4 ms·

Thee Oh Sees’ year-long effort to put their albums on 8-track box sets

26 points by benbreen 7y ago

liquidify 7y ago
8 track was a terrible format. Why would anyone spend any effort at all creating anything for them.
- tnolet 7y ago
  Coolness factor, marketing, standing-out, creative itch, nostalgia, retro vibe. All the regular reasons creative people create things.
  - allovernow 7y ago
    And total lack of technical understanding. This is just shallow appropriation of nerd culture. The same nerd culture that still faces ridicule like it has for decades.
- egypturnash 7y ago
  Comedy value.
madengr 7y ago
The multi tracks were great for certain applications. I had a 2-XL as a kid, and it worked great for that. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-XL https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-XL
jakedata 7y ago
Makes me a bit nostalgic but I don't miss the CLACK! in the middle of a song as the head repositions to the next set of tracks. I still have a crate of tapes somewhere up in the garage.
- klez 7y ago
  I was under the impression that songs on 8-track albums were purposefully shuffled to avoid such occurrences. Have I been told a lie?
- chiph 7y ago
  I still listen for the clunk in the middle of Rush's YYZ. Polygram apparently just shoveled it onto the tape, as Discogs lists The Camera Eye as also spanning tracks. https://www.discogs.com/Rush-Moving-Pictures/release/4304213 https://www.discogs.com/Rush-Moving-Pictures/release/4304213
notananthem 7y ago
Welfare Records in Boston has been releasing (new recorded) 8 tracks for bands for ages, since the 90's I think. I had a few of their releases to play on a garage sale 8 track deck.
Yhippa 7y ago
> For buyers, these releases may be more of a way to show that they love the band than something they actually want to listen to. A study in 2016 found that about half of the people who buy vinyl records don’t even listen to them. With streaming and downloads being the way that most people consume music now, a tangible album you can hold in your hand is more of an avatar or trophy for being a fan of an artist. In this case, knowing each tape was handmade, cut, and dubbed to fit the album length brings back the not-so-long-forgotten art of physical media and the work the went into it. I regret buying a bunch of vinyl over the past few years. I tried because I really like the collectible aspect of it but the space and weight adds up fast and it's nowhere near as convenient as digital. I found I'd just stream over Bluetooth to the same receiver I hooked the record player to because I got lazy. I might have considered getting something like this for a band I really liked but I know it would end up piling up.
- cumunism 7y ago
  there's a reason they are associated with hipsters who enjoy inferior tech just to be different
klez 7y ago
Nice video about the format https://youtube.com/watch?v=XLZS0Sj9-1U https://youtube.com/watch?v=XLZS0Sj9-1U Actually I would suggest the channel to anyone interested in old, obsolete and just plain odd media formats.

26 points by benbreen 7y ago

liquidify 7y ago

8 track was a terrible format. Why would anyone spend any effort at all creating anything for them.

tnolet 7y ago
Coolness factor, marketing, standing-out, creative itch, nostalgia, retro vibe. All the regular reasons creative people create things.
- allovernow 7y ago
  And total lack of technical understanding. This is just shallow appropriation of nerd culture. The same nerd culture that still faces ridicule like it has for decades.
egypturnash 7y ago
Comedy value.

madengr 7y ago

The multi tracks were great for certain applications. I had a 2-XL as a kid, and it worked great for that. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-XL https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-XL

jakedata 7y ago

Makes me a bit nostalgic but I don't miss the CLACK! in the middle of a song as the head repositions to the next set of tracks. I still have a crate of tapes somewhere up in the garage.

klez 7y ago
I was under the impression that songs on 8-track albums were purposefully shuffled to avoid such occurrences. Have I been told a lie?
chiph 7y ago
I still listen for the clunk in the middle of Rush's YYZ. Polygram apparently just shoveled it onto the tape, as Discogs lists The Camera Eye as also spanning tracks. https://www.discogs.com/Rush-Moving-Pictures/release/4304213 https://www.discogs.com/Rush-Moving-Pictures/release/4304213

notananthem 7y ago

Welfare Records in Boston has been releasing (new recorded) 8 tracks for bands for ages, since the 90's I think. I had a few of their releases to play on a garage sale 8 track deck.

Yhippa 7y ago

> For buyers, these releases may be more of a way to show that they love the band than something they actually want to listen to. A study in 2016 found that about half of the people who buy vinyl records don’t even listen to them. With streaming and downloads being the way that most people consume music now, a tangible album you can hold in your hand is more of an avatar or trophy for being a fan of an artist. In this case, knowing each tape was handmade, cut, and dubbed to fit the album length brings back the not-so-long-forgotten art of physical media and the work the went into it. I regret buying a bunch of vinyl over the past few years. I tried because I really like the collectible aspect of it but the space and weight adds up fast and it's nowhere near as convenient as digital. I found I'd just stream over Bluetooth to the same receiver I hooked the record player to because I got lazy. I might have considered getting something like this for a band I really liked but I know it would end up piling up.

cumunism 7y ago
there's a reason they are associated with hipsters who enjoy inferior tech just to be different

klez 7y ago

Nice video about the format https://youtube.com/watch?v=XLZS0Sj9-1U https://youtube.com/watch?v=XLZS0Sj9-1U Actually I would suggest the channel to anyone interested in old, obsolete and just plain odd media formats.