Trailer for the documentary Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape.
I used to get my hair cut at Astor Place Barbers in NYC. Next to the downstairs entrance was a guy selling hip hop mixtapes from an enormous suitcase. Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and so many others blared from his beatbox nonstop. In the early '80s, that's how NYC learned about hip hop... and that's how it was across the nation. Hit two buttons—record and play—and you could record whatever you liked and share it (or sell it, shhhh!). The compact cassette democratized music pre-internet. Now, the cassette is experiencing a revival. Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape investigates a medium that is weirdly outliving its inventors. With a lovely and subtle touch, the film seeks the common ground between Dutch cassette inventor Lou Ottens and his team—all men deep in the November of their lives—with punks and hip hop stars who rode cassettes to stardom, and modern hipsters resurrecting the medium. Why won't the compact cassette die? Good question. Sit back and ponder that while enjoying this fine, fine ride.