📼 A brief homage to cassette tapes

Word to Memorex! [READER]( The Daily Reader November 8, 2023 I started reading Marc Masters’s [High Bias: The Distorted History of the Cassette Tape]( over the weekend. You ever start a nonfiction book that draws you into its history without any trouble and simultaneously commands you to explore the world it observes? High Bias does that for me. (I cannot make more of a declaration about the book; I haven’t finished it, though I suspect that will change soon.) I’m a fan of both Masters and his subject, which you might have known, since I write about cassette tapes from time to time. Cassettes appear in my work often, as in [my recent interview with Chicago ghetto house icon DJ Slugo]( in the 1990s, he and a generation of Chicago underground house producers issued mixes on colored cassette tapes that sold by the thousands. (My Slugo interview is [in the newest Reader issue]( I’ve had an inkling to write several larger, longform stories about cassettes—but I really need to finish High Bias first. Sincerely, “[The Fight Between Musicians and Venues Over Merch Profits Is a Big Deal With a Simple Solution]( by Nina Corcoran (Pitchfork) “[The Discontent At Discogs]( by Zach Schonfeld (Stereogum) “[A Dangerous Conflation: An open letter from Jewish writers]( (n+1) “[Documentary review: ‘The War on Disco]( by Michaelangelo Matos (Beat Connection) Phased Out, [Got It]( Janis Lago, [The Freshest Wave]( LaSalle Grandeur, [a ghost of self]( 🍁 Leor’s “[second November 2023 Reader playlist]( playlist [The Trenchies celebrate a new record with an old lineup]( Plus: The reunited Sybris drop the first single from an album that’s a decade overdue, postpunk trio Luggage play a release party for their latest full-length, and more. by [J.R. Nelson]( and [Leor Galil]( | [Read more]( → [DJ Swisha and Kush Jones find heaven in footwork]( by [Leor Galil]( | [Read more]( → [When Sly Stone fronted a Chicagoland bar band]( In 1982 and ’83, the unpredictable pop star spent several months of a comeback attempt gigging with local seven-piece One Eyed Jacks. by [Jack Riedy]( | [Read more]( → [Chicago indie rockers Slow Pulp reveal their inner strength on the new Yard]( by [Dora Segall]( | [Read more]( → What's now and what's next. The next issue of our arts and culture newsletter drops tomorrow. Click below to sign up, and it'll be delivered to your inbox. [ARTS & CULTURE NEWSLETTER]( [Issue of Nov. 2 – Nov. 15, 2023 Vol. 53, No. 2]( [VIEW / DOWNLOAD ISSUE [PDF]]( [View this e-mail as a web page]( [@chicago_reader]( [/chicagoreader]( [@chicago_reader]( [Chicago Reader on LinkedIn]( [/chicagoreader]( [chicagoreader.com]( [Forward this e-mail to a friend](. Want to change how you receive these e-mails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](. Copyright © 2023 Chicago Reader, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Chicago Reader, 2930 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, Chicago, IL 60616