What is it with hipsters and cassettes?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Rocky's Owner, Oct 12, 2019.

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  1. Rocky's Owner

    Rocky's Owner I Don't Rent Air Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Since when have cassettes become cool again? I know labels like The Tape Worm in England have been releasing cassettes for a number of years (never been tempted to buy any), but now some hipster used record stores are carrying used cassettes, but they won't carry used CDs! Old cassettes that are probably full of wow and flutter are cool, but a used CD which sounds excellent is to be sniffed at? This makes zero sense. I've seen numerous hipster stores in New York and Los Angeles that carry used vinyl and cassettes, but no CDs. This seems extremely stupid to me. Are the best formats those that sound the worst?

    I wish I knew old cassettes were being purchased by some stores. I tossed out quite a few of them a few years ago, thinking they were worthless. There's a hipster store in Atwater Village down the street from me who even purchases those used wooden cassette racks everyone used to have, and they sell for a pretty penny. They put pictures of them on Instagram and they sell within a day! Crazy. I even threw out a number of those too.
    This hipster store also has the brass to try and charge around $20 for used cassettes. OOP. Ha ha, every cassette is OOP. When I worked at a record store in the 90s we almost stopped carrying them because interest had waned even then, and we were paying maybe .10-.20 per tape that were traded in.
     
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  2. SoporJoe

    SoporJoe Forum Resident

    Location:
    British Columbia
    Many similar threads for you to complain in, yet you start another.
     
  3. Thievius

    Thievius Blue Oyster Cult-ist

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    Because people like to bring back relics of the past with tales of analog warmth. Its just people being people.
     
  4. Brian Lux

    Brian Lux One in the Crowd

    Location:
    Placerville, CA
    Like many here, I find it interesting that folks are buying cassettes. I have several old official release cassettes and a bunch of mix tapes I made but only listen to them when I drive my wife's old car which has a tape player. For me, the only other reason to keep them is either nostalgia or for my artwork on the mix tape covers.
     
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  5. Rocky's Owner

    Rocky's Owner I Don't Rent Air Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Sorry I'll ask your permission next time before I start a new thread.
     
  6. Exotiki

    Exotiki The Future Ain’t What It Use To Be

    Location:
    Canada
    Dude, not cool
     
  7. Brian Lux

    Brian Lux One in the Crowd

    Location:
    Placerville, CA
    It's almost impossible to start a thread here that is 100% different from any others. Bashing a new thread that is a little similar to others happens a lot here. I would say just ignore those kinds of slighting remarks.
     
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  8. B. Bu Po

    B. Bu Po Senior Member

    Because they sound great. They're analog. They have two sides. They're the perfect medium for the car. A mix cassette is much better than a mix CD: more effort put in, more satisfaction resulting.
     
    Cronverc, rfs, Vinyl Socks and 3 others like this.
  9. Brian Lux

    Brian Lux One in the Crowd

    Location:
    Placerville, CA
    I love my old mix tapes. This thread might encourage me to pull some out and listen to them more often!
     
    B. Bu Po likes this.
  10. Rocky's Owner

    Rocky's Owner I Don't Rent Air Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Really? You think they sound great? Maybe those special chrome cassettes or whatever they had weren't that bad, as far as cassettes go, but most of the ones I had sounded pretty bad. Too much tape hiss.
     
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  11. writteninwater

    writteninwater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oslo
    A mix cassette is much better than a mix CD. I agree with that. Cassettes at its peak for me, was in the 80s when I made mixtapes to play in my car. I made them all the time. It's pop art.
     
  12. Nice Marmot

    Nice Marmot Nothin’ feels right but doin’ wrong anymore

    Location:
    Tryon NC
    “what is it with hipsters and cassettes?”

    It’s the question that answers itself.
     
    Cronverc, Damiano54, Tuco and 3 others like this.
  13. B. Bu Po

    B. Bu Po Senior Member

    Listen to them in your wife's car! Sadly, my car with the cassette deck finally died. I had to get a new (1999) car with no tape deck. Now I'm stuck with listening to CDs in the car.
     
    Brian Lux likes this.
  14. Rocky's Owner

    Rocky's Owner I Don't Rent Air Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Mix tapes are a different thing. I made many mix tapes for my car when I only had a cassette player, even in the 90s. Perfectly fine for portability. Probably not much worse than a crummy MP3 when you're out and about or going somewhere.

    But buying old commercially released cassette tapes at record stores for upwards of $20 each. Hmm...
     
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  15. MYQ1

    MYQ1 Forum Resident

    It's baffling to me too but it's proof that one day CDs will make a come back.
    Stay patient my friends.
     
  16. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will...

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    I passed up a pretty cool collection of Eno cassettes today. Might go back and get them.
     
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  17. Rocky's Owner

    Rocky's Owner I Don't Rent Air Thread Starter

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    When the streaming services get everyone hooked and they start jacking up their prices then maybe they'll come back to CDs. Heh heh. Or they'll just go back to stealing their music. I suspect that many streaming users who've decided to pay the minimal $9.99 monthly streaming fee are people who've upgraded from stealing all their music by torrenting it.
     
    MYQ1 likes this.
  18. B. Bu Po

    B. Bu Po Senior Member

    I wouldn't suggest someone buy a cassette for $20!

    I don't know why your cassettes sound so bad. Mine sound as good (better?) than a CD. But, I don't listen to them in my apartment very often.

    I think a lot of people are brainwashed.
     
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  19. Brian Lux

    Brian Lux One in the Crowd

    Location:
    Placerville, CA
    My old van had a CD player that died so I placed a boom box- speakers facing up- on the floor between the seats. Good times!
     
  20. Dennis Metz

    Dennis Metz Born In A Motor City south of Detroit

    Location:
    Fonthill, Ontario
    Along with some of the posts here. A mix cassette better than a mix CD? Laughable :cheers:
     
  21. MYQ1

    MYQ1 Forum Resident

    What's this logic that no effort is put into a mix CD?
    How does the medium change that?
     
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  22. Brian Lux

    Brian Lux One in the Crowd

    Location:
    Placerville, CA
    Why laughable? I prefer my mix tapes, you prefer your mix CDs. We're both happy, right?
     
    gitters likes this.
  23. DRM

    DRM Forum Resident

    The hipster word is used as a meaningless cliche these days.
     
  24. AKA-Chuck G

    AKA-Chuck G Senior Member

    Location:
    Washington NC
    Some posters are just rude. :mad: You could have posted this in an old thread like was mentioned but then SOMEONE else, or maybe even the same poster would complain about bringing up a 6 month old thread. :agree: So the fault lies with the reply's IMO. If you can't add to the posted subject and just want to whine, go on to another thread. And the "not cool" remark is the one "not cool". :hide:
     
  25. Brian Lux

    Brian Lux One in the Crowd

    Location:
    Placerville, CA
    How so? I know a few 30 something people who call themselves hipsters. I'm not a label kind of guy but I don't really mind that others call themselves hippies or hipsters or whatever.
     
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