Click on the image for a larger image to zoom into the individual titles
I took this shot this afternoon and now looking at it, it has a lot of history in it. In addition to personal memories, for past roommates and close friends, every tape has the potential to tell a story and recall a special moment in time. For the more pedestrian reader, perhaps the photo marks a moment in time when audio cassettes were common place and a you'd find a collection like this at any friend's apartment. I also have to give a little credit for the composition to a photo collection I saw at the Contact and Luminato festivals this year.
For the record, this collection is of the tapes that were close at hand. I've thrown out a lot of tapes over the years and kept many cassette inserts to remind me of the old content. At one point in time I counted the number of "mixed" tapes I'd made - over 100. I'm pretty sure my entire tape collection was double this number at one point in time. The tapes I've kept are mostly compilations of tracks that perhaps are a little hard to come by these days. Like records, I also feel that these compilations also mark a moment in time, maybe like a "mlog" ! Just handling these tapes this afternoon triggered a nostalgic reflex so I played a few old records for the family, incl. New Order, The Shuffle Demons, Thomas Dolby The (English) Beat. And yes, I do still have a tape player connected to my stereo. You never know when you'll get the urge to hear Men Without Hats.
Ummm, i would love a closeup photo of all your mixtapes...love the different "titles" and handlettering.
ReplyDeletehow about our practice of putting movie lines from vhs tapes in between the songs - how many of those do you have?
ReplyDeleteRemember - "lunch is for wimps"
Stv
Those were way too much work, I think I only have one or two or those - lots of Woody Allen if I recall.
ReplyDeleteLove the "lunch is for wimps" line, remember Steve saying it and adopted it without ever realizing it was from Wall Street. I think Steve delivered it better!
ReplyDeleteLove the PIc Phil.. I think I still have a few tapes of your work, couldn't remember what the color coded circle was for... Dolby maybe?
-Dick
Hey Rich
ReplyDeleteI even had the slicked back hair in those days.
Stv
I, too, have very fond memories of mixed tapes, not only listening to them, but also making them! A great movie for those of a similar bent is "High Fidelity", with John Cusack.
ReplyDeleteI no longer have a tape deck hooked up to my stereo, but I do have one connected to my iMac. I have been, over time, ripping the cassettes and now have quite a selection of iTunes playlists that match my mixed tapes.
Scott
What's that iMac connection like - RCA-to-? or is it a USB tape deck ?
ReplyDeleteThanks Scott,
ReplyDeleteLike if he needed another reason to want a Mac...lol
It's getting harder and harder to resist. ;-)