VIVA TAPEHEADS!
First off, Spin Cycle went to Cassette Store Day this year... and picked up some cassettes. In worldwide terms, this was the sixth annual CSD and, for everyone who complains that its vinyl counterpart is now all about the major labels, bleeding us dry with pointless limited editions, there’s a lot to be said for becoming a tapehead.
A little over 100 new releases from all across the indie spectrum included a nice stash of ska-inflected goodies from Jump Up (Mephiskapheles, the Slackers and the Pietasters among them), the much-admired Gone Home soundtrack from Kill Rock Stars, and from the Tapehead City label, a rather fun tribute to The Cure.
Besides all that, many stores used the day as a reason to bring their own stock of tapes into view, with Rainbow in Newark, DE, hitting a motherlode of sorts box set, and only narrowly passed on the box. But Budgie’s and a Specials singles collection made neat additions to the tape shelf, and if your ears are attuned to analog, but your wallet is wary of current vinyl prices, cassettes might well be the way to go.
