So we're in a digital age now.
Can someone please tell me why we still refer to mixes of and compilations of songs as "mixTAPES"?
I ain't actually used a cassette in almost 10 years now!
Peep the history of the mixtape.
Some very interesting notes:
The most common early mixtapes were bootleg 8 track
tapes that were sold at flea markets and truck stops in the late 60's
through the early 80's, with names like "Super 73", "Country Chart
Toppers" or "Top Pops 1977".
In the 1970s, such DJs as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force, Kool Herc and the Herculoids, DJ Breakout, the Funky Four, and DJ Hollywood
would often distribute recordings of their club performances via audio
cassette, as well as customized recordings (often prepared at
exorbitant prices) for individual tape purchasers.
Get a more in depth look from Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash, and others in this interview by MTV.
One should also note that in Africa, India, and parts of the Middle East,
audio cassettes currently remain the most popular medium for
prerecorded music. This suggests that the compact audio cassette may
still be the preferred medium for mixes in at least some parts of the
world.
And while you're at it, check out the DOPE ass website I got put on to called MUXTAPE.
Essentially, you create your own mix of songs and upload it online and it can stream over the net. You make your own list, update it whenever you want.
Make your own now! You know I'm finst to!
Also, peep this video by the classic West Coast group, The Nonce. RIP Yusef Afloat.
