What do you think the next big format for music will be? We had cylinders, vinyl(records), tape - cassette, 8 track, Cd's, mp3 - is downloading the last frontier? I see a future where we get a chip in our - I don't know - head? - and we just think what we want to hear and abracadabra - we hear it. That, however, doesn't address the issue of how we can broadcast the music outside the privacy of our heads - fill the room with music.
Actually, this isn't what I wanted to write about. Clearly, I haven't thought any of this through properly. What prompted this post is my recent project. In my upstairs cave where I allow myself to dwell like a college student - messy, cluttered with all the things I love and cannot throw out, my computers, Cd's overflowing - AND what started this post - my huge cassette collection which I have not played for years.
I loved the cassette. It was the first portable format. I still have my beautiful Sony Walkman and it works even though I have not played it for years as well. But for the past week I have been playing my cassettes - many of which did not make it into a CD upgrade. I am getting a huge kick out of the mixed tapes. Remember those? Remember making all those mixes for friends and lovers. It was very time consuming but so much fun. Younger music lovers wouldn't understand. Today it is so easy to do a mixed CD. I mean, of course, I prefer it BUT I just choke up over some of my tapes - especially those made by others offered to me.
The cassettes are basically from the 1980's. I've been listening to artists I rarely think about today. It has been great hearing Laura Nyro, Little River Band, Hall & Oats, Linda Ronstadt, Lakme, The Beatles, Maureen McGovern, The Supremes and on and on. I have had some laughs along the way. A mixed tape from my niece, Debbie, begins and ends with 'Can't Touch That" - MC Hammer!! The tracks sandwiched between Hammer are very nice - power ballads were the order of the day in the 80's. Having MC Hammer in the mix just made my day.
I've just begun to listen to this huge collection. Lots of great music, bad music and laughs to come I suspect. Like my CD collection - which is also enormous - I have the cassettes arranged in categories such as vocals, groups, jazz, Broadway, classical, spoken word and then - the coveted mixed tapes.
THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES..............
gosh your a neat freak, my cassettes are just in their slots intermingling
ReplyDeleteI'm neat about my music BUT don't know about other areas of my life. However, I am kind to my dust bunnies.
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ReplyDeleteI have all the Happy Birthday cassettes and others cassettes that you made me...with the artists names and name of the songs with each cassettes. I'm like you..can't part with my music collection...records, tapes, and cds..it my little treasure.
The mixed tapes are my favorite. It reminds us of what are tastes were then. Some things I've dropped along the way BUT I am still listening to Streisand, Bennett, Morgana now on CD. That will never change.
DeleteMy favorite mixed tape is one that Dad & Mom made me for my 40th birthday. Dad is the DJ. The tape is hysterical most of the time with Dad's jokes & him singing 16 Tons. He recorded old western songs by Johnny Cash, Eddy Arnold, & Hank Williams. He also recorded Mom playing the piano & singing, which is beautiful. Mom took over at one point and recorded some of her favorite Carly Simon songs. I love that tape, especially the ending when they sing Happy Birthday to me! It's one of my most prized possessions :)Thanks for reminding me of this precious memory. Love you!
ReplyDeleteI'm still going through my tapes - slowly. I know there will be tapes of me singing, my Dad playing the piano, your Mom singing as well, some recorded conversations. Wish I had a tape of my mother talking or singing - don't think I do. Well, we'll see. Your lucky to have such a great tape. Make a copy for safe keeping.
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