Last Friday The King Of The Monsters and I attended the Elders tape release show @ the PV.
I always enjoyed the Elders as well as the other bands on the show I had seen before (Tightholes, Reverend Doom) and the other (March Of the Rats, I think) who I had not seen proved to be pretty good too. It did strike me slightly odd that I could not recall one tape release show that I had gone to back when that format was still considered a viable format. Record or CD release shows for sure, and I am sure I had been to some, but I could not recall a one....I owned shit loads, to the envy of my elementary and middle school class mates even. Fuck, I still have some great ones, a couple I am sure you'd like to hear...Years ago I swore it the worst format EVER! (Come one, 8tracks? Far worse!) But in fact think about it, they were amazing, and I even recall the record industry telling me that home taping was going to kill them. Of course price gouging and terrible cds did that for them a couple of decades down the road, but whatever, "Some things Just Fall Apart"* But tapes are so amazing, after all the woman I am marrying in a couple of months is a bit younger then me, and thus of the burned CD age rather mix tape age of me, but our early romance was fanned by mix tapes I made her.
So take that iTunes!!! The point I am making is that as Rob Gordon said, a mix tape is a subtle art form, many dos and don'ts** whereas the burned cd?, Aaww come on, dragging, clicking, cut and paste track listing with some clip art cover maybe? Fuck no, record, stop, catch at the right time, no digital editing, hand written track listing (maybe not my hand writing, I print like a four year old, but whatever) finding a rad picture to cut and fit as the cover, shit, that shit is what makes someone else’s art your art, found art, audio and visual. I spent hours making mix tapes for girls in Junior High and High School, shit, college and beyond for that matter, so that I could say something that I didn't know how to say. But Milo, Jim Reid, or whomever did. And soon I am marrying a gal because of it, thanks guys, I owe you everything....ANYWAY, the point I am making is that tapes are punk as fuck. Rolling Stone, SPIN, the Newtimes or whomever may report music trends, styles and even fucking formats, but no matter what some kids are going to be banging out some punk rock in their basement or garage and documenting that noise to a cassette tape and will give them to their friends who will dub it, trade it, and get it around.
Bank on it. We lost one of those kids a couple of weeks ago, who made tapes in his room all the way till his death, and he was being called the next Kurt Cobain.
* The Have Heart lp I am listening to came in right on cue....
** FYI The 1st mix tape I made my wife to be was titled "A Subtle Art form Many Dos and Don'ts" In addition to being of the mix tape age, I am also of the John Cusack appreciation age.
