Thoughts On The Cassette Tape

With Record Store Day fast approaching and the weather dreadful today, I found myself spending a lot of time thinking about my music collection. Not the gigs and gigs of stuff I have logged on my computer (that I may or may not have really actually digested), but my ACTUAL collection of physical pieces of recorded music. Sure, I got 7” 45’s I picked up from punk shows 15 years ago, and I got CDs that haven’t played correctly in a decade because of how many times I spun them when I was a kid, and you can bet I got tapes.

Yes I have some tapes left, but I don’t know why I don’t have HELLA tapes. Don’t get me wrong, I love vinyl, and nothing beats the ease of CDs (just like in 1985). But I loved cassette tapes. Simply adored them. The first time I laid eyes on a copy of The Hybrids (Newcastle WY) tape “Bullies” I freaked out. The tape was RED! It was the GREATEST THING I had ever seen! AND A BAND FROM WYOMING PUT IT OUT!!!

I think that might be a part of why I love tapes as much as I do. Tapes were for the up and comers. Tapes were for the underdogs. Tapes were for your buddy’s band. Tapes were for when you had already mowed lawns for a week and still couldn’t afford the CD copy of Rancid’s “And Out Come The Wolves”. Tapes were for dubbing a bunch of songs you couldn’t live without to pass on to a girl and hope she can somehow “understand you” and be willing to be seen in public with you. Tapes were for midnight voyages to weird places in your crappy first car.

The band Sleep did a small run reissue of their classic album “Dopesmoker” on green cassette tape. I hope more bands get in on that action. Underdogs of rock and roll…