The above 1973 commercial for a Pioneer home stereo system plays more like a current day SNL parody of a 1973 Pioneer home stereo system commercial than the real thing. Yet it’s the real thing. Did we really look, act and talk like that? The early 70s are becoming as foreign and alien a land as the 1920s (or, for that matter, the 1880s) and the commercial captures every trope of the era–including a zoom lens shot. The below 1972 Panasonic commercial is more subdued but remains fascinating for the view it provides of the elaborate nature of home stereo units of the era. Given the lack of audio quality that we’ve become accustomed to it’s hard to remember what a big deal it was when you were a teenager to acquire your own stereo system for your room, and to no longer be dependent on your parents Magnavox console in the living room. My first system was a mix of components–A Dual turntable, J.C. Penny receiver (it was oddly good which it made it cool to have since you had to be in the hipster-audiophile-know to be in on the brands unexpected excellence). The beautiful speakers were called ‘Boston Acoustics’ and the cherry on top was a Kenwood tape deck, which had dual cartridges to make dubbing easy. I can’t imagine what I was dubbing but I certainly used it. At one point I acquired a pair of headphones so high-end (can’t remember the manufacturer) that I started listening through them exclusively. I bought a whole other equally elaborate system for my college dorm room, which was three thousand miles away. And I have absolutely no idea where all of those components disappeared to.