Cassette Tape Collectors (for fans of dying formats)

[eversonpoe]

So, I collect old cassettes, mainly ones from the 80s I find at thrift stores and such, but I honestly don't understand the cassette tape revival. It's not that convenient - I never listen to my tapes - and in most cases, the tapes cost just as much or more than the CDs, at least when you order online. I like finding old tapes of bands like The Cure, Depeche Mode, NIN etc. or even just cheesy acts like NKOTB. It's just fun! And I like getting them for cheap. But I don't really care for buying new releases on cassettes unless it's cheap. Otherwise, I stick with vinyl and CD.

I've actually found some great tapes at the thrift store, like Boys Don't Cry - The Cure, PHM - NIN, Broken - NIN, Dookie - Green Day etc. The last really great tape I found randomly was DWS at a garage sale. It didn't have the slip case, but I recognized the artwork just from the spin instantly.

i buy tapes that are:

aesthetically pleasing
by a band i'm obsessed with (cough cough NIN cough)
only available on cassette
cheap and sentimental

my wife and i have a couple paula abdul tapes that were hers and her sister's when they were kids, but mostly i love having stuff that's only available on cassette because it feels like this cool, secret thing for some reason. Sige records (aaron turner & faith coloccia's label) puts out a lot of cassette-exclusive releases and i have many of them.

@botley the copy i got is sealed and i can't decide whether or not to open it. what's the surprise???

[Tyson]

the copy i got is sealed and i can't decide whether or not to open it. what's the surprise???

The crowd chants "Nine Inch Nails!" at the end of the KISS outro instead of the usual few chords of Complication playing. Not really worth opening if it's sealed, in my opinion.

[MrLobster]

The crowd chants "Nine Inch Nails!" at the end of the KISS outro instead of the usual few chords of Complication playing. Not really worth opening if it's sealed, in my opinion.

So like the "The Day The World Went Away" (Halo 13) version?

[kaydraven]

i buy tapes that are:

aesthetically pleasing
by a band i'm obsessed with (cough cough NIN cough)
only available on cassette
cheap and sentimental

my wife and i have a couple paula abdul tapes that were hers and her sister's when they were kids, but mostly i love having stuff that's only available on cassette because it feels like this cool, secret thing for some reason. Sige records (aaron turner & faith coloccia's label) puts out a lot of cassette-exclusive releases and i have many of them.

@botley the copy i got is sealed and i can't decide whether or not to open it. what's the surprise???

That makes sense. I agree getting something that's only available on cassette feels like a rare treat. I just don't get bands releasing their new albums on it when they also released it on cd and vinyl. But that's just me. There are definitely tapes in my collection that I cherish like the random Depeche Mode singles I found in a dusty box at Half price books.