It can be said that the modern age can be marked by the mediums which we record and listen to music. Since the late 1890s, music and recordings were made on analog vinyl records that physically recorded sounds onto a wax surface with such detail and accuracy that when you passed an electric needle on it, it would replay it note for note.  This was like that until the introduction of magnetic tape in the 1950s and 60s.  Eight Track tapes were almost the standard throughout the 70s particularly because for the first time since electronic recording was invented by Thomas Edison you could bring your music with you in your own car.  In the mid-eighties, the Compact Disc was introduced by Sony, which allowed songs and other information to be stored digitally.  Now, by the late 90s, the MP3 was introduced by Apple, and while we still have CDs , the preferred medium is through the pure digital format symbolized by the amazing iPod.  Smaller than a CD player and can store hundreds if not thousands of songs all in one slim package, the iPod and other digital music players are a standard of 21^st Century pop culture.  Almost everyone has one.  If you should run into someone without one, a gift of IPod MP3 Player Cufflinks will suffice until they can get their hands on the real thing.  These novelty cufflinks feature a black plated iPod with a red control interface on a silver backing.  While they do not play real digital music (at least, not yet with the way things are going), silver cufflinks look great on any sleeve, and could very well set the trend of how we listen to our music in the years to come.