cassette tape culture

cassette tape culture...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

cassette tape culture

these days it is hard to avoid the continuing debate
that surrounds the 'future of music' and the formats
that bring it to us. however this so called 'digital age'
isn't the first time that new music formats have created
such a stir, some time not too long ago it was cassette
tapes that were causing the music industry concern.
the design of the cassette tape was resolved in the
1960s by the dutch electronics company philips
as a portable alternative to the large vinyl formats.
having not been patented the cassette tape design
was quickly copied by many manufacturers leading
to its widespread use. during the mid 1980s
cassettes were at their most popular accounting for
more than half of the worlds total music sales.
alongside the attraction of music on the move, the
cassette tape offered the opportunity for people to
edit and customize their music easily for the first time.
the DIY ethic of the tapes didn't stop with home
recording though, as many people often created
their own artwork for their mixes.

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investigation recording
twenty years on from the hight of their popularity
cassettes are all but forgotten by the music industry,
but still very much in use in police interview rooms.
despite the march of new technology such as
digital recording, which makes analysing individual
words and phrases much easier,
the humble cassette still reigns when it comes to
recording evidence. the UK’s police forces, for example,
use about 500,000 audio cassettes a year for interviews,
half of the estimated one million tapes sold in the UK
each year.

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cassette collecting
is surprisingly popular, particularly in germany.
a single teac cobalt (with reel-to-reel spools
inside) is worth more than 200 USD, but the top for
cassette collectors is the sony super metal master
from 1990, with a ceramic shell and a magnesium case.
read more

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transformers
early japanese cassette tapes that transform into dinosaurs,
or those released by hasbro in 1984, the generation 1 transformer
transforms from tape cassette, to robot, animal etc and back.
via toybin

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turn the obsolete into ...
the craze for cassettes as music messengers may
well be gone, and hundreds of millions of tapes are
out there unused, but two current trends have brought
them out for a second play. with 80's nostalgia rife
in the visual world and recycling and sustainability
mentioned just about everywhere, the humble
cassette has undergone several unlikely
re-incarnations in the last few years. wether it be
the retro graphics adorning them or the reels of
tape inside them cassettes are finding their way
back into the hands of the 'cool' crowd.

cassette wallets
the hand made wallets by marcella foschi were
designed especially for the designboom mart in
tokyo, november 2006.
the italian designer dismantles old cassette tapes,
removes their insides and then joins the plastic
sides together with a zip. each design is usually a
one off leading to a high demand for the wallets.
available via the designboom shop.

a different version is the DIY cassette wallet by claire bedard
via crafster

tape crochet
whilst some designers are more concerned with
the outer appearance of cassettes others use
the tape itself as the basis of their designs.
a shortlisted entry of designboom's competition
'Re-think + RE-cycle (october 2004) by alyce santoro
shows dresses and furniture covers fabricated from
weaving cassette tape.

belt buckles
another accessory of the tape kind is the cassette
belt buckle. old tapes are simply fitted with a standard buckle
on the back. created by chandra sweet and available
via honorable mention

another belt design is a 15K gold cassette buckle
via etsy

cassette necklace pendant
one quick way to re-cycle old tapes is to simply
attach them to a necklace. although it is probably
more suitable to use mini cassettes.
via etsy

cassette bag
one slightly annoying aspect of cassettes is the
unravelling of the tape - many mixes would meet
their end, by being chewed up in the player. this
obviously had a serious affect on the makers of the
'tape bag'. the tote bag features colorful graphics and
two straps that mimic unravelled tape.

USB memory stick
'all in all, 2 hours of work and thinking, for a very simple,
but I think rather cool mod for my old usb stick.'
see the photoset found on flickr

your name on tape
just enter text and click the 'go' button.
a picture of a cassette will be generated for you.

tape dispenser
this easy to use tape dispenser might not re-use
existing cassette tapes but it certainly doesn't mess
about when it comes to it's design:
'it's a tape, it dispenses tape.'

record racers
one project that doesn't so much re-cycle obsolete
cassettes as the machines that play them. the german
event 'record racers' invites participants to transform
their old walkmans into small 'racers' by using the players
motors to make them move.
on your marks, get set, press fast forward!