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But the cassette is more fragile and less beloved when viewed through a lens of nostalgia.
To skip a song could also mean youd miss something.
The value of the tape was also the crafting of a mixtape.
I am from an era when we learned not to waste songs.
The trick was recording from CD to cassette.
WhenBeats, Rhymes and Lifecame out, for example, I remember recording it all the way through.
By that time,Tribehad earned a key in of currency that engendered that kind of trust.
On each of their previous albums, even the less-than-great songs managed to be tolerable.
Every issue opened with the hip-hop quotable, highlighting the best rap verse from the past month.
But what was more vital than all of this wasThe Sources album review system.
It was the first album review metric I ever knew, and one I came to rely on.
It was simple: albums were rated on a scale of one to five mics.
It helped thatThe Sourcewas stingy with its five-mic reviews in its early days.
In October of 1998, the cover ofThe Sourcesent especially jarring shockwaves through the communities it landed in.
Against a soft blue background, all three members of A Tribe Called Quest are cloaked in black.
It is a piercing photo.
The words below the picture confirmed every worst fear: Exclusive Interview: BREAK UP!
A Tribe Called Quest Disbands.
