We at GeekDad love holidays, even the made-up, arbitrary kind. And so it is with great pleasure that I wish you all a Happy 808 Day, the only quasi-holiday to celebrate that cornerstone of contemporary music, the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer.
Introduced in late 1980, this drum machine was instrumental (I made a pun!) in the explosion of hip-hop and electronic music of the decade. Furthermore, amongst various bouts of falling into and out of fashion with musicians and producers, this studio workhorse has persevered to this day. From rap to drum and bass to electro, the 808 has made a name for itself by sounding very little like actual drums in favor of the wholly unrealistic kick drum and tinny handclap sounds made famous by the likes of Marvin Gaye mega-hit "Sexual Healing."
So kick back and get all technostalgic, friends, because we’ve got a while to wait before the next 08/08/08.
Via Doc Pop
