The Time Capsule - Dropping a Dime

Well I've given it some thought and after due consideration of such 70s Mellow Rock as "Chevy Van" and the realization that despite referencing political events of its day, the Sound of Philadelphia's politically conscious songs like "Love Train" are indeed universal (although references to the then nascent peace efforts between Israel and Egypt are less of an event today), I've settled on this gem from 1972: Jim Croce's "Operator."

I think this video does a nice job of cataloguing why this song will probably be lyrically if not sonically confusing (that melody will be pretty even when we are consuming music through infusions into our iBrains in 2050) to the future and if you're under 20, to those of the present generation.



First off, check out that un-ironic 'stache. It's probably pretty telling that 1972 was a different time because there's no way that a man as unattractive as Jim Croce could be a sensation with multiple hits in this, the 9th or 10th year of the John Mayer Age ( 9 j.m.a. as its known by biblical scholars).

The lyrics of "Operator" are simple enough that I won't post them. But suffice it to say that I haven't called an operator (dial 0 on your earth phones kids, they still exist!) in order to place a call in my entire life (including my childhood). Not to belabor the point, but this is what Croce's describing: Dialing 0 to reach the operator who was an employee of one of the local "Baby" Bells (N.Y. Bell, Illinois Bell, etc., all of whom were united under AT&T until 1984 when the Reagan administration successfully sued in antitrust and broke the company up), then once you called the operator, asking her (and back in 1972 it was almost certainly a woman, sorry to gender stereotype) to look up a phone number - like calling 411 or more commonly Googling this information - to which she would then connect you.

Further, a phone number hasn't been recorded on a matchbook since, at the latest, 1997. Also, a matchbook?!?

Finally, there's this: "Thank you for your time, you've been so much more than kind. You can keep the dime." Indeed, Jim, she can, as a phone call would have cost a dime on a pay phone in 1972. When was the last time anyone has used a pay phone and made a call for under 50 - 75 cents (depending on your area)? (Ed. Incidentally, I only recently learned - to my great embarassment - that the expression "drop a dime" on someone refers to the practice of snitching on someone by making an anonymous phone call to the police via 10 cent pay phone call. One day this expression will sound as hopelessly dated as "That's no way to run a railroad!" But I digress...)

A close runner-up in this singer-songwriter category was Harry Chapin's "Taxi" - also released in 1972 - only because giving someone $20 for cab fare doesn't seem that crazy until you realize that adjusted for wages, that's like $90. I could see being mad at a now rich and snobby ex "tipping" you almost $100 out of some weird pity for your station. I could also see "stashing that bill" in my shirt for the exact same reason. Still not sure about that "mad man wizard" though but they had better drugs back then.