A few weeks ago, I wrote about Cassettivity, the new cassette-only distribution site. At the time, Cassettivity had 10 labels on its roster; now it has 14. You can also now sort Cassettivity’s offerings by “ease of listening." I think that’s cool. Currently, Cassettivity’s easiest listening experience can be found in Manchester’s The Potomac (Sixteen Tambourines), while the hardest comes via Yvonne Lovejoy’s Voice Studies 8: This is Yvonne Lovejoy (My Dance the Skull).
Interestingly (to me, at least), a day later I heard from David Crookes, a reporter for The Independent, who was working on an article about certain technologies and gadgets that refuse to die. (Damn, I do love being seen as expert on obsolete technologies.) You can read David’s piece here.
And, a day after that, I heard from Paul Ashby, sales manager for the outstanding distribution company Revolver USA. Revolver, too, had just put together a (long) list of the cassettes they currently have in stock. There are nearly 100 titles, most of which come from smaller labels (Boner, Ammp, Bennifer Editions), but larger and more established independents like Drag City and Not Not Fun are also represented. And while most of the artists are relatively obscure, a few names—Blues Control, Silver Jews, Om, Woods, Sic Alps—should be familiar to regular Stereophile readers.
Did you say, "cassettes"?
Why, yes, I did.
While sales "aren't exactly brisk," Paul Ashby sees more and more labels getting in the mix. And with Drag City in on the action, I wouldn't be surprised if that trend continued.
Check out Revolver’s list of cassettes here.
Looks like cassettes are indeed refusing to die. And that's good news for everyone because more music equals more happiness.
