There's something terribly bizarre and ironic about the trend for the tragically hip / cutting-edge indie labels and bands now releasing music on audio cassette. Given that kids these days are more than likely to have grown up surrounded by MP3 downloads and CDs (somewhat passé too, I've been told) rather than tapes, it reminds me of being told of those New York ultra-hip anti-hipsters who make the truly awful fashionable (and we can blame them for the resurgence in high-waisted jeans).
What goes around, comes around, I guess.
Audiophiles have long preferred the 'warmer' sound of vinyl records, so it's not surprising that the rebellion against digitally-compressed MP3 sound is large enough to continue supporting bricks-and-mortar shops selling vinyl (let's not forget those who fancy themselves deejays, too).
But tapes? I love that no matter how much DRM a record company can slap onto a CD or MP3 file, if you can play it through a stereo, you'll most likely be able to press that record button and put it on tape. Mix tapes were one of the best things about Eighties pop culture (did you know that you can buy a device that can rip your old mix tapes to digital format) - but unlike the abovementioned high-waisted jeans and acid-bright plastic accessories, it's something actually worth bringing back for the kids to appreciate.
I'd love this retrospective to extend to other things, too - sitcoms with simpler themes and more old-fashioned gags, films with more acting and less special effects, and books without prefacing the letter 'e' or 'i' to the way I want to read them.
