Say what you will about an old fashioned tape deck, but there is something nostalgic about popping that plastic encased reel of film into an old Walkman player. St. Louis' Mix Tape Club seeks to prove that nostalgia is still important and that analog tape just isn't out of style yet.
The MTC meets this Saturday July 21 at Tower Grove Park for their twenty-fourth exchange (visit the MTC Facebook page for the specific meeting location withing the park). The event starts at 6 p.m. and tape exchange is at 7. "Sometimes we have music playing, sometimes we have snack, all times we have beer. [After an hour], we put everyone's names in a hat and whoever's name you pull is the tape you get. I love the randomness," says Eleanor Pini, organizer of the club.
The event is all-ages and free to join. You must show up with a tape to get a tape, bottom line. Also, there are no CDs allowed. "Using cassette tapes is better for a few reasons. One, the nostalgia. Two, the mix tape is a one of a kind. You only make it for one person. We don't make twenty CDs of the same playlist and hand them out. The one on one exchange creates a connection between those people," says Pini.
You never know what you'll get on a new mix tape, making it that more exciting. Pini says one the best she ever recieved "ranged from Louise Attaque, a French fold rock group, to the local band P.T.A, that probably never made it out of St. Charles and broke up ten years ago."
Besides a chance for exposure to new music, the MTC is a great way to make new friends of similar interests. Plus if you're someone who absolutely needs to share their newest music finds, this is definitely a club for you.
