CASSETTE WEEK 2021
Hey everyone! Welcome to Cassette Week 2021! I’m Charlie from Tapehead City. Thank you for entrusting me (again) to organize this special event! It’s truly an honor to work with everyone and help bring it all together. This year there is about 75 releases and 30 participating stores! So freakin’ awesome!!!
I think there’s something special about having all these releases come out together.
I’m also very excited to announce that Discogs has volunteered to handle the blog end of things this year. I enjoyed doing the blog last year, but writing is just not my thing. It sometimes take me a hour to complete a full sentence ha.. The Discogs team have a ton of exciting content planned starting Monday and I can’t wait to share it. I will link to what they post each day on the blog page. So here’s a quick post and i’ll keep it short and sweet.
Last year, I began the Cassette Week blog talking about Lou Ottens, the inventor of the cassette tape. Sadly this past March, at age 94 Lou passed away. The death of Lou was perhaps the biggest tape-related news to hit the mainstream media in...decades! The very existence of Cassette Week is predicated on his invention. So this year "Cassette Week 2021 Salutes Lou Ottens" and leans into the aesthetic of the decade in which tapes became mainstream: the 70's. The color palette and typography is derived from 70's fashion and advertising, and the image of Lou is an illustration made from the photo used in his NY times obituary. All this amazing graphic design was done by Leslie Wallick.
Lou Ottens (21 June 1926 – 6 March 2021)
A recent documentary featuring Lou is called “Cassette: A documentary mixtape”. It’s available on most streaming platforms as well as DVD/Blu-ray.
…So here we are with Lou’s invention, still keeping it alive almost 60 years later!! I think the resurgence of the cassette really proves how special it really was. Most inventions fit a time and place in history and then become obsolete, but when something returns regardless of its necessity, that’s proof something it provided was lost. I don’t believe nostalgia is the only reason tapes are back. I do however believe there’s never been a better time to be a collector. Digital and Analog working together to get the music out there. Its such an exciting time to be a fan of music!
Starting today (10-9-21) all cassette week releases will be going up for sale at participating stores. Check the Participating stores section to see where you can get the tapes you want. Not all titles will be available at every store so it’s best to contact them first if you want something specific. Some titles will be available directly from the label or band so you can check the releases page for more info.
A few stores shared pictures of their tape sections with us.
RESIDENCY RECORDS
99 Bridge St., Residency Records, Salem, MA 01970 USA
MAD CITY MUSIC
2023 Atwood Ave., Madison, WI 53704 USA
PAGAL RECORD STORE
13 A hauz khas village, Delhi, Delhi, Delhi 110016 India
I love that record stores are supporting tape releases more and more. Whenever I take a trip somewhere its always on my list to check out the local shops. I must say that more and more of them have tape sections. And I don’t mean some old milk crates under a table filled with dusty tapes, but nicely displayed tapes with new releases. “The record store” is such an important foundation to the music world”. Probably the only actual “physical store” I get excited to go into these days. With the resurgence of vinyl it really revived the culture and I hope they are here now to stay. I was really saddened when “Other Music” in NYC closed down. If you haven’t seen it yet, there’s a great documentary out about it. Here’s the trailer.
I think I enjoy sharing music with people as much as I enjoy listening to it. It’s probably the main driving force behind running Tapehead City and Cassette Week. I wouldn’t be the same if it wasn't for people throughout my life introducing me to different music and Im here to pay it forward.
Happy Cassette Week! Let the music make you feel infinite.