Cassette: Goodbye My Friend

by Tamera H. BennettPosted September 28, 2008

My first new car was an '89 two-door, white Grand Am. It was the bomb, before we even knew things could be the bomb. Because I was starting a career in the music business my sister stuck-up for me on the additional expense of getting a cassette player.

My second new car was a '98 four-dour, green Chevy Blazer. It was practical. It came with a CD player, but I also opted for the cassette deck, because I had all those cassettes. All those cassettes which I had to admit, I still had in the Blazer when it was recently traded in. Some of those cassettes are now on the way to the landfill. Shame on me for not donating.

My third new car is a '07 four-dour, white Lexus. It is practical and yet so stylish in the "I think I am a hip lawyer and not a Cub Scout Den Mom" way. The standard comes with a six CD changer in the dash along with a plug in for my mp-3 player. Not thinking there was a cassette option.

So, what is the point of this blog post? In twenty years technology and acceptance of technology has come a long way. The cassette, which was the mainstay of records sales in the 80's and a good portion of the 90's is all but forgotten.

There's a great article in the NY TIMES on the rise and fall of the cassette.

Thanks to the Dallas Morning News' Tech Blog for a heads-up on the article.