Headphone Listening Cultures

Abstract

This paper discusses the headphones as key factors in the establishment of a mobile listening culture by suggesting that the function of this artifact has been changing according not only with technological innovation, but also with economic contingencies borrowed from capitalist logics. By discussing concepts such as tympanic function (Jonathan Sterne) and Commodity Scientism (Thimoty Taylor) the text will examine theories on the origins of headphones, as well as analyzing early models. The Walkman, launched in the 1980, will be the subject of a detailed scrutiny, since it is responsible for linking the use of audio devices with the urban life. Afterward, the article will confront a handful of texts discussing mobile listening, fostered by the Walkman and extended by subsequent portable audio products such as the Apple’s iPod. In the contemporaneity, the headphones underwent a process of stylization and have achieved the status of a fashion accessory. On the other hand, they are being implemented in interactive audio narratives such as games and smartphone applications. Locative audio will be discussed as an experimental field envisaging future functions and features for the headphones.