I don’t know about you guys, but I would have loved to have
been born a decade early. ‘Why?’ you ask. Because mixtapes, my friend. I’m sure
we’ve all had the chance to play a cassette or two but sadly CD’s took over
before any of us reached our teenage years. We now have to rely on good looks
or smooth plays to woo our intended target instead of using pure music-editing genius.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think making a mixtape is easy, to the contrary; it is
probably very difficult. For someone who sucks at talking to anyone of the
opposite sex, however, simply handing over an assortment of songs arranged in a
playlist is the easier way out.
Other than being a good way to express ones feelings to a
crush, cassettes do have actual benefits. The audio quality is nearly on-par
with that of a CD, and although tapes do tend to deteriorate over time, they
are easily manipulated. That is to say; it’s relatively easy to record and
re-record on a cassette. Furthermore, compared to their older brother [the
8-track (named so because they had enough storage for about 8 songs)] the cassette is far more advanced. Tapes didn't skip every time your vehicle encountered a
small bump or mild gust of wind and they were also a fraction of the size.
The cassette we know and love today has gone through quite a
few changes since its development in the thirties. These early designs were
very primitive so I’ll stick to explaining the function of the "modern" tape.
The magnetic tape is really just a thin plastic band coated
in a ferromagnetic material such as ferric oxide. All this fancy talk basically
means that the tape will “remember” the nature of a magnetic field it comes in
contact with. It is just a simple matter of using one or two (mono or
stereo) electromagnets to write on said tape. This process is more easily
understood if one knows of binary and the functioning of magnets and speakers
(explained in my next few blogs).
I believe that’s all I can really say about cassettes. They
were fun while they lasted but figuring out how to put them in the darn player
was always a hassle. CD’s are definitely easier to use and more practical, as I
discuss later. Good day.
(In the event of a mistake, please inform me)
http://mixtapedc.com/images/mixtape_main.jpg
http://www.photo-dictionary.com/photofiles/list/2285/2990audio_cassette.jpg
http://www.goner-records.com/images/CassettePlayer.jpg
First of all comrade, I would like to point out that the only aspect of your blog that I did not understand was the bit about not having game with the ladies. If anyone could sweep a woman off her feet, it would be you, sir! Now couple that with a love song playlist on an old tape, and you'll be the Zac Efron of Windsor. In truth, I wouldn't normally see the uses of cassettes when our modern day technology greatly outstrips those "primitive" song packages. Yet contemporary CD's lack that romantic element that old mixtapes possess so charmingly. Maybe it's because they belong to a romantic era in which seducing a potential partner was so neat and elegant. I will undoubtedly keep your advice in mind in future when looking for that special someone!
ReplyDeleteJoel, are you trying to tell us that you have troubles speaking to girls, and that is why you want to live a generation earlier just to impress her with the mix-tape? Ahahahah, jokes aside: I find mix-tapes very interesting and would be fun to still have around, the thought of making it yourself and putting it in the player, gives me the best retro feeling. Gotta love the flash from the past!
ReplyDeleteYou're definitely right about the deteriorating part... My dad used to tell me stories about him listening to a tape so many times that it completely wore out and ceased to sound decent. I think it was one of the early Mötley Crüe albums. In reference to what you said about the quality being on par with CD's, it's such a shame that most are listening to horrible quality music nowadays. Most digital MP3's sound terrible, especially if they're compressed, and it's unfortunate that most people aren't computer literate enough to download good quality music.
ReplyDeleteHave no fear, Jake. My next few blogs will hopefully inform my readers about audio quality and the difference it makes. It does take a bit of computer knowledge to figure out but the end result is definitely worth the extra effort. Stay tuned as I try to end the "YouTube to Mp3" epidemic that's been sweeping the nation.
DeletePlease do. YouTube to MP3 is cancerous to iPods and car stereos alike. Listening to music at 64 kbps is like listing to you sing "Say Something." It makes me want to jab a knife into my ear.
DeleteAnother thing you should inform your readers about is how music quality is measured and where to find songs of good quality. I feel as though many haven't a clue why their iTunes M4A files sound like trash when played at full volume on large speakers.
I'm glad that my singing has affected you so. I will definitely write a post about audio quality but I'm not sure I can write an entry about how I acquire said music. Wink wink.... What I may do however is rant about iTunes' terrible layout and the cost of music. Maybe I can quote one of your insightful and barely sarcastic comments.
DeleteInteresting Joel, I really like how you pointed out the symbolism of cassettes in the beginning. I've seen that in countless movies, but never got the chance to experience it for myself since tapes were out dated. It's crazy how fast technology evolves. It's way over my head how a magnet is responsible to read a series of ferric oxide "bumps" (or whatever it is) and transform it into sound. Quite remarkable actually
ReplyDeleteI really did not know that! That there were actual symbolism of cassettes before. Pretty cool fact! Now you look at things these days, especially technology has evolved so much that we forget the nice simple things just like cassettes. It's a good thing that we are evolving not just as humans but everything around us like music and such. Your blog has really kept me curious about what you might write about next.
ReplyDelete