WESTPORT, CT – FEBRUARY 08: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white.) In this photo illustration, a cassette tape which could once be purchased at RadioShack is shown on February 8, 2015 in Westport, Connecticut. RadioShack, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last Thursday, represented an older era of home electronics and consumer items. Despite numerous attempts to keep with the times, the home electronics retailer couldn’t compete in an era of Amazon and Apple. RadioShack was started in 1921 to supply equipment for amateur or ham radio enthusiasts. At its height, the company grew to have thousands of stores throughout America, parts of Europe, and South America. (Photo Illustration by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The death of Lou Ottens, the product developer who invented the cassette tape while working for Phillips in the 1960's, has me reminiscing about tapes.
Control
Taping songs off of the radio was my first experience with having control over music. I could put my parent's records on the turntable, sure. But those were my parents records, not mine. Having a blank tape at the ready in the right-hand deck of my boombox meant any time a song I liked came on the radio, I could make it my own.
Trading
For a stretch of time, all my money went toward buying tapes at Strawberries on Rt. 1 in Saugus. Of course, my paper route tip money only went so far. So making copies of the tapes I bought and trading them with other kids for tapes I wanted? A boon for a 12-year-old.
Mixtapes
Making mixtapes was an artform; if you lived this, you know this. Sequencing and resequencing, getting the mix just right where you wanted it to be, be it for your own personal use or because you were giving it to someone special.
Archives
Digging through my old shoeboxes of tapes this week really drove this point home: these mixtapes are my own personal history, an archive of the music I was listening to and falling in love with at any given time in my life.
History
Speaking of my personal archive, I've always made music, so it's such a cool thing to have a piece of history like this--a performance at Berklee College of Music in the summer of 1994--to look back on. It was the end of the 5-week summer program and I played in the trombone section of the Berklee Big Band.
Radio
Tapes and tapes and tapes of old radio shows. I've got 'em. And here's my very first one: Wednesday, June 18, 5-8 p.m., 104.9 WRBB at Northeastern University. Coming up on 25 years!
Hardcore
It's been cool to see cassettes making a comeback in recent years, thanks to passionate and nostalgic music fans and artists embracing the medium. How about you? Do you still have your old tapes?
