808 Cult

If the electric guitar is the icon of the rock-era, Rolands Drum machine "TR-808" is maybe the most symbolically charged instrument of electronic influenced music styles from hip-hop to techno.
The TR-808 is widely seen as the symbol and milestone for a change in music production and music reception [1]:at its launch in 1981 it had an affordable price, and it had a concept for programming beats, which “allowed [..] the 808 to perform extremely complex rhythms that a live drummer could perhaps not accurately play, thus creating one use for the TR-808 in live performance.” [1].This finally led to “an influential presence in today's popscape” [2], with all the cultural and devotional habits that come with such status.Apart from uncountable hardware and software replicas there exist a wide range of devotional objects. I picked a list of them representing the cult of the TR-808:MR-808: The Drum Robot Installation MR 808 by Moritz Simon geist. The 3,3x1.7m² installation emulates the sounds of the 808 - with robots playing the drums!
Photo: Jürgen LöselTR-808 USB-Stick 39,90$808-Pillow from DawandaPosters stating the programs for famous 808 tracks by Rob Ricketts3D-Modell of the TR-808 at Google 3D Warehouse  

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[1] Jillian Reddy: "From Kitsch to Kanye: The Meteoric Rise of the TR-808"[2] Richards, Chris. "What's an 808?" Slate. 2 Dec. 2008.