It’s amazing to think that for a good few years, I was going nuts about purchasing tapes. Now? Not so much.

I have been on such a thrash metal tear for the last couple of years.

Over the weekend, I updated my cassette “go bag” with some tapes I wanted to listen to in the near future. Unlike in the past, when I would go into my office and needed to select some to take in and have nothing else, I’ve got my entire collection readily available as I work from home. But I still pick allotments to enjoy at any given time for whatever reason.

You know you’ve developed a reputation as a cassette collector (although VERY dialed back in the last couple years) when people start picking up tapes for you.

It was kinda funny reading posts from everyone freaking out that Spotify (and Discord) was down most of today leaving people without a key source of streaming music and podcasts.

This just got interesting. As I told you yesterday, I completely forgot to go in for Record Store Day yesterday.

I completely forgot today was Record Store Day. The one when they were gonna sell that Mötley Crüe set I wanted. Dammit. 

Awwwww, yeah, boyyyeeeeeeeeezzzz! The details and release list for the first two days of Record Store Days 2021 were released today! Of course, as you'd expect, there are a metric ton of records coming out. Re-releases, exclusive releases, etc. To those, I say "MEH!"

Man, I really don’t do Snippet posts anymore do I? First one this year and the first since last April. Only two in 2020, four in 2019, seven in 2018. I haven’t done this regularly since 2014. Yikes!

We took a drive up to Katie’s parents’ house today. It was our annual birthday lunch for the family (what we were celebrating at PF Chang’s a year ago). 

I have a new addition to my analog addiction. Say “hello” to the Sony Sports WM-FS220. Ain’t she a beaut?

This post is for Marty, Eric, and Kevin S. who will know this album well from my raving about it.

One of my favorite things about cassettes is finding ones that are not available in other media formats or on streaming services. This tends to happen a lot with hits albums and original soundtracks (OST) and other sorts of compilations. 

I’ve not only been loving on some tapes lately, but sharing that love online as well...

Lemme get your opinion on something here... if you were given a choice between buying an open tape and a sealed tape, which would you choose? And, before you just blurt out the obvious choice, lemme throw in some potentially decision-affecting considerations.

I’m going to do something that hasn’t been done here in nearly seven months. Nope, not since December 17. It’s Taped! Number 19! 

When Nathan invited Katie to watch TV with him in his bedroom, I was told to hang out as his bed isn’t really big enough for all three of us. 

I've been doing some wheeling and dealing online lately to get some cassettes I want. I finally negotiated a deal for one of my white whale tapes and was waiting for the woman on the other end to send it to me. 

While my previous Taped posts might indicate otherwise, I’ve slowly migrated to a place where I’m being a bit pickier about my cassette acquisitions. 

One of the things that I discovered (and continue to discover) as I delve back into the world of cassette tapes is the terminology of the trade. Sure, there are words and phrases that I knew from before. But there is so much more I never knew about.

I decided to bring back Taped for one last post this calendar year. I guess, technically, it's the last Taped post of the decade. Weird. I only realized this was the close of the decade about a week ago. I'd never considered it before that. 

One of the coolest things about getting back into cassettes is watching as the culture rises up from the ashes like a phoenix. People who collected back in the day are finding their old stuff. Kids who should have no earthly idea what a cassette is are jumping on board. 

I made some trades and sold some stuff at a resale shop and managed to nab these beauties...

If you could only pick one of the following, which would it be. No, you cannot suggest your own alternative. These are the only current options and even they could be subject to change based on availability. And, no, you will not be given any extra context.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon, a musician I met on Reddit created a mixtape using actual cassette recordings from the mission itself. 

It's been a little bit since I've shared with you a collection or haul of mine, hasn't it? What I'm about to share isn't really a haul of used tapes. Instead, it's my growing collection of new tapes released by Polyvinyl Records. For some reason, I really dig what they produce. I also really dig that while their cassettes cost about $10-12 on their website, I can get them for half that price from the official Polyvinyl table at the Pitchfork Music Festival and I have done just that each of the last two years.

Remember last month’s post about my heartbeat cassette? Well, I found another pretty unique cassette recently. 

While I probably should’ve written about it yesterday when it actually happened, I decided to wait a day until I hit a Tu(n)esday up in here to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the cassette Walkman!

While going through things as part of our latest home renovation project, Katie found this in a drawer...

This is one of my favorite Taped hauls in a while. I’ve actually been sitting on it for a while because it’s been a slow build. Two of my favorite bands well represented...

Flying solo tonight. Nathan is at an overnight cousins birthday party for one of our nieces and all three of the kids wanted their moms along. 

Have you ever heard of the movie Lost Angels? I have not. But, recently, based on searches for cassettes that I did on eBay (I like to search and follow auctions to see at what price cassettes sell), the soundtrack for this film was recommended to me.

Another small haul for the books, er, blog. I’m pretty happy with this especially since I got them not only discounted per tape but B2G1 (buy two, get one) from Purple Dog Records in Naperville, IL. 

Occasionally, I get the odd look from people wondering why I’ve gotten back into cassettes in the age of streaming. Most of the time, I’m snarky and just reply “because” or “why not.” 

Today, I'm dedicating my Taped entry to a single cassette I just recently nabbed. It is Vol 1 by the Traveling Wilburys.