Cassette tapes are making a comeback
- Thread starter simply1
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Still have one in the garage that plays cd’s and cassettes. Might have to break out the old tapes this weekend.
They never fully disappeared. Most record stores have a decent sized cassette and CD section. And every year there are more and more specialty and one-off cassettes that get produced for Record Store Day.
I think @HFCS nailed it - people like having something tangible, and the one thing that cassettes and CDs have over vinyl is that they're also portable.
I think @HFCS nailed it - people like having something tangible, and the one thing that cassettes and CDs have over vinyl is that they're also portable.
I think this is it right here. I haven't purchased physical media for music in almost a decade, with the exception of buying the Appetite for Destruction 30th anniversary vinyl a few years ago. I remember at the time that Target was advertising a 'special edition cassette' of AFD to commemorate the anniversary, and was wonder who the h*ll would buy that. I get the vinyl craze - especially with the much crisper audio that can be achieved now, but cassettes I don't get. if someone wanted portable physical media, wouldn't CDs still make the most sense?
My uncle had a '79 Trans Am (black with gold honeycomb wheels and yes it had the screaming chicken on the hood) with the fanciest tape player money could buy - auto flip, skip to next song (which worked surprisingly well), add-on equalizer, tons of speakers though none in boxes. He was the epitome of 80s cool, he should have been on the Breakfast Club. I wanted that car bad.
When I turned 15, I got the car. What a hunk of crap! Stereo only worked if you jammed paper above the equalizer, the door handles were falling off and worked intermittently. Terrible gas mileage and couldn't outrun a Ford Escort. Still loved it. When first gear finally gave out I drove it with 2nd and 3rd only for a long time.
When I think of cassette tapes, I think of that car. It was crushed long ago after my nephew drove it into a complete state of disrepair.
When I turned 15, I got the car. What a hunk of crap! Stereo only worked if you jammed paper above the equalizer, the door handles were falling off and worked intermittently. Terrible gas mileage and couldn't outrun a Ford Escort. Still loved it. When first gear finally gave out I drove it with 2nd and 3rd only for a long time.
When I think of cassette tapes, I think of that car. It was crushed long ago after my nephew drove it into a complete state of disrepair.
Probably. And maybe CDs are the next big wave in another 5-10 years as that generation approaches middle age and a fondness for the things they had growing up. The further removed we get from the cassette heyday the older the people from that generation get, and in theory they have more disposable income for nostalgia.
Or not...just spitballing here.
Same, except for CDs. I like collecting a little vinyl here and there but I don't have some monstrous collection. Takes up too much space, and I feel the same about CDs. Unless you're big into album cover art or liner notes then there's really nothing to gain from buying a CD. It sounds exactly the same as it would listening on spotify or whatever.
Yeah albums are different in my opinion. Those things were pieces of art.
I went to an all day show at the Des Moines Social Club four or five years ago. Cassette tape was the only thing around for sale by nearly all of the bands. That's my cool story for the day.
Really? I can still remember putting together my dopest mixed tapes for trips to Okoboji as a teen.
But yeah, no nostalgia for albums on cassette. More nostalgia for my waterproof Walkman. Yeah, waterproof.*
*it wasn't
My 1500+ lp's are upstairs in a closet. Cassettes were a poor sounding means of portable music.
Today I buy a CD, rip it to my laptop in a lossless format(FLAC) and then transfer it to my 128GB portable device. I use in-ear buds or plug it in to the aux of my car stereo. One credit card size device, hundred's of cd's. Beautiful.
Today I buy a CD, rip it to my laptop in a lossless format(FLAC) and then transfer it to my 128GB portable device. I use in-ear buds or plug it in to the aux of my car stereo. One credit card size device, hundred's of cd's. Beautiful.
I honestly think it's part of it.
I fully approve of anything that has 19 year olds obsessed over that new song Moonage Daydream by David Bowie.
I don't miss the tape hiss.
Oh wait, this one is in Dubly!
Oh wait, this one is in Dubly!
I am officially a millionaire!! I bought my first cassette tape deck for under the dash in 1975. All of my friends said "where are you going to find cassettes to put in it?"
My fondest memory of the cassette era is sitting by the boombox with a blank tape loaded and waiting for our favorite songs to come up so we could record them.
This was when I was like six or seven. Man, the lengths we went to for our entertainment back then. Sometimes when I think how far tech has come even in the last 30 odd years I'm in awe. Virtually any song you can think of is a partial text search or voice command away.
Maybe that's why some people still like the older formats, like it's a little more rewarding to dig through the crates and shelves and find that one album or tape.
