I’ve been drinking Mountain Dew Throwback, because I want to believe it’s better. But, to be honest, I can’t tell much difference… It might be a little smoother, somewhat less harsh, but that could also be happening inside my head only. I don’t know. My afterburps even taste the same.
Can you tell the difference? Everybody says they can, but I’m skeptical. I took an informal break room poll last night at work, and one guy said it’s much sweeter than regular Dew, and someone else said it’s less sweet. I’m starting to suspect there might be a bit of bullshit at play here.
I have yet to find a single person who will admit they can’t taste the difference. And what’s the deal with that? I can’t be the only one, can I? Are people afraid they’ll be labeled as unrefined and unsophisticated, if they can’t, you know, recognize the subtle shadings and hues in a bottle of… Mountain Dew?
It reminds me of the pre-CD era, when record companies would release “audiophile” albums. These were pressed on 100% virgin vinyl, cost about $35, and usually came in a heavy plastic sleeve. Oh, they were nothing if not luxurious.
A friend would break out one of these things, often while wearing protective linen gloves, and place it gingerly on the turntable. It would always be some “important” work, like Dark Side of the Moon, or Aja by Steely Dan.
Then they’d hush everyone with a dramatic wave of the hand, place the needle on the album, and start acting like they were on the cusp of sexual climax. …And it ALWAYS sounded exactly like the $7.99 version I’d purchased at K-Mart.
I think people believe what they want to believe, a lot of the time, and don’t let pesky facts get in their way. Or maybe I’m just an uncultured clod? It’s gotta be one or the other.
Similar items from the same era: gold-tipped speaker cables (gimme a break), and Denon cassettes. The tapes were apparently made by Japanese nerds with Coke bottle glasses and pocket protectors, inside a Japanese laboratory in Japan somewhere — where they’re really cutting edge and advanced.
Sure, the things cost about twelve dollars each, and you have a seven year old chunk o’ turd Realistic tape deck. But none of that matters when you’re using the best tapes in the world. From Japan!
And I was hoping to cite some more current examples of this phenomenon — in addition to the Mountain Dew Throwback scandal. But I’m going to have to rely on you guys, instead. I’m all outta time.
In the comments section tell us about other stuff that’s supposedly so much better (usually with a corresponding outrageous price tag), but isn’t. In your opinion, anyway. I’m especially interested in items that people evangelize about, but you can’t really differentiate from the standard model.
I wrote that kinda clumsy, but I’m sure you know what I mean… Also, please tell me I’m not the only person on Earth who can’t tell the difference between standard Dew and the Throwback version? I’m feeling a little lonely here…
See you guys tomorrow. I need to go to work now, and cry softly into my keyboard until 1:30 am.
Have a great day, my friends.
Good Afternoon Surf reporters…..
Could I possibly be…..#1?
Damn you, Johnny….you made me #2.
Hahaha.
Hello!
I’ve never drank Mountain Dew….old or new or new again.
I’m more of a Diet Coke person. Or iced tea.
early…
I can’t help you on the Mountain Dew question as I haven’t had one since I was 18 years old or so. Not that I’m suggesting anything about you, of course. Or am I?
I can’t tell the difference between a 10 dollar bottle of wine and a 50 dollar bottle of wine. As long as it tastes okay, I could be drinking Gallo of Lafite Frou Frou and never know.
Top Ten!
I was in Iwakuni, Japan in the early eighties.
I bought a metric poop~load of “audiophile” vinyl records while I was there because the Japanese pressings were supposed to be superior. Played them on a linear Technics turntable with a super expensive “click-pop” audio processor to suppress transients. Built my own pre-amp from exotic operational amp chips and instrumentation grade discrete components.
I think I still have the records, but I’ve no idea where the hardware got off to.
Yes, but in my haste, I screwed up the ” r ” in Reporters. I’m so ashamed……
I haven’t tasted the throwback version, but in all honesty I thought the whole campaign was just based on the “retro” packaging. I’ll side with JK in that there is no difference in recipe at all. The only difference is the the artwork on the label.
I’ve always thought that the 93 super octane gasoline and the regular 87 octane comes from the same tank. The suckers pumping the premium into their BMW’s are paying 20 cents more per gallon for the same stuff the teenage zitster is putting into his 1999 Cavalier.
Same goes for motor oil. Oil is oil.
TiVo vs DVR… except I think Tivo really IS WAY BETTER… I can’t wait until DirecTV brings Tivo back this year.
Sattelite Radio vs Misc. Alternative Music Delivery… except where the hell else am I going to get Howard Stern? That guy puts on a helluva show!
iPhone vs Other Smartphones… technically they can mostly perform many of the same tasks, but the iPhone does it better with more features, blah blah blah… so yeah, there’s a difference.
Here’s one… I once went to go buy CD at some store in the mall and I just grabbed the CD I was looking for by title without taking a hard look at the whole thing. I had a plan, dammit… I ended up having picked up a 24 karat gold original master recording that cost $50 or so. The guy at the counter said, “Wow, you must really like this band to get the gold press original master recording… which was the first time I realized I grabbed the wrong one. I just shrugged, said, “yeah” and bought it to avoid looking like I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. The damn thing sounded the same as any other CD. So, I guess that’s your 1990’s version of the Denon tapes. Perhaps the 2000’s equivalent is actually paying for music?
Too Much Joy !!!
EXCELLENT !!!
It’s not the taste, it’s the after-effect. After a regular MD, I feel like having a conversation with my wife. After a Throwback, I feel like screaming at my wife. After a regular MD, I feel like cleaning my garage. After a throwback, I feel like mowing the lawn, cleaning the garage and trimming all of the trees in the yard.
Maybe it’s just my eyesight going bad, but I don’t see the difference between Blu-Ray and High Def. Actually, I didn’t really see much of a difference between high def and the regular stuff I had on my regular flat screen TV. Maybe a little, but not enough to skip dinner a few times a week for awhile to afford.
On IPOD right now- “Rapper’s Delight”- Sugar Hill Gang
JCIII… on the gas, maybe – but I still follow the manufacturer’s recommended octane just because I’m anal. On the oil, however, I may pay $120/oil change at the dealership to get synthetic, but I don’t have to change my oil for 15,000 miles. Plus my car gets detailed, so I figure 5 oil changes and a detail are the equivalent of a $120 oil change… seems like apples and apples to me except I don’t have the inconvenience of having to have my oil changes more than once a year.
Ah, audiophiles. Reminds me of an oldie but a goodie: $500 Denon audiophile cables. http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AKDL1-Dedicated-Link-Cable/product-reviews/B000I1X6PM/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
I won’t get into the audio deal, as I believe there is a difference. That is one of reasons I refuse to listen to Mp3s.
Anyhow – I can’t drink Mountain Dew. It gives me the shits.
I am surprised you don’t have “Dew Teeth”.
Oh, speaking of high end audio, mustn’t forget the TDK “reference” grade (MA) audio cassettes! They featured metal frames sandwiched between transparent plastic sides. The tape itself was supposed to require an “audiophile” cassette recorder such as those made by Nakamichi, B&O and Teac / Tascam for best results.
I recenlty heard a radio story that sounds a little similar.
The story suggested that in market psychology a top tier lable will drive sales from low to mid ;evel brands whil a few suckers will pay for the top tier stuff.
GAP, Inc is a great example. Banana Re[ublic stores exist to get people to move up from Old Navy into GAP stores. It’s more or less the same stuff, but the marginas are better at the Gap.
Same goes for all the Johnny Walker varieties. The mere existence of JW Blue drives buyers into the mid-level of the brand.
I generally don’t pick up a lot of sublte differences but there are a few foods where I do notice a difference between good stuff and mass produced crap. But those particualr fods are things that I grew up with and acquired a taste for.
Sometimes even the mass produced crap is still pretty decent though.
I couldn’t tell you the difference between 1080p and 720p on playing a blueray disk, and I can’t tell the difference in the performance of audio equipment either.
As for the great Dew debate, I can offer no help. I switched to Diet Coke years ago.
Here’s an interesting article about a high-end electronics manufacturer who sells a $3,500 Blu-Ray play which, upon closer inspection, is actually a competitor’s $500 player with a new faceplate:
http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Oppo/Lexicon/THX/High-Def_Retailing/Lexicon_Accused_of_Selling_Repackaged_Oppo_BDP-83_at_a_$3000_Markup/4082
Jim Britton – we must have run in similar circles. I pretty much could have written both of your comments.
Back in the late 70s, you hadn’t LIVED until you had a copy of UFOs Strangers In The Night on Jap vinyl! HOLEE SHIT that was great. Any album I really cared about I had on Japanese vinyl if it was available (and, yes, there was a difference!) Don’t even get me started on Denon or TDK tapes. I don’t think I owned anything else.
I had picture discs and limited edition shit. Albums I picked up overseas that had different cuts on them than the domestic versions….wish I had them now, dammit.
My husband just brought home a 6er of Pepsi Throwback. Haven’t cracked one of ’em yet, but I’ll let you know what I think when I do.
Happy Tuesday, Surfers!
My wife is really into wine. Some of the best wine I have ever had cost $15 a bottle. I’ve also got an incredibly wealthy boss and have had to opportunity to sample wine that cost $350 a bottle and tasted pretty much like it could have cost $10.
Ognir mentioned “Dew Teeth”…HA!….I surprised my boyfriend doesn’t have anything but black slimey nubs to chew with…all he drinks is that shitty Mountain Dew…morning, noon, night. He called me the other day all excited that he was drinking a “Throwback MD” and how good it was. I had never heard of it. Probably makes your teeth rot faster or some shit. I tasted it when he got home. BLECCH. Not crazy about MD to begin with. If I do drink it it has to be ice cold. This was already luke warm mixed with backwash. Tasted the same to me…syrup-y and disgustingly sweet. It will curl your hair.
If you can’t tell the difference between a crap and a quality hi fi you should go get your ears cleaned out. No wonder Bose can sell so much of their terrible product. Take a CD you know well to a real hi fi dealer – not Best Buy! – and have a listen.
All Moutain Dew is disgusting but I can definitely tell the difference between Coke made with HFCS and Coke made with sugar. Same is true for Fanta.
Tempo Relentless I may be wrong, but was the last time you posted January 27, 2009’s “Love what’s now playing in the bunker” comment?
On IPOD right now- “Voodoo”- Godsmack
The latest one is HDMI cables. Just like the old RCA cables the HDMIs come in “regular” and “gold plated”. I’ve seen comparisons and can’t tell the difference.
Bottled water is another ripoff: Numerous studies have shown that tap water from most major North American cities is as good as or better than bottled water both in terms of impurities, and bacterial counts. People still enjoy paying the 1000% higher price for bottled though….
The problem with all premium stuff: gas, AV equipment, wine, etc. is the Law of Diminishing Returns. While a $40 bottle of wine is generally better than a $20 bottle, it’s never twice as good. Likewise the $35 audiophile edition record may have better sound than the $7.99 retail version, but I doubt it’s 4 times better.
In a few years, after all the complaints about how High Fructose Corn Syrup is resulting in the downfall of civilization have finally had an impact on soft-drink sales, the producers are going to switch to a new sweetener that we’re not even aware of yet. And then 30 years from now after that sweetener has been blamed for all kinds of bad things, the soft-drink companies are going to come out with special-edition “throwback” versions made with genuine High Fructose Corn Syrup, and everyone’s going to rave about how the sodas tasted so much better in the good old days when HFCS was the staple. It’s all cyclical, and those who ignore history are destined to repeat it.
god i wish people would stop inventing things! i have some old 78’s and 8 tracks that i don’t know what to do with. never mind hd and blu ray. it took me forever to get a color tv because i didn’t think they’d catch on. sigh.
I like throwback me better than regular me… regular me seems to be a bit of a prick.
I found HDMI cable prices biblically overpriced – so I went to a discounter and paid $10… Compared to a $75 cable I don’t see a difference but I’m guessing the $300 cables would provide AT LEAST a 1% improvement in quality – hey it’s your money..
just ignore him…
Hey, I’m a Diet Dew drinker myself. I shun the full sweetened stuff specifically because of the High Frutose Corn Syrup. I haven’t tried this “new Dew” but will give it a whirl because I’m told that it is made with “Cane sugar”. The HFCS is metabolized in the Liver while Cane sugar is not. HFCS is the blame for almost equal ammount of liver failure as acute alcohol consumption. I feel that if I’m gonna kill my liver, I want to do it with a high quality single malt scotch and NOT with some crappy soft drink.
I can’t help either. I only drink soda if it has booze in it.
There are definite distinctions in chocolate. Anything from a company like Bissingers is far superior, than say, a waxy box of Palmers.
Mountain Dew is known to be the clear favorite “poison of choice” soda in the Appalachian region. Central Applachia is #1 in the nation for toothlessness. There is even a term for what it does to your teeth….Mountain Dew Mouth.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6863173&page=1
You can take the boy out of the mountains but ya can’t make him not dew, eh Jeff?lol
Thought I’d be anal and comment on a few points:
Gold-plated connectors won’t tarnish or increase in resistance, it’s more of a long-term thing.
Octane works like this: if your car engine is high-compression (higher than 10:1 ratio) it will usually require high octane by the manufacturer. Most cars have computer control now, so if you use lower octane than recommended, the car may be sluggish, but won’t blow up. But if your car only requires 87, putting in higher is wasting money. Just sayin’…… (I never say that)
Can’t tell the difference between Breyer’s ice cream and the store brand, except that the store brand still comes in half-gallon size and I think you now pay for Breyer’s by the spoonful.
And to illustrate how classless I am, some top-top-shelf bourbons don’t taste nearly as good (to me) as your basic black Evan Williams. Certainly not 4 (or more!) times as much. Drinking a cocktail shouldn’t involve use of thimbles and reverent O-faces at first swallow, you know?
Speaking of Mt Dew mouth, this statistical web site seems to have found the holy grail of ranking trashiness by state (sorry WV):
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/hea_ora_hea_los_of_nat_tee-health-oral-loss-natural-teeth
Here’s how to tell the difference between Breyer’s vanilla and the store-brand vanilla:
Breyers is pure white, with thousands of specks of black vanilla beans.
The store-brand is a yellowish color from food dye, and has no specks of vanilla beans, ’cause it doesn’t have any vanilla in it, it has “vanillin,” an artificial vanilla flavor.
I got nothing on Mountain Dew…I drink a can of that 3 or 4 times a decade.
There is a difference with regards to fuel and it’s octane rating but like Nads said, if your vehicle doesn’t require the higher rating you are essentially wasting your money.
The difference was proven to me back when I had a ’95 Mustang GT with an aftermarket supercharger. It would barely idle on 92 octane much less regular…it needed 94 to run well. My current ’05 Mustang GT has a 93 octane tune in it, meaning the engine computer has been specifically tuned to take advantage of the higher octane and the difference is noticable.
AngryWhiteGuy – could very well be that I last posted a year ago !!
I am already looking forward to Jeff’s musical bunker selections for late January, 2011 !!
i used to work as a hometheater/av designer and installer.
HDMI: just digitaly encoded VGA and digital audio. w/ anti-copy protection. gold tiped conectors don’t improve the quality.
gold tiped connectors do improve longevity of the cable. since gold dosn’t tarnish easily.
most high end audiophile systems DO sound better. that’s because they use percision componants. and if you’re listening to hyper-high end produced music you’ll notice a difference. If you’re listening to the Jam or Replacements or anything you WON’T.
with most modern music you won’t notice any difference between the MP3 and the CD version. that’s because most producers produce albums so that they’ll sound the same as a CD or an MP3.
the MP3 format leaves out subtle componants of the composite soundwaves. they reduce the dynamics and the musical “richness” in a recording so that the MP3 won’t sound TOO different.
Tried Mtn Dew once and couldn’t jave more that a couple sips. It reminded me of when I was about 7 and ate 2 tablespoon of concentrated pure maple syrup. I was ill on the couch the rest of the afternoon – Lucy in the sky with diamonds. I saw an add for diet Mtn Dew on TV and wanted to try it but never saw it in the grocery store and never really took an effort to look for it. I guess it wasn’t really marketed here.
I do have a specific love of diet pepsi and could tell anyother cola product from it.
I have to eat something quite regularly to be able to taste a difference. I eat icecream maybe 2x a year, so it’s all the same to me.
What bugs me these days is how every thing is ‘ultra’ and ‘extreme’ yet still the same.
@ JCIII: Nads is right about gas octane. My ’68 Buick had a compression ratio of 11:1 BEFORE I bored the block, and now it’s even higher than that. Depending on the octane of gas I’m running, there’s a very distinct difference in the amount of ping that occurs at high RPMs. And a very distinct difference in carburetor gumminess depending on whether it’s shit gas vs 76, Shell, or Chevron (“with techron!”). Premium gas was leaded and 103 octane back in the day, so when I can afford a full tank of premium AND a can of octane booster, the traffic cops hop on their bikes.
I really like Coke but can’t stand Diet Coke but I can drink diet Pepsi but can’t stand regular Pepsi. New Cole sucked. Coke Zero was a huge disappointment.
I’m not sure that I have anything new, but I agree with a few of the scams already mentioned…
You won’t be able to tell the difference between a cheap HDMI cable and the most expensive HDMI cable… it’s a digital signal. Either the bit gets there or it doesn’t.
Also, wine… I’m sure if you dedicate much of your free time to it, you can “detect nutty undertones” or “taste a hint of black currant” or “smell some oak in the bouquet” or whatever… but occasionally ordering an expensive bottle of wine on the company’s expense account doesn’t make someone a connoisseur. Just get some Two Buck Chuck, get drunk, and call it a day.
I think Coke has a higher Octane than Sprite – I can burb louder with Coke.
Used to have a Yamaha system with point0000000000000000000Harmonic distortion I hope my dog appreciated it!
The real question about Mountain Dew is why would anyone want to swallow a liquid the color of toxic waste?
Ok watch me piss off al the guys, I can’t tell the diference between regular TV & HDTV i have both TV’s and have HD programing but just don’t see a difference.
I’m not much of a Coke drinker but when the new Coke came out ohated it, much prefer the Coke Classic. If I have a choice though I’m going with Dr. Pepper or Mt. Dew occasionaly for a boost!! I’d like to try the throwback but haven’t seen it here. Jeff send me a six of the new, old Dew!!
As far as I can tell, the Throwback Mountain Dew tastes basically the same as far as flavor/sweetness/etc. is concerned, but the sugar doesn’t leave the same sort of filmy aftertaste (or whatever you’d call it) that the corn syrup does.
swami b – see, ther’s the problem, right there – vanilla ice cream is but a flavor of myth around these parts. If ice cream doesn’t have chocolate in it, it’s typically not coming through the door at the Tiny House.