My adolescent years were lived in the era of the mix tape. Granted, the cassette tape was in its twilight years, and most record stores had transitioned to just selling compact discs, but CD burners were not prevalent yet, and most CD stereos were manufactured with a cassette deck built in (and who in the world had ever heard of an MP3). So, if you wanted to record music or make a mix of songs to listen to, you did it via a cassette tape.
Tapes were my first love. They felt so versatile to me- like I was in control. All I had to do was press the record and play buttons together and I was guaranteed to have something recorded to my tape. Plus, they were so durable. You could slip one into your back pocket and go about your day without having the slightest concern that it would get scratched or broken. Sure, over long periods of time the music on the tape faded gently, but I loved that- especially when it came to the mix tapes that I compiled. It was like the songs had married themselves together and were going through time together....becoming part of each other. And this "fade" gave a sort of vintage to the music- a sense of nostalgia. Kind of like the way you appreciate a photograph more after its sat in your desk drawer
for the past ten years- the edges slightly yellow-ed and the colors faded. In fact, I purchased a car last year, and I was very excited to discover that instead of a CD player, it had a cassette player on board. I broke out all my saved tapes and had such a good time listening to old mixes that friends had given me. Alas, that fun came to an end when one of them became trapped in the player, but it was great while it lasted.
I learned to love music, because of tapes. Cassette decks had an inconvenience about them that turned out to be a blessing in disguise- they did not have a "skip track" button. Of course, they had a fast forward button, but often times it was too much work to search for the end of one song and find the beginning of the next tune. Because of this, I tolerated many songs that on first listen I did not enjoy....songs and albums that became some of my favorites to this day.
So, what's all this tape talk about? Well, you might remember a post that I put up back in the spring, about Tim Condon, who performs music under the title of "Herizon". I'm excited to report that The Harding Street Assembly Lab has put out a cassette of Herizon recordings called, Gave Up The Ghost. Here's what HSAL has to say about the tape:
The tape comes with a free digital download in just about any format you could want. You can give the tape a preview over on bandcamp . They're a mere 5 bucks, so pick one up. Only 100 were made, and they'll be sold at shows also, so they are going sell out fast. Get one while you can. You can purchase one by emailing Tim at ohnewengland@gmail.com, or by heading over to the HSAL bandcamp page. These pensive, lo-fi, folk, songs are perfect for the oncoming Fall. So, fall in love with tapes & fall in love with Herizon!!!!
Tapes were my first love. They felt so versatile to me- like I was in control. All I had to do was press the record and play buttons together and I was guaranteed to have something recorded to my tape. Plus, they were so durable. You could slip one into your back pocket and go about your day without having the slightest concern that it would get scratched or broken. Sure, over long periods of time the music on the tape faded gently, but I loved that- especially when it came to the mix tapes that I compiled. It was like the songs had married themselves together and were going through time together....becoming part of each other. And this "fade" gave a sort of vintage to the music- a sense of nostalgia. Kind of like the way you appreciate a photograph more after its sat in your desk drawer
for the past ten years- the edges slightly yellow-ed and the colors faded. In fact, I purchased a car last year, and I was very excited to discover that instead of a CD player, it had a cassette player on board. I broke out all my saved tapes and had such a good time listening to old mixes that friends had given me. Alas, that fun came to an end when one of them became trapped in the player, but it was great while it lasted.
I learned to love music, because of tapes. Cassette decks had an inconvenience about them that turned out to be a blessing in disguise- they did not have a "skip track" button. Of course, they had a fast forward button, but often times it was too much work to search for the end of one song and find the beginning of the next tune. Because of this, I tolerated many songs that on first listen I did not enjoy....songs and albums that became some of my favorites to this day.
Herizon has assembled songs from previous releases ("chesapeake bay",
"cave drums"), reworked tunes ("home again", featuring virgineola),
& as of yet unreleased pieces ("tied to me", "still believing").
This limited edition cassette (100 copies!) will serve as a pre-cursor
to the upcoming Herizon LP, which is being recorded through the Harding
Street Assembly Lab with the help of several HSAL affiliated musicians.
This is the same reason I'm dvd averse... I'm too hard on those pretty, shiny discs. I can't find an old cd in a box of misc and listen to it -- I'll have scratched the hades out of it in the years lugging the box around. Tapes (vhs included) are good for us rough and tumble. Just picked up this Herizon tape at the show Friday. Enjoying and looking forward to making it the background tune on a parkway trip some rainy day this fall.
ReplyDeleteGlad you picked one up. It will be perfect for a nice fall ride on the parkway. Thanks for reading!
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