The truth, for now, is that all across America there are cassette tapes waiting in the nooks and crannies of people's lives, neglected, and waiting for people interested in music. The tapes are in the aging Generation X's shoe boxes, in the glove compartments of their old cars. Dug up and discovered, cassettes are often unwanted, so most undiscerning souls will throw them away or donate them to thrift. They give them to places like Goodwill or the Salvation Army, good old Salvo's. For those blessed enough to own the right equipment, these cassettes are an incredibly cheap way to learn about music by listening. If you drive an old set of wheels, you might even be lucky enough to have such a music school built into your car.
Unlike other thrift items, cassettes are usually thrown away because of their format, not because the music is lousy. So connoiseurs will find themselves acquiring great listening for only 50¢ per album. Persistent thrifters can get some of the same old classic albums and greatest hits collections that would cost a buck (or four) plus shipping online, or $5 - $7 in the local WalMart, but not $0.50 anywhere except thrift stores and garage sales.
Those other albums would be in CD format. They're easier to rip and put on your iPod, sure, but they're not durable in and of themselves, and because they're expensive, they're less expendable if something does happen to them. How many times a week does the average person put an album in a CD player, only to have one scratch ruin the music experience? Cassettes are the honorable cockroaches of the music world. Nothing short of a strategic magnetic attack would be able to have the same effect that a mere scratch wreaks on plastic or vinyl discs.
And so, it is with nostalgia and a renewed sense of appreciation that the cassette tape may be extolled, for this time and place. Tapes recommend themselves for your enjoyment. You might take advantage before too much time goes by and their existence fades.
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