TIL my first podcast was on a CD-R labeled 'mix tape' from a flea market.

I mean, discovering shows back then felt like decoding a mystery, idk.

8 comments

8 Comments

Question whether analog serendipity was all that great... most of those tapes were just poorly recorded garbage with no curation. Modern algorithms actually save time by filtering out the noise for you.

richardprice3h ago

Ngl, flea market mix tapes were the original podcast app.

adamk953h ago

Actually, my buddy Eric once picked up a cassette from a flea market that was just someone recording local radio shows from 1987. He said it was like a time capsule, you know, with ads for products that don't exist anymore and DJ banter about events everyone forgot. For weeks, he'd listen to it on his walkman during his commute, which honestly sounds way more engaging than most podcasts today (no offense to podcasters). The thing is, that random tape introduced him to music and topics he'd never seek out on his own, which is exactly what podcast apps try to do with algorithms. So yeah, the flea market tape was his personalized, analog recommendation engine, complete with static and the occasional tape hiss. It's kind of wild how much curation and discovery happened by chance back then, without any likes or subscriptions.

taraw242h ago

Discovering a box of my dad's old concert bootlegs on reel-to-reel tapes did something similar for me. Hearing audience chatter and bands that never made it big felt more authentic than any streaming playlist. Why do we think algorithms know us better than random chance? Those tapes introduced me to genres I'd never explore on my own, all with that warm analog sound.

bethjones1h ago

Listen, maybe it's just me but this whole analog nostalgia feels super selective. I mean, for every one magical flea market tape there were dozens that were just someone's awful karaoke attempts or hours of dead air. Idk, I'd rather have an algorithm learn my actual tastes than gamble five bucks on a mystery CD-R of someone else's garbage mixtape. That whole "warm analog sound" people romanticize was often just bad recordings with actual physical degradation, not some curated aesthetic. Modern platforms eliminate that frustrating hunt through literal trash to maybe find one decent thing, which honestly sounds exhausting, not magical.

anthony_campbell883h ago

Wow, that's a testament to analog-era serendipity.

wood.ruby2h ago

Seriously, that's pure magic.

faithcampbell1m ago

Consider the sheer luck of finding a cassette that captured everyday radio from 1987. I'm shocked that such a mundane recording survived decades in someone's attic or basement. Those ads for rotary phones or defunct fast-food chains must sound like artifacts from another planet. And the DJ casually mentioning a snowstorm that nobody remembers, it's like hearing history through static. That random tape did what algorithms strive for, but with all the imperfections that make it human. It's just wild to think that this accidental time capsule was once someone's throwaway recording.