BzaInSpace wrote:
This whole 'mixtape' thing is founded on nostalgia or false nostalgia - who would want to sit for hours carefully compiling and editing a tape of songs when you can burn a CD off in minutes? I was blown away the first time I realized the implications of having a CD burner. And all that fast-forwarding or rewinding to get to a particular song... fuck that!
Hmm I'm not sure I agree that it is nostalgia, but even if it is: what would make it false? Just a little confused about that.
Anyways though, I think part of the whole appeal of the mixtape is the very fact that you do have to "sit for hours carefully compiling and editing a tape of songs" -- it's a way to put effort and meaning behind an object! It's a way to show that you care. The fact that it's not easy is what makes mixtapes valuable to me. The fact that you can burn a CD in minutes is what makes it less meaningful, is what sort of makes it worthless. I'm not talking about sharing new music or whatever, because then yes, of course a CD is far superior to a tape -- for that matter a CD is obsolete, you could just throw thousands of songs on a flash drive, or in a dropbox, or a hundred other ways. I think what makes the tape special is the very fact that it is clumsy, inefficient, whatever (just like we are with our words/relationships). I would never be like hey man, check this band out they are great! and then go make a tape of the album I am talking about. It's the type of thing where I want to give somebody a meaningful gift, something that is one of kind, that they will always have forever. Sort of an Emersonian gift or whatever in some sense. And on the receiving end, I think the very fact that fast forwarding is such a pain is another thing that makes the act of getting a mixtape more meaningful. You sit down and listen to the tape from start to finish, you think about how all the songs fit together, why whoever gave it to you put them there, etc. The tape is sort of (for me at least) a holistic thing that captures something more than just hey these songs are good you will like them -- it's about conveying a feeling, an emotion, something you want to say, or whatever when maybe your words aren't as good at at doing that.
Also, most of my friends and I have older cars that just have tape decks, so that's another reason to do it. Although there's also those little tape adapters/fm adapters to make up for that, but still. I think there's something about listening to music in the car/on long road trips that is very powerful/meaningful to me for some reason, and I sort of like tapes for that reason to.
This doesn't really address releasing albums and stuff on tape though, although I do think in my last post I mentioned sort of the analog nature and the sounds of the actual bands that you are listening to on tape as being relevant. I think though it really comes down to the feeling of buying something unique and real, sort of like a poor man's vinyl. Also, growing up and not having all the frustrations of tape certainly influences me. I guess when an artist records something on tape and then exclusively releases it on tape it just feels like you are getting something really special and unique and limited. Maybe that sense is false, but it's still there.
Sorry if this is really disjointed I'm really tired long week.