Making playlists is fun, but let’s face it: it’ll never be as much fun as making real mixtapes.
We know we’re not alone in missing cassettes, because a few indie acts like Ty Segall (who we love) have started releasing limited edition cassettes. We imagine bands will start releasing 8-tracks again eventually, just to be more obscure than vinyl junkies.
(Of course, we probably don’t miss mixtapes half as much as this guy…yikes.)
Sure, you end up with the same collection of songs whether it’s on tape, CD or loaded into the memory of your mp3 player, but physically putting the mix together is part of the fun.
It’s sort of like the difference between using cookie dough from a tube, and mixing your own: the end result is the same, but getting your hands dirty is half of the fun.
In addition to digging through your shelves and selecting the perfect mix of music to take in the car or to trade with friends, it was important to calculate how many songs would physically fit onto each side of the cassette tape so that you didn’t have the dreaded problem of being forced to flip the tape over mid-song.
CDs pretty much killed cassettes, and mp3 players are killing CDs. So, what’s next?
A slightly twisted ’80s flashback, of course.
A fun gadget, USB memory sticks in built into cassette tapes blend together the best of clunky nostalgia and useful tech; the faux-tapes even have the standard paper label you can write the song playlist on (although, with enough memory for 100 mp3s, it’ll hold more songs than you can actually scribble onto the tiny case).
Do you have a favorite music gadget?
What’s on your favorite mixtape or playlist?
Tell us about it!
MORE Music News:
LISTEN: Michael Jackson’s Last Song, “This Is It.”
REVIEW: New Alice in Chains Black Give Way to Blue Sounds Too Familiar
POLL: Should Gov’t Really Be Allowed to Regulate iPod Volume Levels?
COMPARE: Gun’n'Roses Accused of Song Theft
