Form and Function
What happens when the physical form of our media becomes fully disassociated from its function? What happens when there is no longer any physical form at all - it feels like we are basically at that point. Does anyone even remember CDs?
And so, the ol’ cassettes have no value to me anymore. Do I toss ’em and let them become more landfill? That’s seems kind of wasteful and un-green. Try to find a home for them with someone who still collects and plays cassettes? I don’t want to box ’em up and send them somewhere; too hard. It’s a quandary. I’ve taken some off the shelves and put them in bags and boxes, and others are still up on the wall. Sometimes I’ll look over and see the date on the spine and think, “Oh, I love the ‘Scarlet-Fire’ from that show!” I’m getting wistful in my old age.But I know I’m never gonna listen to that tape again. Its time has passed. Its gotta go. - Blair Jackson
It's wistful to remember cassettes as the form that allowed us to imagine and experience. For me it was record liner notes, the inscrutable clues left behind that exposed a world you couldn't be part of. But that was the key - these were worlds (and objects) that were apart from us, we dreamed of being part of them, but couldn't. They were hard to make.
Instead, right now, we can be part of these experiences - and not just as simple viewers. We can be creators, sharers, promoters, discoverers. I think that's why disassociating the physical form from the function matters. It allows for creation and experience that is wide open, accessible, and easy, as opposed to closed and hard and not understandable. And just as obsessive compulsive too. I still keep my cassettes in the closet too and likely will forever. They are good reminders of how much better things are now.
