The Cassette Comeback
The cassette tape is attempting to follow in its vinyl
predecessor’s footsteps by staging a comeback on the music scene. A number of “cool” artists are now releasing
their albums on cassette. Indeed I have
noted the sale of many second-hand cassettes in record stores and at vinyl
markets. In addition to CD players and
USB ports, many contemporary record players include tape players, which is a
pretty cool feature for those of us who have held onto tapes from their
childhood and teen years. However, I
don’t think that the revival of the cassette is likely to equal that of vinyl.
The other day I decided to listen to Def Dames Dome on tape
– talk about a flashback! I remember
loving this tape as an adolescent and I found that hasn’t changed some 25 years
later (yikes!). DDD was an all-female
group from Belgium. The band originally comprised 3 members, sisters Larissa
and Axana (nicknamed Snake) and Yousra (nicknamed TRS). Larissa then left the group and Ingrid
(nicknamed H2O) and Edith (nicknamed Tabasco)
joined.
Released in 1993, this album is the epitome of 90s techno
but it also featured some pretty awesome rap (it is very rare for me to use
those two words together). The most
famous single from the album was It’s OK, All Right, a song about having a good
time no matter who you are or how you look, and one which remains a firm
favourite on my 90s playlist. One of my favourite lyrics in the song is: “No matter how you look, how you dress, how you smell / Us
gonna jam from heaven to hell”. Check
out the video for terrific 90s moves and fashion: It's OK, All Right
But the all-female group also had a strong feminist message
in their work. For example, they turn
the tables on a patriarchal view of women in You’ve got it wrong, I’ve got it
right: “I’m more than just a girl who makes your world turn around…I know what
I want, I know how to get it”. Feminine
independence is also championed in Ain’t Nothin’ To It, as they call on fellow “girlies”
to “Decide what you like, you live
your own life”.
There were also commentaries on social injustice and
inequality. In I’m Gonna Show You the
possibility of overcoming racism with love is explored: “Just give me you hand
/ Let’s go to a land / Where colours don’t matter”.
Don’t Be Silly is a catchy tune that promotes safe sex with
lyrics that were scandalous to my 13-year-old ears (and probably those of
puritanical parents in the early 90s): “Hey you don’t be silly, put a condom on
your willy (yeah yeah yeah yeah)”. I
dare you to listen to this song and not have it stuck in your head for the rest
of the day.
Next on my list of tapes to revisit: Crazy Dance Party which
promises “19 of the funkiest, weirdest, most wonderful dance tracks around”. Does anyone else remember Swamp Thing,
Everybody’s Gonfi Gon, Doop and Meet The Flintstones? These were so much fun
back in the 90s and I’m pretty sure that enough time has passed for them, like
the cassette on which they appear, to be "kiff" again.
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