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Music

Feeling Nostalgic About Mixtapes

November 5, 2016

Music has always been a big part of my life, from my early teens discovering new bands to those awkward years when you find music to suit the way you’re are feeling, to being a grown up and knowing exactly what I like. All that time in one way or another I’ve been creating my own compilations of favourite tracks to listen to.

unknownBack in the 90s it was all about cassette tapes. I’m sure most people my age remember pressing that record button when our favourite songs came on the radio, or carefully transferring songs from another cassette or CD onto your tape. In those days I never went anywhere without my walkman, playing my favourite tracks.

They were also something we used to give away as gifts, I used to carefully choose songs I knew my friends would love. One of my most treasured possessions is a mix tape CD that my best friend Faye made for my 21st birthday, which I still listen to in my car all the time!

Then came MP3 players and the whole process of making a playlist became a whole lot easier, I remember spending weeks transferring all my CDs onto my computer and constructing my perfect mix from there.

mix-tape-cassetteNow of course everything can be done online, without even having to handle a CD or cassette. However, thanks to starring roles in movies a few years back such as High Fidelity, which is centred almost entirely on the creation of the perfect mix-tape, and One Day, where Anne Hathaway’s character lovingly creates one for the object of her affections and much more recently cameos in TV shows such as this year’s Netflix smash hit Stranger Things and the comic book adaption of Guardians of the Galaxy, the mixtape appears to be rising up from the ashes – like a playlist championing phoenix.

I recently watched this video with Matt Mason a music journalist from Q magazine, about constructing the perfect mix tape and it made me feel so nostalgic for the days when I used to carefully plan my track lists. Its something I’ve not done for absolutely ages and I’d definitely like to start doing again.

According to new research from technology brand Bush, I’m not the only one. Many Brits feel nostalgic about mixtapes and the technology they used to make them with – including cassette players and the joy of pressing both play and record at the same time.

The report goes on to reveal what some of those mixtape memories evoke, including recording the weekly chart off of the radio, a gift for a special someone and getting their first car. Others said mixtapes helped them through those angst ridden teenage-break-ups. So while vinyl albums have made a comeback in recent years with true music lovers returning to the original classic format, is it now time for the cassette tape to become our next retro-tech music obsession?

Personally I love a good comeback, be it my favourite bands from the 90s or the good old fashioned cassette tape. Would you like to see a comeback of the good old days of the cassette tape, or will you be sticking to modern technology? What would you put on your mix tape?

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  • Reply
    Mim McDonald (@crinolinerobot)
    November 11, 2016 at 8:54 am

    I got rid of all my tapes a couple of years ago. I don’t want them back! My iTunes playlists do the mixtape job for me.

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