As you have probably noticed, we’ve been adding quite a few cassette titles to our website and app lately, and some have asked when we’ll get back to vinyl, and for a good reason – that’s what we’re known for! So here’s an article from the horse’s mouth to explain exactly what we’ve been up to when it comes to cassettes!
I’ve loved cassette tapes since I was a kid, and I’m proud to say that my first cassette tape was none other than Michael Jackson’s Thriller. I was in kindergarten when I got it because everyone in my class was literally obsessed with him, so I had to follow suit. This dude named Travis even had the whole outfit, parachute pants and all. I remember this because I was jealous and wanted my own MJ outfit. All I could bring to the table was a glove and a subpar moonwalk. After wearing Michael out, I remember grabbing every cassette I could, with titles that ranged anywhere from Whitesnake to Digable Planets to Metallica. Cassettes were especially handy when you wanted to take your music with you back in the day. You could pop a cassette into your Walkman or generic Wal-Mart player and have a personal soundtrack to your day, for as long as the batteries would allow. I recently pulled out my Walkman again the other day when I was filling up our flea market booths. The Walkman hung from my belt, and I jammed my favorite Public Enemy cassette all day, just like I used to when I was a teenager. It was amazing, and it was fun to remember the feeling of my media being closed circuit while out and about, not being connected to the web somehow.
Cassettes were also handy in the car, and for a while, every car came with a cassette deck. Cassettes were quick and easy to work with, and the outside shells made them tough enough to be thrown basically anywhere in a vehicle, including the floorboard. There was nothing like the sound of a cassette tape blasting through the speakers of a little old Chevy S10 pickup. At around 14 years old, I remember going to my aunt’s wedding reception and hanging out with the DJ the whole time, back when tapes were at their peak as a highly used media format. This guy did the whole reception with a dual tape deck, which is pretty amazing to think about, after being a mobile DJ for years myself, and having so many more tools at my disposal. After the ceremony, the wedding DJ and I went out to the parking lot, and he showed me his car stereo system. I was shocked to see him rip the entire cassette deck out of the dashboard and throw it under the seat for security. That’s right – this was the period right before the detachable face head unit was introduced.
Let’s not forget how freeing cassettes were too! Cassettes gave the consumer more control over their music than ever by offering the ability to record and re-record audio. Cassettes were a godsend for us poor kids. I could turn a blank tape that cost a dollar into a full album just by listening to the radio intently. When I was really in a bind, I could turn one of mom or dad's tapes into whatever I wanted, with just a couple little piece of scotch tape over the protection tab slots on the bottom of the tape. Ideally, you wanted to hit the record button as quickly as you could right after the last ad of the talk break aired and before the DJ intro’d the song. Back then, it was cool to have your favorite radio DJ’s voice on your tape. Radio DJ’s were held in the highest regard as the music ambassadors and rock stars of their communities, but that’s a blog entry for another day. While recording, if you caught too much of the ad or other noise, you could always shorten your recording by bouncing it over to another tape. In 6th grade, I learned the technique of bouncing one song back and forth from tape to tape until you had a whole tape full of the same song. Back then, this is how we put something on repeat when we were obsessed with it. There was also another possible outcome in this scenario, which was that the DJ might not even play the song you wanted to record, and you would have to rewind your tape and sit there waiting again, hoping that the next song will be the one you’re looking for.
As I’m writing, I’m thinking of my background in audio engineering and how it really all started for me when I was putting these tapes together so long ago; I’m grateful for the struggle. When it comes to recording on your own cassettes, it wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t mention mixtapes! Mixtapes were first attributed to DJ’s who taped their mixes so they could distribute them and promote themselves. As time went on, the term was attributed to anyone who put together a curated playlist of music. Mixtapes were shared between friends to turn each other on to new music. Sometimes, someone would spend countless hours combing over the perfect songs that reflected how they felt about their significant other or potential love interest. The songs would be placed in the perfect order to take the other person on an emotional journey. Nowadays, home recording has never been easier; tapes are cheap, and now they come in just about any color you would want!
Basically, I’ve written all this to say that I’ve always loved the cassette tape format, and they deserve a big place on our site! A lot of people will say that the sound quality of cassettes isn’t that great, but I think they provide a warmth similar to vinyl records, and the sound quality is less sterile than what you would hear from a compact disc. They’re small, easy to manage, and fun! My primary focus has been on vinyl for the past few years, but cassettes have always called out to me from the sidelines, and I’ve always had a nagging feeling that I needed to have more cassettes available to share with others! Another thing worth mentioning is that a lot of classic titles you'll find to be out of your price range on vinyl, are still affordable on cassette! At this point, I’m extremely proud of not only the collection of cassettes that we’ve put together on our site but also proud of the condition we’ve found them in. These cassettes aren’t floorboard fodder; they’re lightly used pieces that you’ll want to keep in your collection for a long time!
Purchasing cassette tapes through an online store offers a convenient and expansive way to explore a diverse selection of music from anywhere in the world! Online platforms provide access to a wide range of cassette titles, including rare and hard-to-find releases, catering to the preferences of collectors and enthusiasts alike. One of the key advantages is the ease of shipping, particularly when utilizing reinforced bubble mailers. These mailers ensure the safe and secure transit of cassette tapes, protecting them from potential damage during delivery. The lightweight nature of cassette tapes makes them an ideal choice for shipping, reducing shipping costs and environmental impact. With reinforced packaging, buyers can have confidence that their cassette tapes will arrive in pristine condition, allowing them to enjoy the unique warmth and nostalgia of analog music in its original form.
As of now, we have a strong foundation of cassette titles of which to build on in the future. Once the cassettes are up on the site and the app, we’ll be adding more vinyl records, and we haven’t forgotten about our CD people either! We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are well on our way to becoming a one-stop online shop for your physical media needs and more! If you’ve ordered from us before, thank you so much for your support and for sharing this hobby with us!! If you haven’t ordered from us before, check out our reviews all over the web and order with confidence! Our business is built on quality, customer satisfaction, and a genuine love for what we do. Thanks again for being our customer and friend!
Chris
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