sailing ships, about a thousand songs. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/73 "2022-12-01T15:27:32Z")
I just thought of two Robert Johnson songs that fit the thread: “Terraplane Blues” about an old car model, and “Phonograph Blues” about a very dated technology to play music. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/74 "2022-12-01T17:31:42Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > If we’re doing car models, “Beep Beep” by the Playmates is about a Nash Rambler, which Wikipedia informs me were made between 1950 and 1954. Quite a small production window there. The song came out in 1958. I’m guessing Wikipedia says that because Nash ceased to exist as a company in 1954. But American Motors, the company formed when Nash and Hudson merged, continued making Ramblers. They weren’t technically “Nash Ramblers” anymore, but a lot of people probably still called them that (like how people continued calling Ram trucks “Dodge Rams” long after Chrysler spun off Ram as a separate brand). > **[Rambler (automobile)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambler_(automobile))** > > Rambler is an automobile brand name that was first used by the Thomas B. Jeffery Company between 1900 and 1914. > Charles W. Nash bought Jeffery in 1916, and the name was reintroduced to the automobile marketplace by Nash Motors from 1950 through 1954. The "Rambler" trademark registration for use on automobiles and parts was issued on 9 March 1954 for Nash-Kelvinator. > Nash merged with the Hudson Motor Car Company to form American Motors Corporation (AMC) in 1954. The Rambler line of cars contin... ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2022, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/75 "2022-12-01T19:49:51Z")
Yes, American Motors kept making the Rambler for quite a few years. The first car I can remember our family had, when I was a small child, was a Rambler. This was in the late 60s. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/76 "2022-12-02T11:49:30Z")
An intentional dated reference from Somewhere That’s Green from the Little Shop of Horrors movie. Between our frozen dinner And our bedtime, nine-fifteen We snuggle watchin’ Lucy On our **big, enormous twelve-inch screen** ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/77 "2022-12-02T16:01:18Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > On our **big, enormous twelve-inch screen** That’s a truly huge smartphone you have there. Must be one of the new fancy folding-screen ones. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2022, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/78 "2022-12-03T00:08:42Z")
Some uses are deliberately ironic. It I’m surprised no one has mentioned trucker slang and CB radio. Amazingly, my father had one installed in his car for long trips. I never saw the appeal myself. But presumably few Dopers are truckers or fans of old country. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2022, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/79 "2022-12-03T00:11:57Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > It I’m surprised no one has mentioned trucker slang and CB radio. “Convoy” has been mentioned. Here: > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > [Car Phone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF-iAV9YOqY&t=11s). It’s a parody of [Convoy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd5ZLJWQmss), which itself refers to a dated tech reference (C.B. radios). ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774/80 "2022-12-03T00:12:59Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > It I’m surprised no one has mentioned trucker slang and CB radio. Is there some rule that whenever someone says “I’m surprised no one mentioned X”, X actually will have been mentioned in that thread? > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > [Car Phone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF-iAV9YOqY&t=11s). It’s a parody of [Convoy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd5ZLJWQmss), which itself refers to a dated tech reference (C.B. radios). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dated-and-obscure-tech-reference-in-song/975774.md?page=5)