Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:10,260
[Varying speakers]
- Test, test, test.
2
00:00:10,469 --> 00:00:12,554
- It says you push
that button there.
3
00:00:12,763 --> 00:00:14,097
[overlapping chatter]
4
00:00:14,306 --> 00:00:15,849
What should we say?
5
00:00:16,058 --> 00:00:18,060
- Test, test,
a,b,C, 4, E, F--
6
00:00:18,268 --> 00:00:19,853
- So you guys are all
supposed to talk real loud--
7
00:00:20,062 --> 00:00:21,647
- Come on,
somebody say something.
8
00:00:21,855 --> 00:00:24,316
- Using a tape recorder
can be a big bother.
9
00:00:24,525 --> 00:00:25,609
- Speak into
the microphone, please.
10
00:00:25,817 --> 00:00:27,277
- As simple as
11
00:00:27,486 --> 00:00:30,155
or even easier than
playing a record.
12
00:00:30,364 --> 00:00:31,532
- Slowly turn the dial
13
00:00:31,740 --> 00:00:33,617
to its full tone range.
14
00:00:33,825 --> 00:00:36,870
[overlapping chatter]
15
00:00:37,079 --> 00:00:38,580
- We reinvented
tape recording.
16
00:00:38,789 --> 00:00:40,332
- Tune to
this radio station--
17
00:00:40,541 --> 00:00:42,209
- You will not
hear true reproduction
18
00:00:42,417 --> 00:00:45,087
on any high bias cassette,
not the first play.
19
00:00:45,295 --> 00:00:47,089
- It's not just a cassette,
20
00:00:47,297 --> 00:00:50,300
it's a little music machine
that delivers the best sound.
21
00:00:50,509 --> 00:00:51,927
- But after 1,000 plays,
22
00:00:52,135 --> 00:00:54,304
can the same cassette
still shatter a glass?
23
00:00:54,513 --> 00:00:57,891
[overlapping chatter]
24
00:00:58,100 --> 00:00:59,935
- So tell me,
do you love me?
25
00:01:00,143 --> 00:01:02,271
- Oh, God, this is hell,
26
00:01:02,479 --> 00:01:07,109
I'm in a living hell, the worst
night of my life yesterday.
27
00:01:07,317 --> 00:01:10,696
[overlapping chatter]
28
00:01:10,904 --> 00:01:12,406
- They get chewed
up and worn out,
29
00:01:12,614 --> 00:01:15,492
they were abandoned
in the digital age.
30
00:01:15,701 --> 00:01:17,995
- To the naked eye,
a compact disc looks like silver.
31
00:01:18,203 --> 00:01:19,913
- Compact disks
are now the format
32
00:01:20,122 --> 00:01:23,709
of choice, with the sales
figures to prove it.
33
00:01:23,917 --> 00:01:26,044
-1 think we might
be seeing the end
34
00:01:26,253 --> 00:01:29,923
of the cassette within
the next few years.
35
00:01:30,132 --> 00:01:31,258
[upbeat rock music]
36
00:01:31,466 --> 00:01:33,969
♪ Be working, people mind
37
00:01:34,177 --> 00:01:37,973
♪ Be well to pretend
you're losing me
38
00:01:39,141 --> 00:01:41,018
& With me
39
00:01:42,144 --> 00:01:44,062
& With me
40
00:01:45,188 --> 00:01:47,941
& With me
41
00:01:48,150 --> 00:01:49,943
[audience applauds]
42
00:01:50,152 --> 00:01:53,697
- Tape day, what
the hell is that?
43
00:01:53,905 --> 00:01:56,700
[lively rock music]
44
00:02:20,015 --> 00:02:22,225
[birds chirp]
45
00:02:32,444 --> 00:02:34,905
[phone rings]
46
00:02:43,413 --> 00:02:45,332
I tried to call you a while ago.
47
00:02:46,458 --> 00:02:48,293
We haven't seen each other in a while.
48
00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,381
It's just, I didn't recognize the number,
so I had no idea who was calling.
49
00:02:53,215 --> 00:02:54,591
How young are you now?
50
00:02:55,801 --> 00:02:57,219
I'm 88.
51
00:02:57,969 --> 00:03:00,138
Then you are a year older than I am.
52
00:03:00,472 --> 00:03:02,182
I'll turn 87 in November.
53
00:03:03,266 --> 00:03:05,310
And how's your health? Good?
54
00:03:05,602 --> 00:03:06,687
I'm not complaining.
55
00:03:07,187 --> 00:03:10,148
I can't complain, except I'm getting older.
56
00:03:10,899 --> 00:03:13,360
But I've got other things on my mind this week.
57
00:03:13,985 --> 00:03:16,238
I have an American who is visiting me,
58
00:03:17,072 --> 00:03:19,866
he is doing a film about the cassette.
59
00:03:20,659 --> 00:03:23,578
Oh, that's nice, about the little cassette?
60
00:03:24,996 --> 00:03:27,708
We should never have released that thing for free.
61
00:03:28,166 --> 00:03:30,502
Well, then it wouldn't have been a success.
62
00:03:35,799 --> 00:03:36,758
Yes, correct.
63
00:03:37,092 --> 00:03:40,303
The first Walkman, they sold a damn lot of them.
64
00:03:40,804 --> 00:03:42,764
Yeah, but we did too.
65
00:03:45,016 --> 00:03:46,977
Yes, and CD's too.
66
00:03:47,352 --> 00:03:49,855
Frans, thanks for the call, I'll call you back.
67
00:03:50,564 --> 00:03:51,606
It's a deal.
68
00:03:51,815 --> 00:03:53,108
Thanks, have a good one.
69
00:03:53,316 --> 00:03:54,443
All the best Lou.
70
00:03:56,153 --> 00:03:59,239
[slow electronic music]
71
00:04:01,783 --> 00:04:03,744
- It probably
begins at the moment
72
00:04:03,952 --> 00:04:06,496
that we introduced the cassette.
73
00:04:08,415 --> 00:04:11,042
A year after our introduction,
74
00:04:11,251 --> 00:04:13,962
there came a lot of
imitations in Japan,
75
00:04:16,173 --> 00:04:18,800
and then we said,
"Well, gentlemen,
76
00:04:19,009 --> 00:04:21,720
"if you want to
imitate our cassette,
77
00:04:21,928 --> 00:04:23,513
"you'd better make a standard,
78
00:04:23,722 --> 00:04:26,808
"because without a standard,
it gets a mess over it
79
00:04:27,017 --> 00:04:29,770
"in the whole world,”
and that worked,
80
00:04:29,978 --> 00:04:33,815
that's the reason that it didn't
become obsolete too early,
81
00:04:34,024 --> 00:04:36,401
but it's taken 50 years to die.
82
00:04:37,694 --> 00:04:40,864
[slow electronic music]
83
00:05:27,744 --> 00:05:28,870
- [Woman] Alright,
I think we're rolling.
84
00:05:29,079 --> 00:05:32,082
[overlapping chatter]
85
00:05:32,290 --> 00:05:34,626
- [Woman] You
press record first.
86
00:05:34,835 --> 00:05:36,586
- [Woman] Our first
song is, I like this song.
87
00:05:36,795 --> 00:05:39,047
- [Man] Live and direct,
funky fresh for '93.
88
00:05:39,256 --> 00:05:41,049
[upbeat punk music]
89
00:05:41,258 --> 00:05:43,301
- [Woman] Right, Bob?
90
00:05:43,510 --> 00:05:46,513
[people cheer]
91
00:05:46,721 --> 00:05:49,516
- The music industry
has changed radically
92
00:05:49,724 --> 00:05:55,605
in our lifetime, and with it
has changed the value of music,
93
00:05:55,814 --> 00:05:58,942
now it's just this thing
that you just download,
94
00:05:59,150 --> 00:06:00,944
so you're listening
to something served
95
00:06:01,152 --> 00:06:04,155
to you from some cloud,
something out in the ether,
96
00:06:04,406 --> 00:06:11,663
but you can't touch it, so
what stays the same is analog.
97
00:06:11,872 --> 00:06:15,083
It always sounds
good to the ear,
98
00:06:15,292 --> 00:06:18,962
and it's what's left of
humanity meeting music.
99
00:06:21,923 --> 00:06:25,927
The farther away I feel,
the closer you get
100
00:06:26,136 --> 00:06:28,680
The farther away I feel.
101
00:06:28,889 --> 00:06:30,348
♪ ll can't get in
102
00:06:30,557 --> 00:06:32,475
♪ And ll can't get out
103
00:06:32,684 --> 00:06:35,478
[slow guitar music]
104
00:06:39,816 --> 00:06:41,776
- [Man] The digital realm
is not moving parts,
105
00:06:41,985 --> 00:06:44,905
it's its own thing, it's
fantastic for what it is,
106
00:06:45,113 --> 00:06:48,450
but I don't really, 1 am
not inspired by it at all.
107
00:06:48,658 --> 00:06:50,368
It's like, film's better
than, like, you know,
108
00:06:50,577 --> 00:06:54,289
digital recording, no offense,
what are you recording on?
109
00:06:57,334 --> 00:07:01,421
- Where do you think I'd
be without the cassette?
110
00:07:01,630 --> 00:07:03,924
That's how Sub
Pop discovered me,
111
00:07:04,132 --> 00:07:05,216
you know, here was the cassette,
112
00:07:05,425 --> 00:07:06,885
you could send it to somebody,
113
00:07:07,093 --> 00:07:08,470
you know, you could
put music on it,
114
00:07:08,678 --> 00:07:10,221
you could record
your voice on it,
115
00:07:10,430 --> 00:07:13,224
you could record
anything you want on it.
116
00:07:13,433 --> 00:07:14,809
- These are just the
tapes that were, like,
117
00:07:15,018 --> 00:07:22,275
on top of my boom
box, just, it's,
118
00:07:22,484 --> 00:07:24,444
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
has a sonnet that begins,
119
00:07:24,653 --> 00:07:27,906
"A sonnet is a moment's
monument,” and that's funny,
120
00:07:28,114 --> 00:07:29,824
'cause like, a sonnet
doesn't do that for me,
121
00:07:30,033 --> 00:07:32,827
I love sonnets, but cassettes
are what do that for me.
122
00:07:33,036 --> 00:07:35,789
[slow guitar music]
123
00:07:40,293 --> 00:07:42,462
- [Woman] I think objects
become obsolete
124
00:07:42,712 --> 00:07:48,134
when we have figured out what we
consider better ways to do something,
125
00:07:50,512 --> 00:07:53,223
it's a hard question,
though, because what is better?
126
00:08:00,814 --> 00:08:05,402
- Young trees here,
ll think it's a birch,
127
00:08:05,610 --> 00:08:08,780
but there's quite a
lot, it's a plague.
128
00:08:21,793 --> 00:08:23,628
It's not easy.
129
00:08:23,837 --> 00:08:25,338
- [Grossman] We live in a time
130
00:08:25,547 --> 00:08:27,757
where things are
becoming obsolete faster
131
00:08:27,966 --> 00:08:30,927
than perhaps ever before,
there's always a newer,
132
00:08:31,136 --> 00:08:36,099
better version, whereas
not so many years ago,
133
00:08:36,307 --> 00:08:38,852
the value of something
was how well it was going
134
00:08:39,060 --> 00:08:41,229
to hold up against the clock.
135
00:08:41,438 --> 00:08:44,649
[slow electronic music]
136
00:08:46,985 --> 00:08:50,947
- When your time has gone,
eh, it's time to disappear.
137
00:08:53,575 --> 00:08:56,661
Is there better
products than cassette,
138
00:08:56,870 --> 00:09:02,000
well, then you stop, I
don't believe in eternity,
139
00:09:04,169 --> 00:09:06,004
that's the basic thing.
140
00:09:06,254 --> 00:09:09,174
[slow electronic music]
141
00:09:19,601 --> 00:09:23,480
The craziest thing,
it's not yet over, huh.
142
00:09:23,688 --> 00:09:27,025
No, all, there are still
all those crazy people
143
00:09:27,233 --> 00:09:30,487
that are working
with cassettes, hmm?
144
00:09:30,695 --> 00:09:33,907
[slow electronic music]
145
00:09:37,744 --> 00:09:41,039
Now it's nostalgia,
more or less,
146
00:09:41,289 --> 00:09:45,418
people prefer a worse
quality of sound
147
00:09:47,003 --> 00:09:48,880
out of nostalgia.
148
00:09:49,089 --> 00:09:52,258
[upbeat electronic music]
149
00:10:02,769 --> 00:10:04,979
- Oh, yeah, there they are,
150
00:10:05,188 --> 00:10:08,024
so when we first did our
tapes seven years ago
151
00:10:08,233 --> 00:10:10,610
or eight years ago,
people just said,
152
00:10:10,819 --> 00:10:15,115
“"Why, why are you doing
that, I don't have anything
153
00:10:15,323 --> 00:10:20,495
"to play it on, do you not want
me to listen to your music?"
154
00:10:20,703 --> 00:10:22,914
1 think they probably thought
it was some strange art
155
00:10:23,123 --> 00:10:26,167
project that probably
wouldn't last very long,
156
00:10:26,376 --> 00:10:31,714
but it turns out it's probably
the most dedicated cause
157
00:10:31,923 --> 00:10:34,425
that I've ever
focused on in my life.
158
00:10:34,676 --> 00:10:38,221
[laid back electronic music]
159
00:10:43,643 --> 00:10:46,563
- 1 got three copies, one
to stock, one to rock,
160
00:10:46,771 --> 00:10:50,608
and one to swap, having
multiple copies is
161
00:10:50,817 --> 00:10:53,236
what it's all about, you know?
162
00:10:55,405 --> 00:10:57,448
I really love
this, look at this,
163
00:10:57,657 --> 00:11:00,243
you can't read the credits
on the back of an MP3,
164
00:11:00,451 --> 00:11:01,995
you know, those are
things that are kind
165
00:11:02,203 --> 00:11:04,706
of lost today, you know,
with this push button,
166
00:11:04,914 --> 00:11:07,208
you know, fast paced world.
167
00:11:07,417 --> 00:11:09,419
3 Hit the ground
faster than you want to
168
00:11:09,627 --> 00:11:11,880
3 Hit the gas, you
can only live to die
169
00:11:12,088 --> 00:11:15,008
♪ Straight away, hits
you like a roadblock
170
00:11:15,216 --> 00:11:17,260
♪ Straight away,
fearing you're a loser
171
00:11:17,468 --> 00:11:20,138
& Play it safe, something's
got it turned on
172
00:11:20,346 --> 00:11:24,184
♪ Save face, it's
not going around you
173
00:11:24,392 --> 00:11:26,060
- Yeah, I'll work for
the camera, okay, ah,
174
00:11:26,269 --> 00:11:29,022
this is for you, baby.
175
00:11:29,230 --> 00:11:31,024
- As far as, like,
cassettes coming back,
176
00:11:31,274 --> 00:11:33,818
a lot of people
don't understand it.
177
00:11:34,027 --> 00:11:36,154
I usually just tell them, "Hey,
we've sold 100,000 cassettes
178
00:11:36,404 --> 00:11:38,323
"in the last five years,”
and they're like, "Really?"
179
00:11:38,531 --> 00:11:40,158
And I say, "Yeah."
180
00:11:40,366 --> 00:11:42,952
- But who's counting?
- Me.
181
00:11:43,161 --> 00:11:46,289
[laid back rock music]
182
00:11:57,759 --> 00:12:00,261
-1 think from an older
crowd, you get this,
183
00:12:00,470 --> 00:12:01,971
like, "What, you have tapes?”
184
00:12:02,180 --> 00:12:04,349
You know, they think
it's kind of funny.
185
00:12:04,557 --> 00:12:06,893
It seems like this
thing that you kind
186
00:12:07,101 --> 00:12:11,397
of thought had gone away, and
it's cool to see it reemerge.
187
00:12:11,606 --> 00:12:14,525
[slow electronic music]
188
00:12:27,538 --> 00:12:31,125
- [Lou] So, yeah,
ll have a picture
189
00:12:31,376 --> 00:12:33,962
of my 25 years of service
190
00:12:34,170 --> 00:12:38,216
in the company, when I got
offered a ceramic plate.
191
00:12:40,260 --> 00:12:42,011
This is the man
who is responsible
192
00:12:42,220 --> 00:12:46,015
for the whole mechanism
of the cassette recorder,
193
00:12:46,224 --> 00:12:51,896
he's deceased already,
this is Lucien Devogelaere,
194
00:12:52,105 --> 00:12:54,816
he's still alive
and kicking, yeah.
195
00:12:57,527 --> 00:13:01,948
- [Interviewer] You're not
a nostalgic person, are you?
196
00:13:02,156 --> 00:13:03,491
- I'm not, no, no.
197
00:13:08,621 --> 00:13:12,250
Everything I'm
nostalgic about is the,
198
00:13:14,127 --> 00:13:18,006
the people I have been
able to work with,
199
00:13:18,423 --> 00:13:21,009
That's a fine kind of nostalgia.
200
00:13:22,218 --> 00:13:25,555
Here is a photo of
an enormous cassette,
201
00:13:25,763 --> 00:13:30,226
ll think it's about six
feet high or something.
202
00:13:30,435 --> 00:13:33,187
- [Interviewer] And where
is that cassette right now?
203
00:13:33,396 --> 00:13:38,901
-1 made it in pieces
and threw it away,
204
00:13:39,110 --> 00:13:41,362
I'm sorry, but it's,
205
00:13:43,740 --> 00:13:45,116
it's the past.
206
00:13:45,325 --> 00:13:47,869
[slow rock music]
207
00:13:50,830 --> 00:13:52,749
- [Man] This is a recording,
208
00:13:52,957 --> 00:13:55,418
if you will be kind
enough to leave a message,
209
00:13:55,626 --> 00:13:57,879
including your name
and phone number,
210
00:13:58,087 --> 00:14:00,631
we will return your call
as soon as we get back.
211
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:02,592
- [Woman] We just wanted
to wish you a happy new year,
212
00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:04,385
I'll talk to you in 1991.
213
00:14:04,594 --> 00:14:05,845
- [Woman] I heard you
weren't feeling good,
214
00:14:06,054 --> 00:14:08,306
Daddy says, what's a matter?
215
00:14:10,016 --> 00:14:11,476
If you would have told me,
216
00:14:11,684 --> 00:14:12,977
I would have made
you a pot of soup.
217
00:14:13,227 --> 00:14:16,189
[overlapping chatter]
218
00:14:21,903 --> 00:14:24,906
- [Man This tape was actually
made 15 years ago today,
219
00:14:25,114 --> 00:14:28,743
it was a beautiful late
summer day, I can tell you
220
00:14:28,951 --> 00:14:31,662
what chair I was sitting
in when I made the tape,
221
00:14:31,871 --> 00:14:33,498
ll can tell you what the
afternoon light was coming
222
00:14:33,706 --> 00:14:37,043
through the window
when I was making it,
223
00:14:37,251 --> 00:14:38,711
I can tell you what it was like
224
00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:40,963
to walk around
Charlottesville, Virginia,
225
00:14:41,172 --> 00:14:43,091
I walked down Sunset
Road extended,
226
00:14:43,299 --> 00:14:45,718
1 walked through the woods,
ll stopped at the Taco Bell,
227
00:14:45,927 --> 00:14:49,889
you know, for a snack, I
can retrace all the steps,
228
00:14:50,098 --> 00:14:53,142
they are part of
listening to this music,
229
00:14:53,351 --> 00:14:56,938
these songs and this mix,
it's saving that day,
230
00:14:57,146 --> 00:14:58,856
that moment, it's
different because I put
231
00:14:59,065 --> 00:15:01,526
that music onto that
piece of plastic.
232
00:15:01,734 --> 00:15:03,820
It changes the music,
it changes the day
233
00:15:04,028 --> 00:15:05,905
and, you know,
that' just one tape,
234
00:15:06,114 --> 00:15:09,617
and as you can see here,
there are a bunch of them.
235
00:15:09,826 --> 00:15:12,995
[upbeat electronic music]
236
00:15:16,290 --> 00:15:20,169
- Damn, what's there, damn,
that's an old AD spine.
237
00:15:22,755 --> 00:15:25,216
Yeah, I love this stuff,
at one point I had,
238
00:15:25,425 --> 00:15:28,803
like, 15 bucks as
like, a fourth grader,
239
00:15:29,011 --> 00:15:32,223
and you're like, "Whoa," and
I went to Peoples Drugstore
240
00:15:32,432 --> 00:15:33,808
where they had the
cassettes and like,
241
00:15:34,016 --> 00:15:35,768
the guns or whatever,
you know, like,
242
00:15:35,977 --> 00:15:38,813
behind the glass box, they had
some factory made cassettes,
243
00:15:39,021 --> 00:15:40,481
and the woman was
like, "Can I help you?"
244
00:15:40,690 --> 00:15:42,358
I was like, and I was
scared, I was like,
245
00:15:42,567 --> 00:15:44,235
“"Uh, I want, I want that
one,” and ll just pointed
246
00:15:44,444 --> 00:15:48,823
at the live Grand Funk Railroad
double cassette, you know,
247
00:15:49,031 --> 00:15:51,826
package, and the other day
I actually heard something
248
00:15:52,034 --> 00:15:54,745
from that record,
ll was like, "Ah!"
249
00:15:57,623 --> 00:15:59,459
- [Man] My earliest experience
250
00:15:59,667 --> 00:16:04,630
with hearing recorded hip
hop wasn't Rapper's Delight,
251
00:16:04,881 --> 00:16:08,050
it was actually a cassette of.
252
00:16:10,303 --> 00:16:12,305
♪ Flash is on the
beat box, going
253
00:16:12,513 --> 00:16:17,143
3 Flash is on the
beat box, going, and
254
00:16:17,351 --> 00:16:19,187
Like, if you knew that
cassette, if you owned it,
255
00:16:19,395 --> 00:16:21,689
if you knew it by
heart, then you were,
256
00:16:21,898 --> 00:16:25,735
you weren't just, like, "Oh,
I like this new rap thing,"
257
00:16:25,943 --> 00:16:29,155
like, it was like, oh,
you were really down.
258
00:16:29,363 --> 00:16:32,283
[upbeat synth music]
259
00:16:43,419 --> 00:16:44,795
- You make intermittent
trips to New York,
260
00:16:45,046 --> 00:16:46,464
and it was like, you know, like,
261
00:16:46,714 --> 00:16:48,090
some kids, you know,
some kids would go
262
00:16:48,299 --> 00:16:49,717
to get drugs and some
kids would go to find
263
00:16:49,926 --> 00:16:52,386
and meet girls or
get comic books,
264
00:16:52,595 --> 00:16:54,347
and it would be like, I'm
going to get a mixtape,
265
00:16:54,555 --> 00:16:56,307
and it was like,
I've got the new,
266
00:16:56,516 --> 00:17:00,520
I've got like, 10 new Kid Capri,
Ron G, whoever mixtape,
267
00:17:00,728 --> 00:17:02,438
and it was like
the dopest thing ever.
268
00:17:02,647 --> 00:17:04,607
3 As you listen to my
voice and the way I produce
269
00:17:04,815 --> 00:17:06,984
♪ Make you want to feel
just like busting loose
270
00:17:07,193 --> 00:17:09,028
3 As you float across the
ocean you may feel my drift
271
00:17:09,237 --> 00:17:11,405
♪ But you never, ever
heard me rhyme like this
272
00:17:11,614 --> 00:17:13,115
- We were able to
record our shows,
273
00:17:13,324 --> 00:17:15,284
record parties, you
know, people were able
274
00:17:15,493 --> 00:17:18,371
to go back and say, "Yo,
remember this party?”
275
00:17:18,579 --> 00:17:21,123
"Huh, what party,”
press play, "Oh!"
276
00:17:21,332 --> 00:17:25,169
Are y'all ready now once
again, mixtape king, Ron G.
277
00:17:25,378 --> 00:17:26,295
♪ I'm on a roll, y'all
278
00:17:26,504 --> 00:17:28,297
♪ I'm in control, y'all
279
00:17:28,506 --> 00:17:30,091
♪ It's just that rock is
a part of my soul, y'all
280
00:17:30,299 --> 00:17:32,176
♪ I'm a roll, I'm in control
281
00:17:32,385 --> 00:17:34,679
- Without cassettes, people
wouldn't have the memory
282
00:17:34,887 --> 00:17:38,057
of last night,
you gotta think about that.
283
00:17:40,059 --> 00:17:42,853
- Probably the first time
that I might put music
284
00:17:43,062 --> 00:17:46,148
to a piece of medium
was with a cassette,
285
00:17:46,357 --> 00:17:50,069
ll think the song was
called Infected Pastrami,
286
00:17:52,071 --> 00:17:55,074
yeah, "run real fast,
run to your mommy,
287
00:17:55,283 --> 00:17:58,661
"here it comes after
you, infected pastrami,”
288
00:17:58,869 --> 00:18:01,038
or some terrible shit like that,
289
00:18:01,247 --> 00:18:03,666
I mean, I think ll was 16 or 15,
290
00:18:03,874 --> 00:18:06,794
and it was done on
a cassette player.
291
00:18:09,130 --> 00:18:12,341
- Little nervous, oh,
wait, there it goes.
292
00:18:16,762 --> 00:18:18,931
I think ll was 16, 16 or 17.
293
00:18:22,310 --> 00:18:25,938
[upbeat punk music]
294
00:18:26,147 --> 00:18:27,940
That's me singing.
295
00:18:28,149 --> 00:18:30,985
[upbeat punk music]
296
00:18:34,030 --> 00:18:35,239
I Let me die
297
00:18:35,448 --> 00:18:37,241
Let me die?
298
00:18:37,450 --> 00:18:39,577
No, wow.
299
00:18:39,785 --> 00:18:41,162
4 No
300
00:18:41,370 --> 00:18:42,747
What's going on
with me? [laughs]
301
00:18:42,955 --> 00:18:44,582
4 No
302
00:18:44,790 --> 00:18:46,375
It was a pretty good
example of my background,
303
00:18:46,584 --> 00:18:48,044
compared to what I do
now, that's like, where I,
304
00:18:48,252 --> 00:18:50,421
totally where I
came from [laughs].
305
00:18:52,381 --> 00:18:55,926
[laid back electronic music]
306
00:18:58,387 --> 00:19:04,018
- [Man In about 1979,
my sister and I were up in Connecticut,
307
00:19:04,226 --> 00:19:05,603
she said, "Hey,
do you want to go
308
00:19:05,811 --> 00:19:07,229
"to New Haven to
see the Ramones?”
309
00:19:07,438 --> 00:19:09,231
And there was this
friend of my sister's
310
00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:12,360
and this guy who
was kind of punky,
311
00:19:12,568 --> 00:19:15,696
and I think he's European,
312
00:19:15,905 --> 00:19:18,199
something about him seemed
a little European, he said,
313
00:19:18,407 --> 00:19:21,535
"Let's listen to some
music,” and he put on a tape.
314
00:19:21,744 --> 00:19:24,413
[upbeat punk music]
315
00:19:24,622 --> 00:19:27,416
It was decorated, that
the tape was decorated.
316
00:19:27,625 --> 00:19:30,461
[upbeat punk music]
317
00:19:47,019 --> 00:19:50,523
I put the tape in and the
song by one band would play
318
00:19:50,731 --> 00:19:53,275
and then a song by
another band would play,
319
00:19:53,484 --> 00:19:56,737
and then a third song by
a third band would play,
320
00:19:56,946 --> 00:19:58,781
this blew my mind.
321
00:19:58,989 --> 00:20:01,784
[upbeat punk music]
322
00:20:04,161 --> 00:20:05,913
It was as if I was
being schooled in a way
323
00:20:06,122 --> 00:20:07,665
that I had never
been schooled before
324
00:20:07,873 --> 00:20:10,793
about the possibilities
of a medium.
325
00:20:11,001 --> 00:20:13,838
[upbeat punk music]
326
00:20:24,140 --> 00:20:25,224
- [Grandma Carl]
This is Grandma Carl,
327
00:20:25,433 --> 00:20:27,393
how are you today, sweetheart?
328
00:20:27,601 --> 00:20:31,063
I decided that maybe it was
time to make you another tape,
329
00:20:31,272 --> 00:20:34,608
and the first part of
this tape will be music.
330
00:20:34,817 --> 00:20:38,529
♪ I love you, Nanna, I do
331
00:20:38,738 --> 00:20:42,825
♪ 1 hope you love
me, 'cause ll love you
332
00:20:43,033 --> 00:20:46,078
[overlapping chatter]
333
00:20:50,583 --> 00:20:53,461
[slow guitar music]
334
00:20:57,089 --> 00:20:59,383
- [Grossman] I think the
definition of nostalgia is
335
00:20:59,592 --> 00:21:02,428
from the Greek for "going home,"
336
00:21:05,639 --> 00:21:07,475
but for me, nostalgia is
337
00:21:08,809 --> 00:21:11,061
a sort of wistful way
338
00:21:11,270 --> 00:21:14,440
of thinking about
something that happened,
339
00:21:14,648 --> 00:21:16,442
something that mattered in a way
340
00:21:16,650 --> 00:21:20,196
that's sort of both
painful and pleasurable.
341
00:21:24,784 --> 00:21:27,036
This is the Hasselt factory.
342
00:21:28,370 --> 00:21:32,500
There's the car of the
top manager, that was I,
343
00:21:32,708 --> 00:21:36,253
it's a black Citroen [chuckles].
344
00:21:36,462 --> 00:21:37,713
- [Interviewer] Is
that the building
345
00:21:37,922 --> 00:21:39,381
where the cassette was invented?
346
00:21:39,590 --> 00:21:43,719
- [Lou] Yeah, 'cause
we built this in 1960,
347
00:21:43,928 --> 00:21:46,889
brand new laboratory.
348
00:21:47,097 --> 00:21:49,308
- [Interviewer] So when did
they close that Hasselt branch?
349
00:21:51,435 --> 00:21:52,895
- [Lou] Maybe 10 years ago.
350
00:21:59,777 --> 00:22:03,113
[slow guitar music]
351
00:22:03,322 --> 00:22:07,201
- [Man] The cassettes are
time travel, right?
352
00:22:07,409 --> 00:22:09,537
If, forever, like, God
forbid the day would come
353
00:22:09,745 --> 00:22:12,581
that like, I don't
remember the Secret Stars
354
00:22:12,790 --> 00:22:14,458
or I don't remember
The Raincoats
355
00:22:14,667 --> 00:22:16,752
or I don't remember The Softies,
356
00:22:16,961 --> 00:22:19,588
I'll be able to, like, go
through a shoebox of these tapes
357
00:22:19,797 --> 00:22:22,007
and go, like, "Yep,
this, I remember this,
358
00:22:22,216 --> 00:22:24,426
"1 will not forget this."
359
00:22:24,635 --> 00:22:26,595
These moments that would
otherwise be, like,
360
00:22:26,804 --> 00:22:28,806
lost in time, like,
tears in rain.
361
00:22:32,142 --> 00:22:34,937
[slow guitar music]
362
00:22:38,816 --> 00:22:40,651
- We are on our way.
363
00:22:40,860 --> 00:22:44,488
[slow guitar music]
364
00:22:44,697 --> 00:22:48,826
These guys asked for a meeting.
365
00:22:49,535 --> 00:22:51,453
These Eindhoven guys.
366
00:22:52,496 --> 00:22:53,706
- [Interviewer] And each
of those guys played a role
367
00:22:53,914 --> 00:22:55,082
in the cassette?
368
00:22:56,625 --> 00:22:58,168
- Yeah,
369
00:22:58,377 --> 00:23:01,338
the people who really
did the developments
370
00:23:02,715 --> 00:23:03,841
are mostly dead.
371
00:23:04,049 --> 00:23:06,802
[slow guitar music]
372
00:23:47,968 --> 00:23:51,138
It's really happening, huh?
373
00:23:51,347 --> 00:23:54,558
Pukkelpop, two years
ago there was a storm
374
00:23:54,767 --> 00:23:59,480
and the whole thing collapsed,
I'm afraid it's the same
375
00:23:59,688 --> 00:24:02,566
with sort of [mumbles].
376
00:24:02,775 --> 00:24:05,611
- [Interviewer] Did they have
this when you were younger?
377
00:24:06,695 --> 00:24:07,446
- No.
378
00:24:09,949 --> 00:24:11,533
Absolutely not.
379
00:24:11,742 --> 00:24:14,370
[slow rock music]
380
00:24:30,803 --> 00:24:31,845
- [Interviewer] How would
you describe the music
381
00:24:32,096 --> 00:24:33,472
that comes out on Burger?
382
00:24:33,722 --> 00:24:36,850
- It's just, it's
just flavorful, juicy,
383
00:24:37,059 --> 00:24:40,062
good time rock and
roll and beyond,
384
00:24:40,270 --> 00:24:41,730
it's not just rock
and roll, I mean,
385
00:24:41,939 --> 00:24:44,817
it's punk and funk and
rock, whatever, man,
386
00:24:45,025 --> 00:24:46,402
crunk, hip hop--
387
00:24:46,610 --> 00:24:48,237
- We've crunked
it up a few times.
388
00:24:48,445 --> 00:24:49,822
- [Lee] Yeah, there's things
that ll don't even know
389
00:24:50,030 --> 00:24:51,407
what you'd call them,
it's just music.
390
00:24:51,615 --> 00:24:53,075
- We want to open people's minds
391
00:24:53,283 --> 00:24:55,703
to different kinds
of music, and like,
392
00:24:55,911 --> 00:24:57,788
show them that Britney
Spears is punk,
393
00:24:57,997 --> 00:25:01,375
and like, change their
minds about The Bee Gees,
394
00:25:01,583 --> 00:25:05,254
and, on whatever format
floats their boat,
395
00:25:05,462 --> 00:25:06,839
some people love cassettes,
396
00:25:07,089 --> 00:25:09,925
and that's like their
thing, you know?
397
00:25:25,065 --> 00:25:26,400
- [Interviewer] Okay,
whenever you're ready.
398
00:25:26,608 --> 00:25:30,154
- Well, on my far right is
399
00:25:30,362 --> 00:25:33,991
Mr. Lucien Devogelaere,
400
00:25:34,199 --> 00:25:37,327
who did, in the
'60s, the planning
401
00:25:37,536 --> 00:25:40,998
of the whole
development operation,
402
00:25:41,206 --> 00:25:43,667
the next is Willy Leenders,
403
00:25:43,917 --> 00:25:47,004
in recent years he has
been occupied a lot
404
00:25:47,254 --> 00:25:49,048
with the history of the,
405
00:25:50,382 --> 00:25:53,010
of the factory,
406
00:25:53,218 --> 00:25:57,514
and at my side is
Hugo Vananderoye,
407
00:25:57,723 --> 00:26:01,351
he was in charge of the industrial
design for the cassette.
408
00:26:04,855 --> 00:26:07,691
- And we exactly started
to with this one, you--
409
00:26:07,900 --> 00:26:09,109
- [Lou] Yeah.
410
00:26:09,318 --> 00:26:11,153
- I don't--
- [Lou] When?
411
00:26:11,361 --> 00:26:15,032
- One year. [speaking
foreign language] - [Lou] 63.
412
00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:16,867
- 527
- [Lou] 63.
413
00:26:17,076 --> 00:26:19,036
- 63.
414
00:26:19,244 --> 00:26:20,245
- [Hugo] The first
presentation of the--
415
00:26:20,496 --> 00:26:21,538
- '63.
416
00:26:23,665 --> 00:26:27,127
I have a lot of drawings
with me, are you interesting?
417
00:26:28,378 --> 00:26:31,548
[slow electronic music]
418
00:27:06,834 --> 00:27:08,794
Model number 9146.
419
00:27:09,211 --> 00:27:10,796
AG 9146.
420
00:27:12,631 --> 00:27:13,590
I know them all.
421
00:27:13,799 --> 00:27:16,051
[upbeat electronic music]
422
00:27:16,677 --> 00:27:18,720
I'm glad I have that one,
423
00:27:22,391 --> 00:27:23,642
That thing did well.
424
00:27:23,851 --> 00:27:24,518
What?
425
00:27:24,893 --> 00:27:26,311
That thing did well.
426
00:27:42,703 --> 00:27:44,121
And Ottens says:
427
00:27:44,705 --> 00:27:48,500
Yesterday I was fidgeting with that damn reel-to-reel.
428
00:27:49,168 --> 00:27:51,378
We have to think of something else.
429
00:27:52,629 --> 00:27:55,757
He said, we must make it more compact,
430
00:27:56,216 --> 00:27:58,218
which you can carry around easily,
431
00:27:58,969 --> 00:28:02,181
and the tape spools have to be in the cassette.
432
00:28:02,514 --> 00:28:04,141
That's how it started.
433
00:28:04,433 --> 00:28:06,310
And the idea came from Lou.
434
00:28:13,775 --> 00:28:16,111
The legend that came from this,
435
00:28:17,070 --> 00:28:19,323
which of course is not very flattering for Lou,
436
00:28:19,615 --> 00:28:21,408
is that the cassette was born
437
00:28:22,117 --> 00:28:24,536
from the clumsiness of a very clever man.
438
00:28:24,745 --> 00:28:25,871
[group laughs]
439
00:28:26,872 --> 00:28:28,957
We should write that down sometime.
440
00:28:30,626 --> 00:28:34,129
[upbeat electronic music]
441
00:28:58,528 --> 00:29:02,407
- The black tape is some
type of a high bias,
442
00:29:02,616 --> 00:29:04,368
this particular tape is,
443
00:29:07,579 --> 00:29:10,832
it should smell bad, it should
smell like carbon black.
444
00:29:11,041 --> 00:29:12,584
We got a shipment one time,
445
00:29:12,793 --> 00:29:13,835
and everybody who
walked back here talked
446
00:29:14,044 --> 00:29:15,963
about how bad this area smelled,
447
00:29:16,171 --> 00:29:18,048
and it was just good
tape that came in
448
00:29:18,257 --> 00:29:20,217
and it had a
powerful odor to it,
449
00:29:20,425 --> 00:29:23,679
and the whole room
smelled like good tape.
450
00:29:23,887 --> 00:29:27,099
- Audio cassettes came on
in the early '70s for us,
451
00:29:27,349 --> 00:29:28,892
the Ampex representative
came in one day
452
00:29:29,142 --> 00:29:31,103
with the first audio
cassette I'd ever seen,
453
00:29:31,311 --> 00:29:33,105
and he showed me
that and he said,
454
00:29:33,313 --> 00:29:34,982
"This is gonna be a really
big thing in the future,”
455
00:29:35,190 --> 00:29:37,484
and ll looked at it, and
with my normal foresight,
456
00:29:37,693 --> 00:29:39,278
ll said, "No, it
won't, that's a toy,
457
00:29:39,486 --> 00:29:40,904
"nobody's gonna want that,
458
00:29:41,113 --> 00:29:42,948
"it looks like it
should go in a doll.”
459
00:29:43,156 --> 00:29:45,450
- [mumbles] in the '60s, I
think Philips developed it,
460
00:29:45,701 --> 00:29:50,163
before that, tape recordings
were reel to reel stuff,
461
00:29:50,372 --> 00:29:53,750
I remember my father
giving me a little one,
462
00:29:55,919 --> 00:29:58,630
but it was a mess, man.
463
00:30:02,301 --> 00:30:04,678
[tape fast forwards]
464
00:30:04,886 --> 00:30:08,849
- [Lou] Problem is tapes
were not consumer friendly,
465
00:30:11,935 --> 00:30:14,438
It was not foolproof.
466
00:30:15,522 --> 00:30:17,441
We more or less are all fools.
467
00:30:18,734 --> 00:30:20,277
I also, I'm a fool
468
00:30:20,485 --> 00:30:22,154
when I use equipment.
469
00:30:22,696 --> 00:30:24,573
- [Man] This is a
reel of recording tape.
470
00:30:24,781 --> 00:30:26,533
For years, people have
been threading it,
471
00:30:26,742 --> 00:30:30,162
spilling it, tangling with
it, and sometimes breaking it.
472
00:30:30,370 --> 00:30:32,873
This is the compact
cassette, up to 90 minutes
473
00:30:33,081 --> 00:30:35,250
of tape you don't
have to tangle with.
474
00:30:35,459 --> 00:30:38,587
It won't break or spill
or get on your nerves.
475
00:30:38,795 --> 00:30:40,756
Another nice thing,
it's portable.
476
00:30:40,964 --> 00:30:43,842
[upbeat synth music]
477
00:30:47,804 --> 00:30:50,807
♪ We know you always hear
about the hip and the hop
478
00:30:51,016 --> 00:30:54,478
♪ But we got a little
message we want to drop
479
00:30:54,686 --> 00:30:56,271
♪ About the babies today
480
00:30:56,480 --> 00:30:58,231
♪ It's how to [mumbles]
481
00:30:58,440 --> 00:30:59,983
♪ And about to kick back
482
00:31:00,192 --> 00:31:02,652
♪ For every day
483
00:31:04,905 --> 00:31:08,450
- [Jared] Hip hop emerges
largely out of New York
484
00:31:08,658 --> 00:31:13,330
that is itself a pan-African
center of the world,
485
00:31:13,538 --> 00:31:15,332
before radio,
before video, a lot
486
00:31:15,540 --> 00:31:18,668
of rap music was
disseminated on mix tapes,
487
00:31:18,877 --> 00:31:22,798
and that became the
lifeline of hip hop.
488
00:31:23,006 --> 00:31:24,841
- Cassettes didn't
play a role in hip hop
489
00:31:25,050 --> 00:31:29,763
in the early days,
cassettes were hip hop.
490
00:31:29,971 --> 00:31:31,640
♪ Well, it's HDI and
you'd better believe
491
00:31:31,848 --> 00:31:33,683
♪ That with the son of
[mumbles], all it is the E
492
00:31:33,892 --> 00:31:35,936
♪ It's guaranteed to be a
sound that you'll all enjoy
493
00:31:36,144 --> 00:31:38,355
♪ Because you know the prince
of [mumbles] is the real McCoy
494
00:31:38,563 --> 00:31:40,565
♪ So sit back while you
listen to the Zulu beat
495
00:31:40,816 --> 00:31:41,858
♪ And if you feel good enough
496
00:31:42,067 --> 00:31:43,568
- Rap music that extended
497
00:31:43,777 --> 00:31:45,862
from the hip hop
culture was being spread
498
00:31:46,071 --> 00:31:51,701
through cassette tapes, and
that's when we had the boxes,
499
00:31:51,910 --> 00:31:53,703
the radio boxes that
we used to carry up
500
00:31:53,912 --> 00:31:56,540
and down all throughout
the inner city,
501
00:31:56,748 --> 00:31:58,708
quote unquote, "the ghetto.”
502
00:32:00,877 --> 00:32:04,881
- Bambada, Theodore, Flash,
you know, Charlie Chase,
503
00:32:05,090 --> 00:32:09,052
all the great early DJs, like,
they're only playing vinyl.
504
00:32:11,930 --> 00:32:14,975
Unless you were there,
the only way you were hearing
505
00:32:15,183 --> 00:32:19,271
that show or that set or
that party was via cassette.
506
00:32:19,479 --> 00:32:22,983
[percussive drumming]
507
00:32:23,191 --> 00:32:24,901
- [Man] This isn't a high
fidelity audio scene,
508
00:32:25,110 --> 00:32:26,570
and I kind of like
that in a way,
509
00:32:26,778 --> 00:32:28,155
there's something very
punk rock about it,
510
00:32:28,363 --> 00:32:30,157
and there was something
very punk rock
511
00:32:30,365 --> 00:32:31,700
about early hip hop, anyway,
it was really correlative.
512
00:32:34,744 --> 00:32:36,538
- [Rollins] Everyone had one
513
00:32:36,746 --> 00:32:41,001
of those single speaker Norelco
rectangular cassette decks,
514
00:32:41,209 --> 00:32:44,546
and you could stand it
up, aim it at your band,
515
00:32:44,754 --> 00:32:46,840
and record something
crazy and play it back,
516
00:32:47,048 --> 00:32:50,677
a portable audio to record
and play opened up minds.
517
00:32:52,471 --> 00:32:54,264
- [Man] Victor,
if you're there,
518
00:32:54,473 --> 00:32:56,683
don't pick up yet, I've
got this new song I'd like
519
00:32:56,892 --> 00:32:58,685
to sing for you.
520
00:32:58,894 --> 00:33:02,522
♪ 1 remember that night
in the city gardens
521
00:33:02,731 --> 00:33:07,319
♪ Where those abandoned
buildings stood around us
522
00:33:07,569 --> 00:33:10,280
♪ We were talking about changing
523
00:33:10,489 --> 00:33:14,075
[fades into slow organ music]
524
00:33:16,411 --> 00:33:17,913
- [Woman] I haven't
played in a long time,
525
00:33:18,121 --> 00:33:20,582
and I guess you can
tell, can't you.
526
00:33:20,790 --> 00:33:23,502
♪ 1 call your name
527
00:33:24,836 --> 00:33:27,130
♪ Can you feel it
528
00:33:30,133 --> 00:33:32,385
In the beginning, people would record sounds with,
529
00:33:32,886 --> 00:33:36,097
the first words of their newborn or birds in the forest,
530
00:33:36,806 --> 00:33:39,434
but it only became a true revolution
531
00:33:39,893 --> 00:33:42,229
when people started making their own music tapes.
532
00:33:45,357 --> 00:33:49,319
Commercially, [Philips] wanted us to patent.
533
00:33:49,903 --> 00:33:50,904
Lou said no:
534
00:33:51,363 --> 00:33:52,781
Everyone who wants to make it can,
535
00:33:53,740 --> 00:33:56,993
but we demand a certain quality and a standard.
536
00:33:58,078 --> 00:34:01,623
When the listener buys a device
in the beginning, they can keep using it.
537
00:34:02,207 --> 00:34:06,920
If he buys a cassette after 10 years,
he can still use that same device.
538
00:34:07,963 --> 00:34:12,384
One device, one standard, one music carrier.
539
00:34:14,177 --> 00:34:16,054
- [Man] The thing with
unlimited possibilities
540
00:34:16,263 --> 00:34:18,098
for recording and
playing back music.
541
00:34:18,306 --> 00:34:22,310
[child mumbles]
542
00:34:22,519 --> 00:34:25,397
The spoken word, any
sound, that's why.
543
00:34:25,605 --> 00:34:28,108
- It was all about being
able to sort of do something
544
00:34:28,316 --> 00:34:33,071
that was within your means,
for me to do a record,
545
00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:36,157
it would have cost hundreds
of dollars or something,
546
00:34:36,366 --> 00:34:40,370
you know, and I just did
not have that kind of money.
547
00:34:43,456 --> 00:34:45,625
- [Will] We have the
right act, I should say,
548
00:34:45,834 --> 00:34:48,336
the right type of
person putting music
549
00:34:48,545 --> 00:34:52,215
onto cassette tape is a
perfectly valid choice.
550
00:34:55,635 --> 00:34:57,679
Cassettes are something
that are shared,
551
00:34:57,887 --> 00:35:01,141
that tend to come out of
collectives who are creating music
552
00:35:01,349 --> 00:35:03,351
because they love it,
not because they're kind
553
00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:08,064
of striving for some big
success within music.
554
00:35:08,273 --> 00:35:11,067
[upbeat rock music]
555
00:35:30,629 --> 00:35:33,298
[audience cheers]
556
00:35:40,263 --> 00:35:42,390
- [Ball] There's a politic
and a philosophy behind
557
00:35:42,599 --> 00:35:45,101
an interpersonal
exchange in the street,
558
00:35:45,310 --> 00:35:48,438
versus downloading
something online,
559
00:35:48,647 --> 00:35:50,231
there's something
about community there
560
00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:52,984
and there's also something
about the offline,
561
00:35:53,193 --> 00:35:58,239
unsanctioned, outside of
state surveillance exchange
562
00:35:58,448 --> 00:36:00,241
that we're losing.
563
00:36:00,450 --> 00:36:02,285
- There's always been the
idea of the gatekeeper,
564
00:36:02,494 --> 00:36:06,623
the tollbooth, the provider,
you know, the middleman.
565
00:36:06,831 --> 00:36:08,625
You know, the idea of being able
566
00:36:08,833 --> 00:36:11,294
to record your own cassettes,
I think, was very powerful.
567
00:36:14,130 --> 00:36:18,301
- [Woman] I'd like to thank
Warner Brothers, Capitol,
568
00:36:18,510 --> 00:36:22,472
MGM and RCA for letting
this tape be possible.
569
00:36:22,681 --> 00:36:25,684
[overlapping chatter]
570
00:36:32,315 --> 00:36:35,735
♪ You can smile down
with a happy ending
571
00:36:35,944 --> 00:36:37,112
♪ To my song
572
00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:39,698
♪ I'm done knocking at your door
573
00:36:39,906 --> 00:36:42,992
♪ You don't live there anymore
574
00:36:43,201 --> 00:36:45,620
♪ Is it just a memory
575
00:36:45,829 --> 00:36:52,293
♪ Or am I a little crazy for you
576
00:36:52,502 --> 00:36:55,839
♪ In this whole world,
I just can't believe it
577
00:36:58,133 --> 00:37:00,593
When I was first in Austin
and ll had those tapes,
578
00:37:00,802 --> 00:37:03,012
1 would, anybody that looked
like they were interested
579
00:37:03,221 --> 00:37:06,808
in music at all, even
the slightest [laughs].
580
00:37:07,016 --> 00:37:10,645
They were cheap, you know, and
ll could make copies myself,
581
00:37:10,854 --> 00:37:13,022
and then after it was all over
582
00:37:13,231 --> 00:37:16,484
and I really didn't
have anything left,
583
00:37:16,693 --> 00:37:19,904
you know, I had this
tape of Hi, How Are You
584
00:37:20,113 --> 00:37:22,073
and I got it published.
585
00:37:22,282 --> 00:37:25,368
[slow guitar music]
586
00:37:25,577 --> 00:37:27,287
If 1 hadn't had
the cassette tape,
587
00:37:27,495 --> 00:37:30,790
I'm sure would have been, end
up in the mental hospital,
588
00:37:30,999 --> 00:37:35,086
you know, had gone within
a year or two or something,
589
00:37:35,295 --> 00:37:38,131
or escaped on the
road, or what else,
590
00:37:38,339 --> 00:37:41,509
what other alternatives
do they have, Marge?
591
00:37:41,718 --> 00:37:44,053
- There's no other medium
that we understood,
592
00:37:44,262 --> 00:37:45,430
but the cassette
was the go between
593
00:37:45,638 --> 00:37:47,515
to where you could make music,
594
00:37:47,724 --> 00:37:50,393
'cause you're not gonna go in
a studio, you can't afford it.
595
00:37:53,646 --> 00:37:55,398
What, you bring your gear
in and they record you?
596
00:37:55,607 --> 00:37:57,525
That was like this mountain.
597
00:37:59,652 --> 00:38:02,405
♪ It doesn't say
598
00:38:02,614 --> 00:38:05,283
♪ But now you see
599
00:38:05,492 --> 00:38:08,953
♪ It's different, here we go
600
00:38:10,997 --> 00:38:13,500
- Well, the average
citizen can't record an LP,
601
00:38:13,708 --> 00:38:15,293
he could not record
an eight track,
602
00:38:15,502 --> 00:38:17,086
but he could record a cassette,
603
00:38:17,295 --> 00:38:19,547
that's the point right there.
604
00:38:23,092 --> 00:38:25,011
We need to move the drawings,
605
00:38:26,095 --> 00:38:28,056
or we spill on them.
606
00:38:35,438 --> 00:38:38,274
- Now, we expected it
would be a success,
607
00:38:38,483 --> 00:38:40,318
but not a revolution.
608
00:38:44,864 --> 00:38:47,617
[slow guitar music]
609
00:38:56,876 --> 00:39:00,088
- [Interviewer] Do you remember
the first thing you invented?
610
00:39:01,381 --> 00:39:03,550
As a kid?
611
00:39:03,758 --> 00:39:07,428
-1 was, I was always
playing with Meccano.
612
00:39:07,637 --> 00:39:09,347
- [Interviewer] What is that?
613
00:39:09,597 --> 00:39:13,768
- [Lou] That's the first
structure building toys.
614
00:39:13,977 --> 00:39:16,145
- [Interviewer] Do you think
you still have those somewhere?
615
00:39:16,855 --> 00:39:17,605
Yeah.
616
00:39:18,147 --> 00:39:19,065
I'll show it.
617
00:39:19,732 --> 00:39:22,485
[slow guitar music]
618
00:39:43,298 --> 00:39:45,675
[birds chirp]
619
00:39:46,968 --> 00:39:49,721
[slow banjo music]
620
00:40:21,669 --> 00:40:23,338
- [Interviewer] When people say
621
00:40:23,546 --> 00:40:26,424
that you invented the
cassette, do you take credit?
622
00:40:29,802 --> 00:40:33,389
-1 can take credit for the idea
623
00:40:33,598 --> 00:40:36,851
and a number of ideas in it, but
624
00:40:38,978 --> 00:40:44,192
the advancement, the
electrical designers and the,
625
00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:48,655
the industrial designer,
they have done the work,
626
00:40:48,863 --> 00:40:52,450
ll have done nothing special.
627
00:40:52,659 --> 00:40:55,787
- [Man] It's two
o'clock in the morning
628
00:40:55,995 --> 00:40:58,289
and I couldn't get any sleep.
629
00:41:00,083 --> 00:41:01,542
- [Woman] Isn't
a friend someone
630
00:41:01,751 --> 00:41:04,087
that loves you and
somebody you love,
631
00:41:04,295 --> 00:41:07,840
somebody you can just tell
anything you want to, to?
632
00:41:08,049 --> 00:41:10,843
[slow guitar music]
633
00:41:15,056 --> 00:41:17,266
- [Woman] How
about Peter, Peter?
634
00:41:17,475 --> 00:41:18,851
- [Child] Pumpkin eater.
635
00:41:19,060 --> 00:41:19,936
- [Woman] Had a?
636
00:41:20,144 --> 00:41:21,145
- [Child] Wife.
637
00:41:21,396 --> 00:41:23,022
- [Woman] And couldn't?
638
00:41:23,231 --> 00:41:24,440
- [Child] Eat her.
- [Woman] Keep her [laughs].
639
00:41:24,649 --> 00:41:26,109
- [Child] Keep her.
640
00:41:29,904 --> 00:41:31,906
- [Woman] I would
like to let you know
641
00:41:32,115 --> 00:41:35,827
that you have just
heard half of this tape,
642
00:41:36,035 --> 00:41:39,038
I hope you enjoy the
rest and thank you.
643
00:41:42,375 --> 00:41:44,168
- Is [mumbles] okay?
644
00:41:44,377 --> 00:41:45,169
Is that ok?
645
00:41:45,628 --> 00:41:48,464
[slow guitar music]
646
00:41:51,009 --> 00:41:53,261
[paper tears]
647
00:41:56,347 --> 00:41:59,600
- This is an article I wrote
about the 50th anniversary
648
00:41:59,851 --> 00:42:03,771
of cassette tapes back in
649
00:42:03,980 --> 00:42:06,107
2013.
650
00:42:06,315 --> 00:42:08,067
"The man who invented
the compact cassette tape
651
00:42:08,276 --> 00:42:11,154
"doesn't remember what was
recorded on the very first one,
652
00:42:11,362 --> 00:42:15,158
"but he does remember
what came next."
653
00:42:15,366 --> 00:42:17,160
Here I was, calling him
up to have this sort
654
00:42:17,368 --> 00:42:20,079
of nostalgic conversation
about the 50th anniversary
655
00:42:20,288 --> 00:42:23,332
of this thing he'd invented
that had changed the world
656
00:42:23,541 --> 00:42:26,002
and I was gonna write this
whole article about it,
657
00:42:26,210 --> 00:42:29,797
and he had a little bit of
that nostalgia for this time
658
00:42:30,006 --> 00:42:34,135
in his life, but he was
totally not nostalgic at all
659
00:42:34,343 --> 00:42:38,848
about the technology that
has sort of gone away.
660
00:42:39,057 --> 00:42:41,017
You know, maybe if
you invented it,
661
00:42:41,225 --> 00:42:44,645
it would seem like it belonged
in that part of your life.
662
00:42:46,064 --> 00:42:47,815
- [Lou] How are you doing?
663
00:42:48,024 --> 00:42:49,650
- [Interviewer] Are you
ready for that, is that okay?
664
00:42:51,027 --> 00:42:52,195
What happens then?
665
00:42:52,737 --> 00:42:54,238
Is this a road movie?
666
00:42:57,241 --> 00:42:59,410
[door slams]
667
00:43:00,745 --> 00:43:03,706
[slow electronic music]
668
00:43:10,004 --> 00:43:14,300
I must have the right way,
but maybe somewhat further.
669
00:43:14,509 --> 00:43:17,720
[slow electronic music]
670
00:43:28,481 --> 00:43:31,651
[moves into slow piano music]
671
00:43:31,859 --> 00:43:34,737
It's incredible,
the number of types.
672
00:43:36,447 --> 00:43:39,200
[slow piano music]
673
00:43:43,329 --> 00:43:48,251
[moves into upbeat piano music]
674
00:43:48,459 --> 00:43:53,548
You put a stack of
cassettes here in,
675
00:43:53,756 --> 00:43:57,218
and then it plays and
transports them back.
676
00:43:59,720 --> 00:44:03,724
And the changer has never
been a big success, I think.
677
00:44:04,976 --> 00:44:07,603
[slow piano music]
678
00:44:11,941 --> 00:44:16,154
This is the first radio with
a built-in cassette recorder.
679
00:44:16,362 --> 00:44:19,073
[slow piano music]
680
00:44:20,992 --> 00:44:23,077
- [Interviewer] So that
was the first boombox?
681
00:44:23,327 --> 00:44:26,164
- Yeah, yeah, that
was the first one.
682
00:44:28,416 --> 00:44:30,751
[slow guitar music]
683
00:44:30,960 --> 00:44:32,670
Normally I'm more interested
684
00:44:32,879 --> 00:44:35,423
in the future than in the past.
685
00:44:35,631 --> 00:44:38,426
[slow guitar music]
686
00:44:46,767 --> 00:44:48,519
- [Ball] Yeah, I don't know
to what extent any
687
00:44:48,728 --> 00:44:51,480
of this is gonna survive
this move to the digital era.
688
00:44:56,235 --> 00:44:58,696
If not obsolete,
the value will be
689
00:44:58,905 --> 00:45:01,824
in archiving history
and memorabilia,
690
00:45:05,411 --> 00:45:08,331
although it may
become important again
691
00:45:08,539 --> 00:45:12,293
in terms of reviving and
sustaining underground,
692
00:45:12,501 --> 00:45:14,545
unsanctioned communication.
693
00:45:14,754 --> 00:45:17,590
[upbeat punk music]
694
00:45:21,427 --> 00:45:24,222
♪ Where the banks
has maybe started
695
00:45:24,430 --> 00:45:27,391
♪ And the cops are at the door
696
00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:29,310
♪ About the rackets in the yard
697
00:45:29,518 --> 00:45:30,686
♪ Ask for what [mumbles] he know
698
00:45:30,895 --> 00:45:34,482
I He know, he know, he know
699
00:45:34,690 --> 00:45:38,903
- [Man] If you want a tape,
it's because you want a physical copy,
700
00:45:39,111 --> 00:45:42,531
it's not something that
happens at a touch of a button,
701
00:45:42,740 --> 00:45:46,410
it's something that happens
at a touch of two buttons,
702
00:45:46,661 --> 00:45:49,205
which is record and
play at the same time.
703
00:45:51,374 --> 00:45:53,668
- [Woman] We hadn't put
a record out in three years,
704
00:45:53,876 --> 00:45:57,505
so our label decided
to release our album
705
00:45:57,713 --> 00:45:59,006
on a tape this year.
706
00:46:00,967 --> 00:46:03,469
CD seems to be a
little more phased out
707
00:46:03,678 --> 00:46:05,888
and the tape is something that,
708
00:46:06,097 --> 00:46:07,515
you know, they're
starting to do more of,
709
00:46:07,723 --> 00:46:09,433
and they said the tape
has been selling more
710
00:46:09,642 --> 00:46:11,435
than anything right now.
711
00:46:11,686 --> 00:46:14,855
[slow electronic music]
712
00:46:43,175 --> 00:46:44,260
- It's not like
record store day,
713
00:46:44,468 --> 00:46:46,053
where I had actually camp out,
714
00:46:46,262 --> 00:46:50,224
I've camped out 12
hours for records,
715
00:46:50,433 --> 00:46:51,892
but cassette [mumbles]
day, it's not big enough,
716
00:46:52,101 --> 00:46:53,352
it's like the third year or so.
717
00:46:53,561 --> 00:46:54,562
[radio blares]
718
00:46:54,770 --> 00:46:57,106
Hold on, let me turn this off.
719
00:46:59,692 --> 00:47:01,902
[slow guitar music]
720
00:47:02,111 --> 00:47:05,573
The ones I got today, I
went by the cover only,
721
00:47:05,781 --> 00:47:08,159
they were just really cool,
722
00:47:08,409 --> 00:47:10,995
they were just
really cool covers.
723
00:47:13,539 --> 00:47:17,585
I grew up with cassettes,
I grew up poor in the Bronx
724
00:47:17,793 --> 00:47:19,754
with an older sister,
just got the hand-me-downs
725
00:47:19,962 --> 00:47:24,300
and we were always a couple
years behind on technology.
726
00:47:24,508 --> 00:47:28,637
Like, I also have an obsession
for zines, records, patches.
727
00:47:28,846 --> 00:47:31,015
It was that or drugs, it
was one of the two things.
728
00:47:33,351 --> 00:47:36,103
[slow guitar music]
729
00:47:37,855 --> 00:47:39,315
My dad doesn't get
it at all, my mom,
730
00:47:39,523 --> 00:47:41,192
she's like, she
gets it, she's like,
731
00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:43,652
"If you like it, do it,”
but he's not into that,
732
00:47:43,861 --> 00:47:46,322
he's like, "That's stupid.”
733
00:47:46,530 --> 00:47:47,990
- [Interviewer] Have
you put out any tapes?
734
00:47:55,915 --> 00:47:57,333
- Oh, yeah.
735
00:47:57,541 --> 00:47:59,251
- [Interviewer]
What's it called?
736
00:47:59,460 --> 00:48:01,128
- Uh, Chopped Cheese, it's
a sandwich in the Bronx.
737
00:48:04,590 --> 00:48:06,342
- [Man] Does this increase
738
00:48:06,550 --> 00:48:09,678
in sales mean we're witnessing
a cassette resurrection?
739
00:48:11,430 --> 00:48:12,973
- [Man] Record stores
740
00:48:13,182 --> 00:48:14,642
around the company
are pressing rewind
741
00:48:14,850 --> 00:48:16,811
for the first-ever
cassette store gain.
742
00:48:24,151 --> 00:48:25,945
- Hiya, welcome to the
cassette store day,
743
00:48:26,153 --> 00:48:27,613
if that's why you're
here at Rough Trade,
744
00:48:27,822 --> 00:48:30,741
if not then, hi, it's
cassette store day.
745
00:48:30,950 --> 00:48:32,493
- [Man] Who out there
is buying cassettes?
746
00:48:32,701 --> 00:48:34,370
It just seems like
something that's trying
747
00:48:34,578 --> 00:48:37,206
to piggyback on the success
of record store day.
748
00:48:37,415 --> 00:48:38,499
- [Interviewer] So who
came up with the idea
749
00:48:38,707 --> 00:48:40,751
of cassette store day?
750
00:48:40,960 --> 00:48:43,587
- Yes, I take
credit for the idea.
751
00:48:43,796 --> 00:48:45,005
- And responsibility.
752
00:48:45,214 --> 00:48:46,048
- And it was a
shit idea, anyway.
753
00:48:46,257 --> 00:48:48,801
[group laughs]
754
00:48:49,009 --> 00:48:51,262
- [Long] We got a ridiculous
response when we kind
755
00:48:51,470 --> 00:48:55,266
of announced it online,
and the question
756
00:48:55,474 --> 00:48:57,560
that kept coming up was,
"So are cassettes gonna
757
00:48:57,768 --> 00:48:59,270
"overtake CDs and
vinyl," it's like--
758
00:48:59,478 --> 00:49:01,021
- No.
759
00:49:01,230 --> 00:49:04,775
- That's not, that's not
the point of the day.
760
00:49:04,984 --> 00:49:06,527
We're not trying
to save the format
761
00:49:06,735 --> 00:49:08,404
to the point where it
becomes this huge thing
762
00:49:08,654 --> 00:49:12,575
and the future goes
completely backwards, like,
763
00:49:12,783 --> 00:49:14,243
it was just to
celebrate the format
764
00:49:14,452 --> 00:49:16,245
that we love and that
we still release on.
765
00:49:16,454 --> 00:49:18,497
- Yeah, and I think lots of
people, including my mother,
766
00:49:18,706 --> 00:49:22,334
probably thinks, "Wow,
cassettes, really?"
767
00:49:22,543 --> 00:49:24,128
- [Woman] Here's
some good news
768
00:49:24,336 --> 00:49:25,880
for those of you waxing
nostalgic right now,
769
00:49:26,088 --> 00:49:27,840
cassettes have not gone away.
770
00:49:28,048 --> 00:49:29,467
- [Woman] What is it
about audio cassettes
771
00:49:29,675 --> 00:49:31,886
that makes them still
so popular still?
772
00:49:32,094 --> 00:49:33,262
There's something more
than just this idea
773
00:49:33,471 --> 00:49:35,806
that people want to be retro.
774
00:49:37,725 --> 00:49:39,852
- When you make
cassettes, you can catalog
775
00:49:40,060 --> 00:49:42,104
with a moment's
subculture, like,
776
00:49:42,313 --> 00:49:44,523
I can't walk into
a building with,
777
00:49:44,732 --> 00:49:46,650
like, a trench coat
and have vinyl,
778
00:49:46,901 --> 00:49:48,652
but I can have
tapes in my pocket,
779
00:49:48,861 --> 00:49:51,030
tapes in my backpack, and
there's been so many times
780
00:49:51,238 --> 00:49:52,948
where I've just loaded
up tapes in a bag
781
00:49:53,157 --> 00:49:57,745
and headed out to a show,
those are my favorite nights.
782
00:49:57,953 --> 00:50:00,915
[slow electronic music]
783
00:50:14,345 --> 00:50:17,723
- It's like I'm on
acid, this is so good.
784
00:50:20,309 --> 00:50:21,810
- Do you like tapes,
no, no one likes tapes?
785
00:50:22,061 --> 00:50:23,979
Oh, Geez, I'm sorry.
786
00:50:24,188 --> 00:50:26,982
[upbeat rock music]
787
00:50:40,454 --> 00:50:43,332
- Every artifact might die
with whatever is digital,
788
00:50:43,541 --> 00:50:45,167
you're not gonna go
look in a shoebox
789
00:50:45,417 --> 00:50:49,213
and find all, like,
digital files to look at.
790
00:50:49,421 --> 00:50:52,299
[slow ambient music]
791
00:51:43,475 --> 00:51:47,563
[moves into rhythmic
electronic music]
792
00:51:54,320 --> 00:51:56,071
- [Woman] The cassettes I
never can keep in stock,
793
00:51:56,280 --> 00:52:00,075
besides, like, goth and
metal, are hip hop and oldies,
794
00:52:00,284 --> 00:52:01,869
as soon as I put "em out,
they're gone.
795
00:52:04,079 --> 00:52:08,125
There's just like, all these
bizarre cassettes that I find,
796
00:52:08,334 --> 00:52:10,044
they're like my secret
gems that I don't know how
797
00:52:10,252 --> 00:52:15,257
to display yet [laughs]
"concerto for astronauts,”
798
00:52:15,507 --> 00:52:17,217
who doesn't want this?
799
00:52:19,011 --> 00:52:22,097
Got some sports
rap, up and comers,
800
00:52:22,306 --> 00:52:25,517
a porn soundtrack cassette,
sometimes I've heard,
801
00:52:25,726 --> 00:52:28,479
like, really, really awesome
cassette conversations
802
00:52:28,729 --> 00:52:30,147
between customers
downstairs, like,
803
00:52:30,397 --> 00:52:31,649
one guy goes to this
other guy, he's like,
804
00:52:31,857 --> 00:52:33,442
"How many cassettes
do you have?"
805
00:52:33,651 --> 00:52:35,986
He's like, "Oh, at home,
I don't know, like,
806
00:52:36,195 --> 00:52:38,197
"probably, like,
100, 200," he's like,
807
00:52:38,405 --> 00:52:41,742
"Huh, I've got
thousands,"” [laughs]
808
00:52:41,950 --> 00:52:44,787
He was like the cassette lord
and he was in my presence,
809
00:52:44,995 --> 00:52:47,122
it was cool [laughs].
810
00:52:51,418 --> 00:52:52,836
- The profit that
we make from these,
811
00:52:53,045 --> 00:52:55,172
financially, it's
about the profit
812
00:52:55,422 --> 00:52:58,509
that we make from the emotional
value of these things carry.
813
00:53:00,886 --> 00:53:03,514
Hello, just dropping
these cassettes off.
814
00:53:03,764 --> 00:53:06,308
I want to create a
physical, tangible object
815
00:53:06,517 --> 00:53:07,935
that ll can share with somebody
816
00:53:08,143 --> 00:53:11,647
and that maybe
they can enjoy some
817
00:53:11,855 --> 00:53:14,316
of the experience that ll do
with other people's records.
818
00:53:14,525 --> 00:53:16,694
[upbeat punk music]
819
00:53:20,906 --> 00:53:26,161
- 1 started a punk band,
and ll made a cassette,
820
00:53:26,370 --> 00:53:28,163
we made them ourselves,
we got the covers printed
821
00:53:28,372 --> 00:53:30,082
across the street
at the copy place,
822
00:53:30,290 --> 00:53:31,709
like, it was a pretty
cheap way to do it all.
823
00:53:31,917 --> 00:53:33,293
I don't think we
have any more left,
824
00:53:33,502 --> 00:53:34,628
we also have the
same thing, just,
825
00:53:34,837 --> 00:53:37,256
like, on a CD, it doesn't sell.
826
00:53:37,464 --> 00:53:40,217
[upbeat punk music]
827
00:53:43,679 --> 00:53:44,847
- [Woman] You'd think the rise
828
00:53:45,055 --> 00:53:46,849
of streaming audio would mean
829
00:53:47,057 --> 00:53:49,143
that hard copy music formats
would just be, you know, over.
830
00:53:49,351 --> 00:53:51,145
- [Woman] Tapes are
making an unlikely comeback.
831
00:53:51,353 --> 00:53:53,939
- [Man] Tape sales are up
79% from last year's report.
832
00:53:58,318 --> 00:53:59,862
- [Man] Why is it that
cassettes won't stay dead?
833
00:54:00,070 --> 00:54:01,447
- [Woman] We found a
company in Springfield,
834
00:54:01,655 --> 00:54:03,365
Missouri, that in
2014, made more
835
00:54:03,574 --> 00:54:05,993
than 10 million cassette tapes.
836
00:54:06,201 --> 00:54:09,663
[laid back electronic music]
837
00:54:46,784 --> 00:54:49,077
- [Steve] In 2000, we
saw a downturn, and a lot
838
00:54:49,286 --> 00:54:50,662
of our competitors
started pulling
839
00:54:50,871 --> 00:54:52,623
in their horns, going
out of business,
840
00:54:52,831 --> 00:54:55,501
the companies who built
our equipment are all gone,
841
00:54:55,709 --> 00:54:57,586
and we have to
make our own parts
842
00:54:57,795 --> 00:55:00,422
and be self-sufficient
now, and I think
843
00:55:00,672 --> 00:55:03,425
that's the secret
to our survival.
844
00:55:03,634 --> 00:55:06,720
[lively electronic music]
845
00:55:11,433 --> 00:55:13,519
- All I wanted was
a job, you know,
846
00:55:13,727 --> 00:55:15,562
and I was, told my
son on the phone
847
00:55:15,771 --> 00:55:18,857
that I found a job, and
he said, "Mom," he says,
848
00:55:19,066 --> 00:55:20,567
"That's not gonna
last,” he says,
849
00:55:20,776 --> 00:55:22,569
"You need to find
something else.”
850
00:55:22,778 --> 00:55:25,572
And I said, "No," I said, "I
really think I'll like this,”
851
00:55:25,781 --> 00:55:28,116
and here it's 11 years later.
852
00:55:28,325 --> 00:55:31,119
[slow guitar music]
853
00:55:37,626 --> 00:55:42,965
We did books on tape, we
did a lot of gospel tracks,
854
00:55:43,173 --> 00:55:46,468
it's more individuals
now for duplicated tapes,
855
00:55:46,677 --> 00:55:48,595
I listen to the beginning
of it and the end
856
00:55:48,804 --> 00:55:52,432
on both sides and check
for tone in its music,
857
00:55:52,641 --> 00:55:56,603
you know, but it's not
the music I grew up with,
858
00:55:56,812 --> 00:55:59,940
it's not what I'd
call country music.
859
00:56:00,148 --> 00:56:02,317
It might be today's
country music,
860
00:56:02,526 --> 00:56:05,612
but I'm not into
that, so [laughs].
861
00:56:05,821 --> 00:56:08,574
[upbeat punk music]
862
00:56:13,787 --> 00:56:17,791
- [Interviewer] Who's buying
them, who's buying tapes?
863
00:56:18,000 --> 00:56:19,751
- [Lee] I don't know,
people on the internet.
864
00:56:19,960 --> 00:56:21,545
- People are the internet
are buying tapes?
865
00:56:21,753 --> 00:56:24,715
No, mostly it's kids,
ll would say,
866
00:56:24,923 --> 00:56:30,721
our age range is probably
from, like, 13, to, no 13?
867
00:56:30,929 --> 00:56:33,390
- [Lee] I mean, I don't know,
how do we know how old people are online?
868
00:56:33,599 --> 00:56:35,434
- 1 don't know, just
from seeing our fans
869
00:56:35,642 --> 00:56:37,936
and things and people
who come to shows,
870
00:56:38,145 --> 00:56:42,107
maybe, like, 14 to 30, or
something, 15 to 30 or so,
871
00:56:44,026 --> 00:56:46,403
and older and
younger, I don't know.
872
00:56:46,612 --> 00:56:49,740
- [Lee] Kids of all ages,
I don't know, [mumbles].
873
00:56:49,948 --> 00:56:52,743
[upbeat punk music]
874
00:56:55,329 --> 00:56:59,207
[moves into slow guitar music]
875
00:56:59,416 --> 00:57:00,834
- [Man] From a commercial
point of view,
876
00:57:01,043 --> 00:57:02,753
it's really very,
very niche, vinyl,
877
00:57:02,961 --> 00:57:04,504
for example, which
everyone talks about,
878
00:57:04,713 --> 00:57:06,298
you'd think, you know,
we were tripping over
879
00:57:06,506 --> 00:57:08,759
for vinyl, the way people
discuss it sometimes,
880
00:57:09,009 --> 00:57:11,845
I think still only
accounts for less than 2%
881
00:57:12,054 --> 00:57:16,558
of the overall recorded
music sales in this country.
882
00:57:16,767 --> 00:57:19,019
Cassette is way below that.
883
00:57:19,227 --> 00:57:21,480
- In terms of what cassettes,
what their place is today,
884
00:57:21,688 --> 00:57:25,525
I don't know, but I make
music for the people,
885
00:57:25,734 --> 00:57:27,611
and that's a boutique item.
886
00:57:27,819 --> 00:57:29,696
- It's the same reason why
people go back to vinyl,
887
00:57:29,905 --> 00:57:31,615
it's like, 'cause it, you know,
'cause it sounds better,
888
00:57:31,823 --> 00:57:35,410
you know, whatever, it's
all 'cause we're unoriginal,
889
00:57:37,371 --> 00:57:38,789
that's why the cassette's
coming back in,
890
00:57:39,039 --> 00:57:41,792
'cause everything
has been done now.
891
00:57:44,211 --> 00:57:46,838
- 1 think you get it
or you respect it,
892
00:57:47,047 --> 00:57:50,884
or you don't, you know, I've
gotten laughed at and shit,
893
00:57:51,093 --> 00:57:53,428
you know, like, friends
of mine, they're like,
894
00:57:53,637 --> 00:57:55,889
"Dude, no, man, that shit
ain't gonna come back,
895
00:57:56,098 --> 00:57:58,433
"why would you even
listen to that shit now?"
896
00:58:02,062 --> 00:58:03,855
- [Man] If somebody
explicitly said,
897
00:58:04,106 --> 00:58:07,943
"You're an idiot for releasing
music on cassette tape,”
898
00:58:09,569 --> 00:58:12,197
then I would say...
899
00:58:14,449 --> 00:58:18,203
nothing, and I think I
would take my headphones
900
00:58:18,412 --> 00:58:21,081
and I would put them
back on, press play,
901
00:58:21,289 --> 00:58:23,083
and fuck off in the
other direction.
902
00:58:23,291 --> 00:58:25,419
- Sometimes I wonder if
people are just trying
903
00:58:25,627 --> 00:58:29,089
to be difficult, you know,
do cassette releases.
904
00:58:29,297 --> 00:58:32,968
Having said that, I still have
a cassette player in my car,
905
00:58:33,176 --> 00:58:34,970
ll have a CD/cassette
player, and God forbid,
906
00:58:35,178 --> 00:58:36,638
I mean, if I have
to buy a new one,
907
00:58:36,847 --> 00:58:38,515
I'm gonna be, it's
gonna be a sad day,
908
00:58:38,724 --> 00:58:40,517
'cause they're getting
very hard to find,
909
00:58:40,767 --> 00:58:42,394
and I don't really
see any reason
910
00:58:42,602 --> 00:58:44,980
to put out music on a
format that you can't play.
911
00:59:03,498 --> 00:59:05,167
[stereo plays softly]
912
00:59:17,471 --> 00:59:21,099
[reversed music plays softly]
913
00:59:27,981 --> 00:59:30,192
[Lou mumbles]
914
00:59:35,155 --> 00:59:37,866
- This song in the
wrong direction.
915
00:59:40,702 --> 00:59:44,498
It was one of the
very first cassettes.
916
00:59:44,706 --> 00:59:48,293
[reversed music plays softly]
917
00:59:53,298 --> 00:59:55,550
[Lou chuckles]
918
01:00:00,722 --> 01:00:04,226
After 500 pieces
production, we changed
919
01:00:05,435 --> 01:00:06,353
the...
920
01:00:07,521 --> 01:00:09,147
track position.
921
01:00:09,356 --> 01:00:12,943
[reversed music plays softly]
922
01:00:14,069 --> 01:00:15,612
[Lou mumbles]
923
01:00:15,862 --> 01:00:19,449
[reversed music plays softly]
924
01:00:28,041 --> 01:00:30,544
[Lou laughs]
925
01:00:30,752 --> 01:00:33,463
Well, it's museum piece.
926
01:00:38,385 --> 01:00:40,720
- [Interviewer] Is that the earliest
cassette you think you have?
927
01:00:40,971 --> 01:00:41,805
- Yeah,
928
01:00:43,932 --> 01:00:46,601
that's from one
of the very first.
929
01:00:54,776 --> 01:00:56,236
Discovery, yeah?
930
01:00:58,405 --> 01:01:01,491
[slow orchestral music]
931
01:01:06,288 --> 01:01:09,040
This is the original
drawing of the cassette.
932
01:01:13,420 --> 01:01:16,298
[slow reversed opera music]
933
01:01:16,506 --> 01:01:19,926
We started in the
wrong direction,
934
01:01:20,135 --> 01:01:23,305
then you play an old
recording on a new player,
935
01:01:23,513 --> 01:01:26,933
then you get nonsense.
936
01:01:27,142 --> 01:01:29,978
[reversed opera music]
937
01:01:30,187 --> 01:01:32,647
Antique cassette!
One track runs backwards.
938
01:01:32,856 --> 01:01:35,233
The other track has probably later
been recorded on another deck.
939
01:01:35,442 --> 01:01:38,320
- [Rollins] Let's see if I can
find that cassette for you,
940
01:01:38,528 --> 01:01:43,033
'cause ll know I have it
around here somewhere.
941
01:01:43,241 --> 01:01:49,331
I lost the box and the J-card
of this particular cassette,
942
01:01:49,539 --> 01:01:51,291
but, so I had to make a new one,
943
01:01:51,499 --> 01:01:54,461
and it says, it's titled,
"extremely old tape.”
944
01:01:54,669 --> 01:01:59,549
This is my first ever cassette,
945
01:01:59,758 --> 01:02:02,135
and I would make
album tapes with this
946
01:02:02,344 --> 01:02:05,347
by putting the tape recorder
up to my mother's speaker,
947
01:02:05,555 --> 01:02:07,140
"I guess this will sound okay,"
948
01:02:07,349 --> 01:02:09,517
and you hear cars
going by, dogs barking,
949
01:02:09,726 --> 01:02:11,937
you know, I try and play it on
the school bus the next day,
950
01:02:12,145 --> 01:02:13,897
everyone, "God, this sucks.”
951
01:02:14,105 --> 01:02:19,361
So this is from, like, 1970
something, so this is tape one.
952
01:02:19,569 --> 01:02:22,280
[slow guitar music]
953
01:02:22,489 --> 01:02:24,908
[child mumbles]
954
01:02:27,369 --> 01:02:30,247
[slow guitar music]
955
01:02:54,062 --> 01:02:58,733
- [Garcia] I still have a
yellow, waterproof Walkman.
956
01:02:58,942 --> 01:03:01,695
About two years ago
I was on a train,
957
01:03:01,903 --> 01:03:04,531
I was on at the R-train
with my headphones,
958
01:03:04,739 --> 01:03:07,284
listening, and nobody
paid me no mind,
959
01:03:07,492 --> 01:03:10,453
so I open up my cassette
player, I flip the cassette
960
01:03:10,662 --> 01:03:15,166
and it falls on the
ground on an R-train,
961
01:03:15,375 --> 01:03:18,628
it was like, it was
like I defecated
962
01:03:18,837 --> 01:03:22,966
in the middle of the
car, everybody was like.
963
01:03:30,432 --> 01:03:32,100
- Are these like in the movies?
964
01:03:32,309 --> 01:03:33,643
- [Interviewer] Do you
know what that is used for?
965
01:03:33,852 --> 01:03:35,437
- Walkie-talkie?
[buzzer buzzes]
966
01:03:35,645 --> 01:03:37,522
-1 have no idea what it is.
967
01:03:37,731 --> 01:03:41,693
- Wait, wait, wait, it's
a cassette player, right?
968
01:03:41,901 --> 01:03:44,904
- Ah, this is a rip off,
because you want to listen,
969
01:03:45,113 --> 01:03:47,324
but you can't, because you
don't have any headphones.
970
01:03:47,532 --> 01:03:48,742
- Hand over the headphones.
971
01:03:48,950 --> 01:03:50,452
- In the 1980s, it was like,
972
01:03:50,660 --> 01:03:52,454
"Whoa, something
that can play music
973
01:03:52,662 --> 01:03:55,915
"and I can carry it around,
if I have a large pocket."
974
01:03:57,917 --> 01:03:59,002
- It works.
975
01:03:59,210 --> 01:04:02,464
[slow electronic music]
976
01:04:12,057 --> 01:04:14,392
In '65 we went to Japan
977
01:04:15,060 --> 01:04:17,937
to demonstrate the cassette player.
978
01:04:21,608 --> 01:04:25,278
And [Norio] Ohga says, demonstrate your model.
979
01:04:25,737 --> 01:04:31,659
And, and he turned up
the volume, hmm,
980
01:04:31,868 --> 01:04:34,662
loud, as loud as possible,
981
01:04:34,871 --> 01:04:42,087
so then you could hear
the hiss, huh? [hisses]
982
01:04:42,295 --> 01:04:45,298
[slow hip hop music]
983
01:04:48,843 --> 01:04:52,180
- First hip hop
radio show is WHBI,
984
01:04:52,389 --> 01:04:57,352
people would record that and
then, if your man wanted it,
985
01:04:57,560 --> 01:04:59,771
you were gonna get a
double cassette recorder
986
01:04:59,979 --> 01:05:02,690
and go from one cassette
to another cassette,
987
01:05:02,941 --> 01:05:04,859
and then now he has
that, and he's like,
988
01:05:05,068 --> 01:05:09,364
"Yo," his man wants it,
so now he's gonna take
989
01:05:09,614 --> 01:05:11,741
that second generation cassette
990
01:05:11,950 --> 01:05:14,077
and make a copy that
sounds even worse,
991
01:05:14,285 --> 01:05:16,746
so by the time I got
it, now I got like,
992
01:05:16,955 --> 01:05:19,874
a fifth generation copy,
and it's hissed out,
993
01:05:20,083 --> 01:05:23,002
you know, [hisses], it's
like a snake is stuck
994
01:05:23,211 --> 01:05:27,257
in my cassette [hisses].
995
01:05:27,465 --> 01:05:31,010
- Ah, I've got the Craig Gs,
ll got the Cutmaster Cs,
996
01:05:33,138 --> 01:05:36,683
oh, 1 got a Craig G, Sneaking
up on Your Ass Part One,
997
01:05:36,891 --> 01:05:39,185
and ll got a Caselay,
an action packed mixtape,
998
01:05:39,394 --> 01:05:44,274
I mean, I got,
I got joints, I got joints,
999
01:05:44,524 --> 01:05:46,025
I got joints.
1000
01:05:46,234 --> 01:05:49,821
Analog is just straight
nasty, it's just,
1001
01:05:50,029 --> 01:05:52,824
that's what it is,
and that part ll liked of it,
1002
01:05:53,032 --> 01:05:55,785
I can hear that all day,
that digital,
1003
01:05:55,994 --> 01:05:59,831
that digital sound, that
clearness, I can do without.
1004
01:06:01,624 --> 01:06:04,836
Yeah, I gotta do this,
ll got a 1988 mixtape,
1005
01:06:05,044 --> 01:06:07,881
ll gotta play this for you, oh.
1006
01:06:08,089 --> 01:06:10,884
[upbeat hip hop music]
1007
01:06:12,552 --> 01:06:14,888
Wow, I got to rewind that,
hold on.
1008
01:06:16,890 --> 01:06:19,893
[upbeat hip hop music]
1009
01:06:26,774 --> 01:06:28,860
- Listening to sort of
cassette tape music,
1010
01:06:29,068 --> 01:06:34,199
it seems more relative in a
way to the human condition,
1011
01:06:34,407 --> 01:06:36,201
because our bodies
are not digital,
1012
01:06:36,409 --> 01:06:37,911
we're not robots, and your
body feels different every day
1013
01:06:38,119 --> 01:06:39,954
and it goes through
changes and it,
1014
01:06:40,163 --> 01:06:42,624
you know, it gets worn down,
the more your body goes over
1015
01:06:42,832 --> 01:06:46,794
that tape head of life. [laughs]
1016
01:06:50,131 --> 01:06:52,634
- [Man] Messy, it's
sloppy, it's dirty,
1017
01:06:54,427 --> 01:06:56,262
it's marked the way a
human body is marked,
1018
01:06:56,471 --> 01:06:57,972
by the space in time
it passes through,
1019
01:06:58,181 --> 01:07:00,934
it wears those scars
and those scuffs,
1020
01:07:01,142 --> 01:07:02,727
and that becomes part of
why you love the tape.
1021
01:07:07,315 --> 01:07:09,108
- [Nelson] When it gets
weird and kind of stretched
1022
01:07:09,317 --> 01:07:12,111
and you still want to hear it,
as opposed to a skipping CD,
1023
01:07:12,320 --> 01:07:14,656
you dont keep listening
to a skipping CD,
1024
01:07:14,864 --> 01:07:16,282
you throw it away.
1025
01:07:16,491 --> 01:07:19,327
[slow ambient music]
1026
01:07:25,166 --> 01:07:26,793
- [Interviewer]
You look thrilled.
1027
01:07:29,462 --> 01:07:30,922
- [Lou] And I just
have the edge,
1028
01:07:31,130 --> 01:07:34,008
we decided that we would go on
1029
01:07:34,217 --> 01:07:36,844
with the idea of
an optical disc.
1030
01:07:40,139 --> 01:07:42,725
- [Interviewer] So you had
no sentimental feelings
1031
01:07:42,976 --> 01:07:43,893
about the cassette?
1032
01:07:44,102 --> 01:07:44,936
- No.
1033
01:07:47,313 --> 01:07:50,066
It should never, never hesitate
1034
01:07:50,275 --> 01:07:53,152
to use the
possibilities, that's,
1035
01:07:54,821 --> 01:07:57,740
that's in our souls, hmm?
1036
01:07:57,991 --> 01:08:01,035
[slow electronic music]
1037
01:08:14,007 --> 01:08:16,426
- [Man] Um, yeah, CD is
just the best thing
1038
01:08:16,634 --> 01:08:18,094
that's happened to
hi-fi for years.
1039
01:08:21,097 --> 01:08:24,642
For the first time,
people can sit at home
1040
01:08:24,851 --> 01:08:27,478
and hear a sound very close
1041
01:08:27,687 --> 01:08:31,107
to the way we intended
them to hear it.
1042
01:08:31,357 --> 01:08:34,319
[slow electronic music]
1043
01:08:50,627 --> 01:08:53,171
- [MacKaye] In 1994,
1044
01:08:53,379 --> 01:08:57,717
ll think every kid in
America got a CD player,
1045
01:08:57,925 --> 01:09:00,219
and ll know that because
we released Red Medicine,
1046
01:09:00,428 --> 01:09:01,804
the Fugazi record.
1047
01:09:03,806 --> 01:09:09,270
I think we decided to
press 25,000, a year later,
1048
01:09:09,479 --> 01:09:12,065
I had 14,000 Red Medicine
cassettes sitting
1049
01:09:12,273 --> 01:09:17,779
in a warehouse in Chicago,
14,000 cassettes not selling,
1050
01:09:17,987 --> 01:09:21,699
the CDs were selling like
hotcakes and cassettes were over.
1051
01:09:24,994 --> 01:09:27,330
- [Rollins] Digitization,
if that's a word,
1052
01:09:27,538 --> 01:09:32,043
very much cleaned up and
sanitized the world of music.
1053
01:09:32,251 --> 01:09:34,629
The warts and all
aspect of music,
1054
01:09:36,547 --> 01:09:38,966
here comes the CD,
and all of a sudden,
1055
01:09:39,175 --> 01:09:40,718
people will say, "Well,
CDs sound better,
1056
01:09:40,927 --> 01:09:44,263
cause there's no
clicks or pops or hiss."
1057
01:09:46,974 --> 01:09:49,185
- [Rothman] When I spoke to Lou
Ottens, I got the impression
1058
01:09:49,394 --> 01:09:53,564
that, you know, he's an engineer
who spent his life trying
1059
01:09:53,773 --> 01:09:57,485
to make the next thing,
and again, make it better
1060
01:09:57,694 --> 01:10:01,906
and easier and cheaper and
smaller, and that he did that.
1061
01:10:02,115 --> 01:10:05,326
[slow electronic music]
1062
01:10:07,537 --> 01:10:10,331
- They went to CDs, and then
they got their flash drives,
1063
01:10:10,540 --> 01:10:13,876
and, you know, it
just keeps moving on,
1064
01:10:14,085 --> 01:10:16,295
and I read the article in
Time about the cassettes,
1065
01:10:16,504 --> 01:10:20,174
and the guy said that
he was ready to move on,
1066
01:10:20,383 --> 01:10:22,343
the one that invented them,
and he invented the CD,
1067
01:10:22,552 --> 01:10:25,221
so he was moving on from that.
1068
01:10:25,430 --> 01:10:28,391
[slow electronic music]
1069
01:10:33,646 --> 01:10:34,564
- [Interviewer] What
do you think they like
1070
01:10:34,814 --> 01:10:36,315
about the cassette?
1071
01:10:38,651 --> 01:10:39,444
- It's,
1072
01:10:41,070 --> 01:10:41,988
yeah,
1073
01:10:43,740 --> 01:10:45,450
it's kind of familiar to them,
1074
01:10:45,658 --> 01:10:48,286
they, you can see what you have.
1075
01:10:50,455 --> 01:10:54,208
On the USB stick you can't
say, "Well, that's you," no.
1076
01:10:56,419 --> 01:11:00,381
A cassette, you have
something in your hand, hmm?
1077
01:11:00,590 --> 01:11:02,133
It's emotional.
1078
01:11:02,341 --> 01:11:05,052
[slow guitar music]
1079
01:11:05,261 --> 01:11:06,721
-1 don't know if
you can see this,
1080
01:11:06,929 --> 01:11:09,307
but a buddy of mine, Joe Cole,
1081
01:11:11,058 --> 01:11:14,896
was murdered years ago,
1082
01:11:15,104 --> 01:11:19,442
these are his tapes, and this
is his handwriting, and he's,
1083
01:11:19,650 --> 01:11:23,821
you know, he's gone, but
this is what he left behind.
1084
01:11:24,030 --> 01:11:26,491
There's nothing
digital about this,
1085
01:11:26,699 --> 01:11:30,787
this was made in
real time, and you,
1086
01:11:30,995 --> 01:11:33,623
you don't throw this out,
you take good care of it,
1087
01:11:33,831 --> 01:11:35,541
"cause someone took
time out of their life
1088
01:11:35,750 --> 01:11:39,462
that they can't get back
to make that tape for you.
1089
01:11:39,670 --> 01:11:42,548
[slow guitar music]
1090
01:11:52,809 --> 01:11:54,769
- [Jonathan] Probably the
most boring thing you'll come
1091
01:11:55,019 --> 01:11:57,021
across are commercial recordings
1092
01:11:57,230 --> 01:12:00,274
that were issued on cassette,
1093
01:12:00,483 --> 01:12:02,527
ll would much rather
uncover somebody putting
1094
01:12:02,735 --> 01:12:05,029
on Star Wars in the
backyard and recording it
1095
01:12:05,238 --> 01:12:08,324
than maybe listen to
an albeit wonderful LP
1096
01:12:08,533 --> 01:12:10,910
of the Eagles or something.
1097
01:12:11,118 --> 01:12:12,787
- [Aaron] No fast, slow fast,
1098
01:12:12,995 --> 01:12:16,791
[static] classical,
slow, fast, slow,
1099
01:12:19,126 --> 01:12:21,420
must have some deep
psychological meaning,
1100
01:12:21,671 --> 01:12:22,713
I can't think what it is.
1101
01:12:22,922 --> 01:12:24,590
- Aaron Copland, everyone.
1102
01:12:27,051 --> 01:12:29,136
- This is my first
attempt, it says,
1103
01:12:29,345 --> 01:12:32,223
"various artists” on
it, and I was really,
1104
01:12:32,431 --> 01:12:36,769
ll was really trying, just
called "Days gone by in DC,"
1105
01:12:36,978 --> 01:12:39,605
see, that's like,
sorry, sentimental.
1106
01:12:39,814 --> 01:12:44,151
[slow guitar music]
1107
01:12:44,360 --> 01:12:45,653
- [Jurado] You know, if you said,
"Do you remember the first time
1108
01:12:45,862 --> 01:12:48,489
"you heard the Violent Femmes?”
1109
01:12:48,698 --> 01:12:51,659
Yeah, it was on a mixtape
that a friend gave me.
1110
01:12:51,868 --> 01:12:53,286
You know, do you
remember the first time
1111
01:12:53,494 --> 01:12:55,621
you heard the Butthole Surfers?
1112
01:12:55,830 --> 01:12:58,666
Yeah, it was on a
mixtape a friend gave me.
1113
01:12:58,875 --> 01:13:02,169
I can't tell you how
many countless bands,
1114
01:13:02,378 --> 01:13:05,798
Black Flag, Minor Threat,
Fat Boys, Houdini,
1115
01:13:06,007 --> 01:13:09,010
all on a mixtape, that
was all on a mixtape.
1116
01:13:09,218 --> 01:13:10,636
- [Man] You'd get creative
with your cover,
1117
01:13:10,845 --> 01:13:12,346
you'd like, you
know, cut and paste
1118
01:13:12,555 --> 01:13:14,056
and like, you could
have your glue stick
1119
01:13:14,265 --> 01:13:15,850
and you'd have your
construction paper,
1120
01:13:16,058 --> 01:13:18,311
you'd have all your
photos or your whatever,
1121
01:13:18,519 --> 01:13:20,021
your heart would be
racing if you're like,
1122
01:13:20,229 --> 01:13:21,606
giving it to like, a
girl that you know,
1123
01:13:21,814 --> 01:13:23,149
like, you like, "Hey,
check this out,"
1124
01:13:23,357 --> 01:13:25,192
you know, like,
like, hoping to like,
1125
01:13:25,401 --> 01:13:31,324
win her over with my, you know,
my pristine taste in music.
1126
01:13:31,532 --> 01:13:37,872
- The mix CD for the girl
you're trying to romance,
1127
01:13:38,080 --> 01:13:42,501
the mix CD is like dry
humping a Naugahyde couch.
1128
01:13:42,710 --> 01:13:48,758
The mix tape where you have
sat there thinking all night,
1129
01:13:48,966 --> 01:13:52,094
Okay, if 1 can get this intro
just right on the pause,
1130
01:13:52,303 --> 01:13:53,804
1 didn't get it,
1 didn't get it,
1131
01:13:54,013 --> 01:13:55,723
in fact, I ate the
last two seconds
1132
01:13:55,932 --> 01:13:57,683
of the last song, which
means I gotta rewind the tape
1133
01:13:57,892 --> 01:14:00,811
and grab that song again,
it's four in the morning,
1134
01:14:01,020 --> 01:14:04,231
1 have to be up at nine, and
I'm still making this mixtape
1135
01:14:04,440 --> 01:14:07,401
'cause I really want
this girl to like me.
1136
01:14:07,610 --> 01:14:11,113
How do I know this, what, you
think I read this somewhere?
1137
01:14:11,322 --> 01:14:13,866
No, I lived those mixtapes, man,
1138
01:14:14,075 --> 01:14:17,411
and so the cassette
is one of those things
1139
01:14:17,620 --> 01:14:19,747
that's very near and dear to me
1140
01:14:19,956 --> 01:14:22,792
on so many levels,
you can't imagine.
1141
01:14:23,000 --> 01:14:25,836
[slow guitar music]
1142
01:14:28,506 --> 01:14:31,217
- The first audio
letters I ever did,
1143
01:14:31,425 --> 01:14:35,471
I would record them for,
you know, this girl I liked,
1144
01:14:38,474 --> 01:14:40,935
and I would leave them,
I'd hide them in places,
1145
01:14:41,143 --> 01:14:43,646
you know, like in
her yard or whatever,
1146
01:14:43,854 --> 01:14:45,356
and she'd have to
go out and get them.
1147
01:14:45,564 --> 01:14:47,316
- You had to be careful
not to put songs
1148
01:14:47,525 --> 01:14:50,277
that use the word "love,"
'cause you want it to be,
1149
01:14:50,486 --> 01:14:52,655
you know, it's cool and
it's like, "I like you,"”
1150
01:14:52,863 --> 01:14:56,701
but you don't want to be crazy,
1151
01:14:56,909 --> 01:15:02,289
that's like, a very careful
balance you have to strike.
1152
01:15:02,498 --> 01:15:06,252
- It starts with thinking
of someone sitting next
1153
01:15:06,460 --> 01:15:10,214
to the cassette player and
maybe getting emotional,
1154
01:15:10,423 --> 01:15:12,925
or getting in a certain
mood and in that mood,
1155
01:15:13,134 --> 01:15:17,388
choosing the music that really
was, made me think of him.
1156
01:15:17,596 --> 01:15:20,975
[slow guitar music]
1157
01:15:21,183 --> 01:15:24,729
- [Child] I love you,
my brother loves you,
1158
01:15:24,937 --> 01:15:26,981
the whole family
loves you, okay?
1159
01:15:27,189 --> 01:15:29,025
- [Man] I know
you can hear this,
1160
01:15:29,233 --> 01:15:32,028
I just want to tell you that
you look beautiful tonight,
1161
01:15:32,236 --> 01:15:36,991
and ll love you, and
I'll be right back, bye.
1162
01:15:37,199 --> 01:15:38,784
- [Jonathan] There's
a power of sound
1163
01:15:38,993 --> 01:15:40,995
that any recording
captures, but a cassette,
1164
01:15:41,203 --> 01:15:44,957
because it just has this
personalized component,
1165
01:15:45,166 --> 01:15:47,752
if someone gives you a cassette
that they've made for you,
1166
01:15:47,960 --> 01:15:49,378
then you have to
take it seriously,
1167
01:15:49,587 --> 01:15:53,090
you can't just throw it away.
1168
01:15:53,299 --> 01:15:55,634
- [Woman] I just,
ll was listening
1169
01:15:55,843 --> 01:15:58,512
to what you weren't saying,
1170
01:15:58,721 --> 01:16:01,807
you're the oldest young
person I've ever known.
1171
01:16:02,016 --> 01:16:04,769
[slow guitar music]
1172
01:16:08,689 --> 01:16:10,649
- [Woman] Just
try and flip it off,
1173
01:16:10,858 --> 01:16:13,110
and she practically says
the whole line by herself.
1174
01:16:13,319 --> 01:16:14,403
[baby laughs]
1175
01:16:14,612 --> 01:16:15,529
- [Man] Did you say Ich?
1176
01:16:15,738 --> 01:16:17,031
- [Child] Ich.
1177
01:16:17,239 --> 01:16:18,074
- [Man] Liebe?
1178
01:16:18,282 --> 01:16:19,992
- [Child] Liebe.
1179
01:16:20,201 --> 01:16:22,745
- [Man] Dich.
1180
01:16:22,953 --> 01:16:26,874
- [Man] Well, we still have
one another, it means a lot,
1181
01:16:29,543 --> 01:16:33,631
everything means a lot,
every little single thing.'
1182
01:16:34,965 --> 01:16:36,675
[slow guitar music]
1183
01:16:36,926 --> 01:16:37,968
[audience cheers]
1184
01:16:38,177 --> 01:16:40,137
- You know, it's the potential,
1185
01:16:40,346 --> 01:16:41,889
it is what is to be done, what,
1186
01:16:42,098 --> 01:16:43,766
you know, here's
the blank cassette,
1187
01:16:43,974 --> 01:16:47,394
here's the recording
machine, it's in your hands,
1188
01:16:47,603 --> 01:16:52,858
1 like that, there isn't
just one way to do lit,
1189
01:16:53,067 --> 01:16:54,568
one kind of music.
1190
01:16:54,777 --> 01:16:58,948
[slow guitar music]
1191
01:16:59,156 --> 01:17:01,033
People tell a little
bit about themselves
1192
01:17:01,242 --> 01:17:03,953
by showing you what
they listen to.
1193
01:17:05,663 --> 01:17:07,164
- The people who
use it nowadays,
1194
01:17:07,373 --> 01:17:09,500
they are special people, mm-hmm,
1195
01:17:09,708 --> 01:17:14,672
they have a hobby,
they love that,
1196
01:17:14,880 --> 01:17:19,927
they love that cassette,
it's not really
1197
01:17:20,136 --> 01:17:22,221
rational, hmm?
1198
01:17:22,429 --> 01:17:26,475
It's a rather
irrational activity,
1199
01:17:26,684 --> 01:17:27,768
1 like that.
1200
01:17:27,977 --> 01:17:30,688
[slow electronic music]
1201
01:17:35,526 --> 01:17:39,572
- [Interviewer] What happens
if and when this upswing stops?
1202
01:17:41,323 --> 01:17:42,283
- Well, we've been
asking ourselves that
1203
01:17:42,491 --> 01:17:45,411
for the last 10 years.
1204
01:17:45,619 --> 01:17:48,622
Being told, "You can't do
this, it can't be done anymore,
1205
01:17:48,831 --> 01:17:51,542
"this product is obsolete,
nobody wants it,"
1206
01:17:51,750 --> 01:17:53,586
and then coming here,
1207
01:17:53,794 --> 01:17:57,298
coming to work every day is
an amazingly rewarding thing.
1208
01:17:57,506 --> 01:18:01,427
[slow electronic music]
1209
01:18:01,635 --> 01:18:04,889
- [Jilek] If this ended,
then I'll find something else,
1210
01:18:05,097 --> 01:18:08,642
but ll like this, I
wouldn't want to quit
1211
01:18:08,851 --> 01:18:11,729
and go hunt another
job, right now I'm just,
1212
01:18:11,937 --> 01:18:15,524
you know, ride it out
and see what happens.
1213
01:18:15,733 --> 01:18:18,485
[upbeat rock music]
1214
01:18:21,280 --> 01:18:22,823
- People still
have tape players,
1215
01:18:23,032 --> 01:18:24,533
you know, they can go
dust off their boombox,
1216
01:18:24,742 --> 01:18:26,285
or, you know, [laughs]
get in their car
1217
01:18:26,493 --> 01:18:27,912
and drive around
and listen to it,
1218
01:18:28,120 --> 01:18:30,289
and it just, it feels good.
1219
01:18:34,001 --> 01:18:35,628
[audience applauds]
1220
01:18:35,836 --> 01:18:39,048
We have records and
tapes for sale out there
1221
01:18:39,256 --> 01:18:42,468
if anybody's interested
in that sort of thing.
1222
01:18:42,676 --> 01:18:46,347
- [Evans We got through that
period where tapes might have died,
1223
01:18:46,555 --> 01:18:50,184
we're in an era now where
your independent record shops,
1224
01:18:50,434 --> 01:18:52,394
you feel very comfortable
to walk in and say,
1225
01:18:52,603 --> 01:18:55,314
"Where's your, where's
the tape stand,
1226
01:18:55,522 --> 01:18:57,024
"where do I get the tapes from?"
1227
01:18:57,233 --> 01:18:59,860
I feel like that's here to stay.
1228
01:19:00,069 --> 01:19:04,156
-1 mean, ll don't know what the
future is for cassettes, but
1229
01:19:07,076 --> 01:19:09,411
I'm not throwing mine away.
1230
01:19:09,620 --> 01:19:12,581
[slow electronic music]
1231
01:19:15,584 --> 01:19:19,421
- A stamping mill, [mumbles],
1232
01:19:23,592 --> 01:19:28,264
sports car, you
can do everything,
1233
01:19:28,472 --> 01:19:32,476
a dump truck [laughs],
pure nostalgia.
1234
01:19:37,439 --> 01:19:41,819
Mechanically we made
not only these examples,
1235
01:19:42,069 --> 01:19:43,404
but the idea was, of course,
1236
01:19:43,612 --> 01:19:47,157
that you use the
available material
1237
01:19:47,366 --> 01:19:49,493
and you make your own design.
1238
01:19:51,620 --> 01:19:54,164
It gets a habit,
1239
01:19:54,373 --> 01:19:58,711
my whole life I have
realized my hobbies.
1240
01:19:58,919 --> 01:20:02,548
If you have a hobby, do
it, and the best source
1241
01:20:02,756 --> 01:20:07,720
of happiness is
doing what you like.
1242
01:20:07,928 --> 01:20:10,931
[lively guitar music]
1243
01:20:30,075 --> 01:20:32,745
[audience cheers]
1244
01:20:32,953 --> 01:20:35,456
- Start your own band!
1245
01:20:35,664 --> 01:20:38,417
[slow guitar music]
1246
01:20:44,715 --> 01:20:46,508
- [Watt] And maybe that's
why punk came around,
1247
01:20:46,717 --> 01:20:50,304
because of things, you know,
like the cassette experience,
1248
01:20:50,554 --> 01:20:52,806
you could take things
into your own hands,
1249
01:20:53,015 --> 01:20:55,642
you could write your own
story, paint our own picture,
1250
01:20:55,851 --> 01:20:59,063
write your own poem,
sing your own song,
1251
01:21:01,565 --> 01:21:03,150
and you didn't have
to be, you know,
1252
01:21:03,359 --> 01:21:06,111
swimming in this,
it could be econo.
1253
01:21:08,947 --> 01:21:12,409
- [Ball] Before then, it was
only the cassette.
1254
01:21:12,618 --> 01:21:15,245
[slow organ music]
1255
01:21:15,454 --> 01:21:17,247
And if you did not
get the mixtape,
1256
01:21:17,456 --> 01:21:19,875
which began on cassette, then
you were not hearing anything,
1257
01:21:20,084 --> 01:21:23,629
you were not exposed
to rap music,
1258
01:21:23,837 --> 01:21:28,550
so no, it would be nowhere,
it would be nowhere.
1259
01:21:28,801 --> 01:21:30,636
[audience cheers]
1260
01:21:30,844 --> 01:21:32,846
- [Jurado] Where do I think
I'd be without the cassette?
1261
01:21:33,055 --> 01:21:33,889
Not here,
1262
01:21:36,016 --> 01:21:40,604
I wouldn't be here if it
weren't for the cassette,
1263
01:21:40,813 --> 01:21:44,733
isn't that wild to think about?
1264
01:21:44,942 --> 01:21:48,278
- 100 years from now, and this
is just my wet dream idea,
1265
01:21:48,487 --> 01:21:50,239
maybe, like, some guy wants to,
1266
01:21:50,489 --> 01:21:52,825
you know, hear the Dead
Sea scrolls of some thing
1267
01:21:53,033 --> 01:21:54,868
and it's like, and
he'd go to this shelf
1268
01:21:55,077 --> 01:21:58,455
and go like, "Eureka,
we have found it,"
1269
01:21:58,664 --> 01:22:01,375
and all of a sudden the
door of the past opens,
1270
01:22:01,583 --> 01:22:03,836
someone's gotta be that pain
in the ass guy who goes,
1271
01:22:04,044 --> 01:22:09,133
like, "I'll get a copy of that,"
and shelves and goes like,
1272
01:22:09,341 --> 01:22:11,885
and so I'm that
pain in the ass guy,
1273
01:22:12,094 --> 01:22:14,263
this is no different
than trainspotting,
1274
01:22:14,471 --> 01:22:16,181
but it's got a beat to it.
1275
01:22:16,390 --> 01:22:19,810
[upbeat electronic music]
1276
01:22:26,859 --> 01:22:28,277
- There's like,
hundreds of tapes like,
1277
01:22:28,485 --> 01:22:29,862
just like, on my
floor, that, you know,
1278
01:22:30,070 --> 01:22:31,864
like, 1 will die
before ll have a chance
1279
01:22:32,072 --> 01:22:34,283
to listen to them all again,
but it prevents these moments
1280
01:22:34,491 --> 01:22:37,453
from dying and keeps them
alive for the future,
1281
01:22:37,661 --> 01:22:39,246
if the future wants them.
1282
01:22:39,455 --> 01:22:42,541
[reversed opera music]
1283
01:23:25,417 --> 01:23:28,545
[reversed opera music]
1284
01:23:40,224 --> 01:23:44,311
[moves into slow
electronic music]
1285
01:24:03,413 --> 01:24:05,207
- Digital is just kind of like,
1286
01:24:05,415 --> 01:24:08,001
it's a hi, how do you do,
it's almost disingenuous,
1287
01:24:08,210 --> 01:24:11,672
like, "here, take my
CD-R,"” you take my CD-R.
1288
01:24:14,007 --> 01:24:16,635
-1 can't work or
write or anything,
1289
01:24:16,843 --> 01:24:19,137
or focus when I'm listening
to music digitally,
1290
01:24:19,346 --> 01:24:21,765
because I'm like, oh, I
should skip this song,
1291
01:24:21,974 --> 01:24:23,684
oh, this song reminds me of
another song I want to hear,
1292
01:24:23,892 --> 01:24:25,269
ll should make a
new playlist just
1293
01:24:25,477 --> 01:24:27,020
for the playlist
that I'm listening
1294
01:24:27,229 --> 01:24:28,939
to while I'm making
the next playlist,
1295
01:24:29,147 --> 01:24:31,525
you know, it's like, cigarettes.
1296
01:24:31,733 --> 01:24:34,987
[slow electronic music]
1297
01:24:36,280 --> 01:24:37,739
- That's a selfie.
1298
01:24:40,951 --> 01:24:44,079
- [Interviewer] Who
taught you about selfies?
1299
01:24:44,288 --> 01:24:46,081
- Nobody, I just read it,
1300
01:24:48,250 --> 01:24:49,293
it exists.
1301
01:24:49,501 --> 01:24:52,963
[slow electronic music]
1302
01:24:53,171 --> 01:24:55,090
- I should do it,
like, every week,
1303
01:24:55,299 --> 01:24:59,011
just randomly just drop a
cassette on a train car.
1304
01:24:59,219 --> 01:25:01,138
Actually, do me a favor,
watch this documentary
1305
01:25:01,346 --> 01:25:03,640
and then go on a train
and drop a cassette
1306
01:25:03,849 --> 01:25:07,227
by accident and see how
people react [laughs].
1307
01:25:07,477 --> 01:25:09,813
- Listening to a Justin
Timberlake record was only
1308
01:25:10,022 --> 01:25:12,524
on cassette, only,
1309
01:25:12,733 --> 01:25:15,652
man, you got an
entire generation
1310
01:25:15,861 --> 01:25:21,575
of young girls and young
boys, more girls,
1311
01:25:21,783 --> 01:25:24,786
going out and buying
and looking for Walkmans
1312
01:25:24,995 --> 01:25:26,371
or cassette players,
1313
01:25:28,665 --> 01:25:31,501
that would be insane.
1314
01:25:31,710 --> 01:25:33,170
Justin, if you're listening,
1315
01:25:33,378 --> 01:25:35,589
you could make history [laughs].
1316
01:25:37,966 --> 01:25:39,885
- [Interviewer]
It's got a speaker.
1317
01:25:40,093 --> 01:25:41,219
- [Lou] A speaker?
1318
01:25:41,428 --> 01:25:43,221
- Uh-huh, it records audio.
1319
01:25:43,430 --> 01:25:45,599
[Lou laughs]
1320
01:25:47,392 --> 01:25:49,227
- That's crazy.
- Yeah.
1321
01:25:49,436 --> 01:25:51,313
- Absolutely crazy.
1322
01:25:51,521 --> 01:25:54,733
[slow electronic music]
1323
01:25:58,570 --> 01:26:00,322
- [Woman] Well,
that's the end of this film.
1324
01:26:00,530 --> 01:26:02,240
Signing off,
1325
01:26:02,449 --> 01:26:05,911
this has been Eric's films
production company incorporated.
1326
01:26:06,119 --> 01:26:07,412
- [Child] 13 goblins
jump up and down,
1327
01:26:07,621 --> 01:26:09,247
13 witches yelling
for some food,
1328
01:26:09,456 --> 01:26:11,124
13 giants yelling for some food
1329
01:26:11,333 --> 01:26:12,918
and 13 witches
yelling for some food,
1330
01:26:13,126 --> 01:26:14,586
13 goblins messing
with your head,
1331
01:26:14,795 --> 01:26:16,421
13 goblins messing up the bed,
1332
01:26:16,630 --> 01:26:19,216
13 goblins yelling.
1333
01:26:19,424 --> 01:26:22,260
[lively opera music]
1334
01:26:40,445 --> 01:26:42,447
- [Woman] When Grammy
was a little girl,
1335
01:26:42,656 --> 01:26:45,200
my mommy used to sing
me this little song
1336
01:26:45,409 --> 01:26:47,285
so I could remember my ABCs.
1337
01:26:47,494 --> 01:26:50,288
[slow gospel music]
1338
01:26:54,501 --> 01:26:59,464
A, B,,C,D,E,F, G
1339
01:26:59,673 --> 01:27:04,970
♪ H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P
1340
01:27:05,178 --> 01:27:10,350
♪ Q, R, S and T, U, V
1341
01:27:10,559 --> 01:27:14,229
♪ W, and X, Y, Z
1342
01:27:14,438 --> 01:27:17,190
[upbeat gospel music]
1343
01:27:17,399 --> 01:27:19,401
Now, could you do
that with Grammy?
1344
01:27:19,609 --> 01:27:22,362
Try it again. You sing
with me this time, okay?
99335
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