If you’re old enough to remember the glory days of the 1980s, you’ll remember when mix tapes were the ultimate form of affection. Before there was room for unlimited digital track listings in iTunes playlists, Spotify, or Pandora, one had to carefully choose a selection of songs that would fit conveniently on a blank 60 or 90 minute cassette tape. And with those limitations came creativity, especially when trying to come up with songs that represent how you feel about a special someone. To quote John Cusack’s character in the movie High Fidelity:
These days, the act of making a mixtape is a dying art form, mostly because there’s no convenient way to play a cassette; a lot of that outdated technology is most likely in a landfill. But have no fear, believers in the romantic actions of the 80s! Thanks to gadget and adult toy retailer Hammacher Schlemmer (and a tip from Incredible Things), you can still make your mix tapes and listen to them too — with the Cassette-to-iPod Converter. Alternatively, you can dig up the old mixtapes you still have laying around from the past, and stroll down memory lane about that special someone that gave it to you, or the one who broke your heart because you still have it.
The Cassette-to-iPod Converter can simply play cassettes and output the music via your iPhone’s speakers or headphone jack, or can even convert the tracks to MP3 format — which will totally update you to the 21st century. Just think; you can play a mixtape without having to fast forward through the songs you don’t like — by simply pushing once to choose the next track.