See Hear Podcast Episode 114 - Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape

See Hear

There's a song performed by Peter Allen that seems to be more relevant than ever: Everything Old Is New Again. Film plots are recycled, songs are recycled (through covers or the same chord structures).....and the media we use to play those films and songs are back in fashion. Records have been popular again for a while, some people are rediscovering VHS, and as this month's film focus shows us, the Compact Cassette is the new medium of choice for music recording and listening.

Welcome to Episode 114 of See Hear Podcast.

In 2016, Zack Taylor released a film called “Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape” which looks at the humble invention which meant so much to those of us who grew up with the tape as a dominant medium for music listening (and recording music and audio letters and.....) The film features a new generation who were probably not born or at least cognisant of the tape singing its praises. Importantly, the director also sought out Lou Ottens and his colleagues who invented the compact cassette in the early 60s. While proud of their achievements, Ottens is somewhat puzzled that the cassette appeals so much to a new generation – he truly believes (as inventors do) that the cassette's time is done and the next thing should be focused on. False nostalgia? A genuine appeal to new eyes? The film gently explores all these things. The fans, the inventors, the musicians only releasing their music on cassette.....they're all here.

Tim, Kerry and myself are joined by Mike White of The Projection Booth to talk as much about our own experiences and thoughts on tapes as well as the film. Give it a listen, then gather your friends together to reminisce (if you're of that age) about your own mixtapes, the times you became cassette surgeons, and how much you miss your old Walkmans.

The film is available for you to watch on Tubi or on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmClZ7SMfBo

Mike has a number of shows running under the banner of the Weirding Way Media network, but the flagship is The Projection Booth, essential listening for film fans of any type of cinema – tentpole, arthouse, Sci-fi, Czech, theme months, early cinema, obscure, mainstream.....all discussed with people passionate about films. It's a favourite of ours at See Hear. On your favourite podcast app or at the website: https://www.projectionboothpodcast.com/

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See Hear is proudly part of the Pantheon Network of music podcasts. Check out all the other wonderful shows at http://pantheonpodcasts.com.

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