The Cassette Tape: Your Musical Dilemma

Words and Illustrations by B. E. Sabin | July 12, 2024

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Part One: The Cassette Tape

This is a cassette tape (close to the actual size):

The cassette tape is a small plastic container (4” x 2.5” x 0.4”) that holds magnetic tape. It is used for audio replay and recording. The cassette tape is analog, meaning the sound is stored physically, specifically magnetically. This contrasts with digital music (Compact Discs (CDs) or a digital audio file, think MP3)  in which sound is represented as numerical values also known as binary data (1s and 0s).

The cassette tape is played using a cassette player. Various cassette players come in all shapes and sizes. Some are portable and some are not.

This is a portable cassette player (not close to the actual size):

The portable cassette player is used by the audio listener on the go, hence the adjective, portable. 

This is a non portable cassette player (even further away from the actual size):

The non portable cassette player is part of a home stereo system that includes a stereo receiver and passive speakers.

When paired with a cassette player, the cassette tape is one way humans consume music. Other forms of analog music are vinyl records and reel-to-reel tape. We also, as you already know, consume music digitally in the form of CDs or more recently, digital audio files.

Your choice of how you consume music is up to you, as is what you will eventually become, which depends on your choice of musical consumption. It is a very simple choice, are you ready for it? Here it is, my friends: Do you want to be a human or a robot? Do you want to be analog or digital? The fate of your world rests on your shoulders...

Stay tuned for Part Two in which our hero, you, is confronted with a possible digital nightmare! Will you survive to tell the tale? Will the world as we once knew it ever be the same again or have we already past the digital tipping point?