Yeah, the cassette thing is purely a novelty.
Vinyl has survived (after going out and in and out and in of fashion) because it has some advantages (sounds nice, big art) that compensate for its disadvantages (big, non-portable). But cassettes, in my opinion, always had more disadvantages than advantages. They were portable, but they didn’t sound as good as records (or later, cds) and they got worse the more you played them. I would make tapes of my records to play in the car, and I used to buy tapes instead of records when I didn’t have the money (because they used to be cheaper), but with car cd players, ipods, etc. I see no advantages to tapes at all. I think it’s just pure novelty and nostalgia. Even back in the day when I bought tapes it was only because I was trying to save money.
Our first album in 1996 was on tape (cds after that), and I remember dubbing copy after copy of it, photocopying the “j-cards” and cutting them out, but I have no desire to go back to that. That was a half-measure because we couldn’t afford to do a cd or (the dream for us) vinyl.
I’ve been buying vinyl consistently since the 80s, but stopped buying tapes as soon as there were better options. The best format development in my eyes is the vinyl record with download code (or with a CD slid in as well); it gives you the best of both worlds. I can listen to it on my stereo at home (my preferred method) or my ipod or burn it onto a CD for the car.
I’m glad no one has had the gall to defend cassettes, because seriously they are a fucking cancer.
I had a big bag of old tapes from my Junior High/ High School days and I used to borrow my wife’s Honda to run errands just so I could listen to them. Then 5 years ago her car got totaled. I wasn’t upset that we lost a 1997 Honda. I was only sad that I knew I’d NEVER listen to a tape again.
Finally gave them all to a friend who wanted them for God-only-knows-why.
In summary, to repeat what’s already been repeated . . . . novelty factor (okay, maybe, for dipshit millennials who don’t understand why it was eradicated to begin with) . . . but NO FUCKING VALUE WHATSOEVER.
I always hated cassette as well…and yet,I have several cases filled with them that I will never play again but for some reason I can’t get rid of them either…
I always hated cassette as well…and yet,I have several cases filled with them that I will never play again but for some reason I can’t get rid of them either…
Cassettes do and did suck. I have thousands in my basement but I won’t get rid of them. [:|]
I can’t imagine a more worthless format. They are made of a million pieces and have so many points of failure. The cassette decks are exactly the same. Tons of pieces and parts that fail a lot.
We had to use them for portable music in the 80s, that’s the best thing I can say about them. The cd is freaking amazing compared to see things and nobody wants those any more.
For small cassette only labels, I know they can buy tons of cheap cassettes so that keeps the hobby/business going.
You’re all forgetting that the cool thing about cassettes was that you could record stuff on them. You could copy your vinyl and then play it in your car. You could copy your friend’s music. You could make mix tapes. Even after CDs came out it was a long time before you could burn your own and even longer before it was even affordable to burn your own. Also, a tape player could play an entire tape and start over. You have to flip a record. Tapes weren’t all bad, but only a fool would bother with them now. My car stereo allows plugging in USB sticks so I can put everything I have on a memory stick and plug it in. The bad thing is that I can never find anything I want to listen to because I have heard it too many times.
This is a good point…I did everything stated here milliions of times…how quickly we forget…
I may have to check this out now based on some of your feedback. I stayed away because I had “Hesitation” that I was going to get “The Slip” from NIN again.
The Slip is better than Hesitation Marks. Which is really saying something considering it took, what, less than a month to record?
I kinda like it when artists take less time than they need to in order to release something. Fire under the ass isn’t a bad thing.