Listeners of a certain age tend to think that the cassette tape fell out of favour sometime during the 1990s, but is experiencing a revival of sorts as curious Millennials discover the pleasures of mixtapes and decaying media. But cassette tapes have been in constant use since their invention in 1963. Outside of North America and Western Europe, the tape is still the predominant phonographic medium, and is unseating hard drives as the preferred medium for data storage. For whom, then, is this a revival? My article argues that the tape revival is less an attempt at neutral recuperation of the past than a purposeful rewriting of history. Cassettes are particularly potent because they signify death and decay more forcefully even than vinyl. Their acoustic imperfections and mechanical frailties are now aestheticized in novels and contemporary popular music. Even curated listening experiences, from podcasts to streaming services, are designed to replicate the mixtape. The second era of the cassette tape represents another example of Simon Reynolds’ concept of retromania, and can be fruitfully understood as a chapter in the evolving story of phonographic waste.

中文翻译：

---

盒式磁带复兴作为创造性的时代错误

一定年龄的听众倾向于认为盒式磁带在 1990 年代的某个时候失宠，但随着好奇的千禧一代发现混音带和腐烂媒体的乐趣，它正在经历某种复兴。但盒式磁带自 1963 年发明以来一直在使用。在北美和西欧以外，磁带仍然是主要的录音介质，并且正在取代硬盘驱动器作为数据存储的首选介质。那么，这对谁来说是复兴？我的文章认为，磁带复兴与其说是对过去进行中立恢复的尝试，不如说是有目的地改写历史。磁带特别有效，因为它们比黑胶唱片更能代表死亡和腐烂。他们的声学缺陷和机械弱点现在在小说和当代流行音乐中被美化了。即使是精心策划的聆听体验，从播客到流媒体服务，也旨在复制混音带。盒式磁带的第二个时代代表了西蒙雷诺兹复古狂热概念的另一个例子，并且可以被富有成果地理解为不断发展的唱片浪费故事中的一个章节。