Those points about there being plenty of musicians but the industry being unable to find/support/promote them hit home unexpectedly -- I see publishing and writing in general as in much the same boat. The major parts of the industry keep trying to hang onto what they think are safe bets, and refusing to take bets on new, wonderful work.
I only ever made a few mix tapes (my favorite interspersed music from Last of the Mohicans with a lot of stuff I don't remember now and that tape has probably turned to dust), but my younger sister always made a lot. She's the one who introduces me to music, and her husband now (mostly black metal in his case), and they both send me playlists they make on Spotify. Not quite the same thing but it's nice to have people still creating their own modern form of mixtapes. It has the flavor of "them," and appreciation that they wanted to share what they love.
This was an absolute delight, Anna. I was really inspired when I read Maggie Smith's book last year because she is a person who really seems to be experiencing new music. I found out my town has a local, volunteer-run radio station and it definitely plays older music but I've also heard so many newer artists and that has been an experience like you describe. It has been a gift. Mix tapes were such a huge part of my life. My parents regularly gave me cassette tapes bought in bulk from Costco in my Christmas stocking. This was such a wonderful piece and it brought me all sorts of great places, thank you!
Ahh mixtapes, what a memory you just sparked. We’re the same age and I remember vividly that anticipation of getting the record button push JUST right. I had a whole box of mixtapes that have long been lost. I would love to rediscover what was on them. In college, I burned mix CDs for long drives home on the weekend and I still have some of those (that mostly don’t skip). Revisiting them has been a wonderful mix of cringe and “hey! I forgot about this song!” 😆
My car is old enough that it still has a tape deck. 😆 send me your mix tapes!
I second finding a local indie radio station as a gateway to new music!
Those points about there being plenty of musicians but the industry being unable to find/support/promote them hit home unexpectedly -- I see publishing and writing in general as in much the same boat. The major parts of the industry keep trying to hang onto what they think are safe bets, and refusing to take bets on new, wonderful work.
I only ever made a few mix tapes (my favorite interspersed music from Last of the Mohicans with a lot of stuff I don't remember now and that tape has probably turned to dust), but my younger sister always made a lot. She's the one who introduces me to music, and her husband now (mostly black metal in his case), and they both send me playlists they make on Spotify. Not quite the same thing but it's nice to have people still creating their own modern form of mixtapes. It has the flavor of "them," and appreciation that they wanted to share what they love.
This was an absolute delight, Anna. I was really inspired when I read Maggie Smith's book last year because she is a person who really seems to be experiencing new music. I found out my town has a local, volunteer-run radio station and it definitely plays older music but I've also heard so many newer artists and that has been an experience like you describe. It has been a gift. Mix tapes were such a huge part of my life. My parents regularly gave me cassette tapes bought in bulk from Costco in my Christmas stocking. This was such a wonderful piece and it brought me all sorts of great places, thank you!
This was brilliant!!💕💕💕
Ahh mixtapes, what a memory you just sparked. We’re the same age and I remember vividly that anticipation of getting the record button push JUST right. I had a whole box of mixtapes that have long been lost. I would love to rediscover what was on them. In college, I burned mix CDs for long drives home on the weekend and I still have some of those (that mostly don’t skip). Revisiting them has been a wonderful mix of cringe and “hey! I forgot about this song!” 😆