Music on tape is staging a minor comeback, because record labels are cynical money-grabbers. “So it seems like nostalgic fans will pay for multiple copies of a vinyl record they can listen to for free,” an executive mused. “Why don’t we flog them a tape copy at the same time?”
I rarely fall for this trick. While I still own all the cassettes I originally bought in the 1980s, I’ve only purchased two new ones in recent times. I grabbed all four individual member editions of ABBA’s Voyage because, well, I’m tragically obsessed.
And I have a signed copy of Bananarama‘s Masquerade because it came in a bundle and I was weak.
So I’m probably not the ideal buyer for a newly-announced twist on this trend: Duran Duran is launching an official cassette player with We Are Rewind. Yes, really.
I love me some Duran, but there are 3 big issues with the newly-announced WE-001 Duran Duran Special Edition, which comes with a tape copy of the Duran Duran album Pop Trash.
Firstly, it’s trying to trade on 80’s nostalgia but failing to deliver. The release announcement is hyperbolic on this point:
This cassette player isn’t just a device; it’s a piece of art that perfectly captures the band’s iconic style and the era when their cassettes defined a generation.
Now, Pop Trash is a fine album (especially the title track, which Nick Rhodes originally wrote for Blondie), and I’m the rare human who actually bought it on CD when it was originally released.
But that happened in 2000, when the band was a trio and had no members with the surname Taylor. It’s simply not going to attract casual fans the way a player themed around Rio orSeven And The Ragged Tiger would. It looks good but it doesn’t look 1980s in any way.
Further proving the point, the press release is headlined “Wild Boys”. That’s from 1984, the band’s peak era. Nothing to do with this package.
My cynical assumption is that Pop Trash was chosen because the band own the rights and don’t have to pay EMI/Universal. More generously, it’s the first UK tape release for the album, though it did appear on tape back in 2000 in the US, Europe and Asia.
Secondly, the package is criminally expensive, with a retail price of 169 euros. That’s $300 Australian. I can pick up a tape deck on Amazon for $50 or less. The Le Bon tax is big on this one.
Thirdly, there’s this ludicrous inclusion:
A pencil! Want to go for the full rewind with a tricky tape? You know what to do. A pencil is included in the box.
If you had to rewind your tape with a pencil, both you and the tape were in trouble. So it’s a no from me.
For more Duran-related musings, check out why the new Power Station CD box set has some content missing. For additional ludicrous pop star merch, check out my thoughts on the Spice Girls holiday ornament and the ABBA luggage tag.
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