AnalogPlanet Radio

AnalogPlanet Radio's WFDU HD2 Cassette-Sourced "Disco Inferno" Show

Michael Fremer  |  Oct 17, 2016

Today's AnalogPlanet radio show is mostly sourced from a cassette mix tape I made in the mid-seventies. I pulled it out of a box and transferred it to CDs for use in my Pilates class after the others in the class complained about what my iPhone shuffle program dredged up, which often included dark Scott Walker songs.

In addition to the cassette tape mix I transferred a few songs using my current rig, bypassing the cassette. There's a also a selection from Mobile Fidelity's excellent Spinners reissue. So get down and boogie and enjoy the show!

Here's the set list:

Ace: How Long?
KC and the Sunshine Band: That’s the Way
MFSB: Love is the Message
Harold Melvin and The Bluenotes: Bad Luck
MFSB: Family Affair
The Hughes Corporation: Rock the Boat
Dionne Warwick & The Spinners: Then Came You
The Spinners: Mighty Love
The Spinners: Could It Be I'm Falling In Love?
The O'Jays: I Love Music
The Isley Brothers: That Lady
AWB: Got the Love
AWB Got the Love (Xferred 2016)
The O'Jays: Love Train
The O'Jays: Love Train (Xferred 2016)
The O'Jays: Backstabber (Xferred 2016)
Patti LaBelle: Lady Marmalade
The Temptations: Papa was a Rolling Stone
Love Unlimited Orchestra :Love’s Theme

COMMENTS
Eskisi's picture
Submitted by Eskisi on Mon, 2016-10-17 21:15

Where can you get them? There must be millions, in people's homes, in storage rooms of spurned boyfriends, who knows? But eBay does not sell any (copyright concerns?) and I don't know where else to look. Few things could be a better testament to a time and place. I have my own, of course, but listening to a mixtape from the heart -- and from the 80s -- could be such a welcome change from the everyday!

gbougard's picture
Submitted by gbougard on Tue, 2016-10-18 00:53

the tracklist is made of tracks rthat are not that hard to find, so I supposed you could buy the tracks online (from hi-def sites like Qobuz if you're into that or Apple if you don't really care) and assemble a "mix-tape". if you're into mixing, use garageband or the like to create your own transitions, it's fun and a great way to waste your time when you have something more urgent to do!!!

Rudy's picture
Submitted by Rudy on Tue, 2016-10-18 08:18

Great mix! A smaller group of us came up through middle- and high school listening to this type of music (when many of our classmates were into what is now "classic rock").

I used to make a lot of mixtapes back in the day. For a while, I was using my Harman Kardon's front inputs with a second turntable setup, so I could crossfade between songs cleanly. (I had an outboard mixer but it was way too noisy.) The neat thing was, the pressure was on--if I screwed up a crossfade or song intro, I'd have to rewind and start recording the whole set over again.

In the 90s, I made quite a few mix CDs as well--using CD Architect, I could overlay the ends of digital files on the timeline to get the perfect crossfade or segue between them.

Playlists in JRiver are more convenient, yes, but I miss those "hands-on" days of creating something that was more permanent. Every so often, I will drag the old reel deck out of the basement and throw some tracks onto a couple of blank tapes just for kicks. (Talk about a hands-on format!) And I still own that cassette deck. H/K decks from the 80s gave Nak a run for their money IMHO.

Michael Fremer's picture
Submitted by Michael Fremer on Tue, 2016-10-18 08:23
That's the name of a mix tape I made after my girlfriend left me. It was morose and I haven't played it in years but I think I will soon!
Rudy's picture
Submitted by Rudy on Tue, 2016-10-18 09:11

I had a mix kicking around in my head with divorce and "mah woman done left me" songs back about 14 years ago--never did commit it to tape (or CD)! I guess I'm in a better place now, since I've forgotten many of the tunes I wanted to put on it.

One I remember, though, is Reverend Horton Heat's "Galaxie 500" which is a classic "being thrown out of the house" song...but things aren't so bad since he has the Galaxie 500. Perfect!

OldschoolE's picture
Submitted by OldschoolE on Tue, 2016-10-18 12:48

I like this: "the others in the class complained about what my iPhone shuffle program dredged up"
They don't know who they are messing with! LOL! Only joking, Michael is one of the nicest guys around folks.
I did a lot of those back in the late 70s and early 80s. I even remember all the uproar from the industry about people being able to record to cassette when that ability first hit the market...some things never change.

vqworks's picture
Submitted by vqworks on Thu, 2016-10-20 10:34

Nice mix! I have a cassette just like that Advent Crolyn. The mix is pretty similar to a collection I have on tape. In fact, I have nearly all the songs on your mix, Michael.

I never bothered digitizing my tapes because I have way too many home recorded cassettes. Most were also recorded in dbx!

Concerto_7708's picture
Submitted by Concerto_7708 on Sat, 2016-10-22 11:55

I've still got many cassettes from that era and a nice Tandberg deck to play them.

Favourite and pleasant 'tape times' were on the rocks or on a sun-drenched beach while fishing. Weird if I think about it now...

concerto_7708

X