Alright, so, I am going to start a new thing on the blog; find a recent tape release or an upcoming one to feature every week. I will probably do a separate post for a classic one that looks interesting.
True, this is not some mind-blowing original idea I have here. But there are not many places posting about tape releases on any kind of regular basis (besides the awesome Tapehead City) so I want to change that maybe a little.
This week’s cassette tape featured release (the feature will need a better name): Mudhoney “Plastic Eternity”.
Hi. It’s Mikey The Tape Player here – playing tapes because I don’t have to.
Today we are going to figure out how to start collecting cassette tapes. Where are the best places to begin learning?
I have been looking around the Internet and these are the best blogs, websites, newsletters, and boards I have found for tape collecting, tape players, and cassette nerds. Hopefully, there are some you don’t know about yet and you’ll be all “Oh rad! I didn’t know about this one!”
Tabs Out. A hilarious podcast that plays tapes of mostly experimental music from dedicated tape labels. Also, reviews submitted tapes.
Tapehead City. On online tape store, the ultimate spot for buying new releases and hard-to-find tapes.
Cassette Chronicles. This is a series on a website that looks back at some old albums and the tapes that were released around it.
Cassette Gods. It’s an old cassette review blog that was thought to be retired, but they did just put up a post wondering if anyone is still around. We are.
Cassette Comeback. A great website for buying sealed blank tapes and tape players.
I will come back to this post and add blogs or sites when I find another one worthy.
Links to Cassette Tape History and Important Collector Posts
Photo Ryan J Lane/Getty Images
I have been trying to learn about what I have been missing out on with tape collecting and the history of it. There has always been a huge nostalgia element for me but I have left it there, previously – not letting myself go down the tape nerd rabbit hole.
But now I am ready to listen deeper and find out more. So, here are some posts that I found to help me and I hope they will help you.
There is a pretty decent amount of cassette tape related YouTube channels and videos. I am just showing a couple of basic starting out relevant videos – I will do another post with some of the best people to be following.
A positive take on why cassettes right now:
And a more negative? stance:
Okay, hope this helps you start or solidify your tape collecting and enjoying journey. If there are any you think I missed, please feel free to comment on this post with the website I missed.
Soon I will be digging into the E-Bay and Amazon world of collecting tapes and I will rewind and playback my experiences.
(One of my “Tapes Not Dead” series of tapes with a Royal Blood “Typhoon” and Raffle House tape)
Why did I start a blog about cassette tapes?
I have been collecting tapes since the 80s – I guess I am that freaking old now.
I have been blogging since the late 90s or early 2000s – not exactly sure when blogging technically started but I know I have been doing it since the start.
So the time has come for me to join these two nerdy things. Basically, I am finally getting around to it, that sort of thing.
I will be hoping to learn (maybe along with you), where to go and what to do and know about tape collecting and analog media in general. Up until now I have been just a novice (at best) but want to get better and know more about enjoying and collecting tapes.
