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A Photo, My History With Music, And Seattle's Venerable KEXP

Saw this photo on KEXP's homepage today.



This wall of cassettes! OH.MY.GAWD!

Ah, the musical history therein. Memories of siting by the play button waiting for my favorite songs, of the awesome feeling once I got a double cassette recorder, so I could create mix tapes. And sharing my tapes with my friends, introducing them to the music I loved.

Oh, and crafting mix tapes for those I loved. A custom blend of music as a gift. For someone who loves music, I couldn't think of a better gift. There were groups of my friends that would swap these tapes, with meticulously detailed liner notes. The purpose was to connect friends with music, musicians they hadn't heard before, but would certainly love.

The best were getting tapes with great bands that got no air-time. Fulfilling the ultimate proto-hipster delight of knowing a band before they became famous.

As for this photo: she is Jen Cloher, an Australian musician. I'm now streaming her self-titled album via GoogleMusic, which I'm enjoying this morning. So, you can go check out her work over at BandCamp, too. Definitely a great gift for your ears.  

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