Let’s talk 8-tracks

There’s an independent band in California called Thee Oh Sees, and they are all about retro.  But they’re generally not a cover band.  They do original material, but their style is what’s retro.  60’s garage rock, psychedelic rock, punk, etc.  And since 2000, they’ve done over 20 studio albums.

So now they’ve released a box set of their past albums — on 8-track!  Wow.  Think about it.  Making records requires a lot of special equipment, but vinyl is all the rage right now so there are labels that’ll do that.  And anyone with a laptop can make a CD.  But how do you make an 8-track tape?

What they did was find old 8-tracks and record over them.  As for how they actually transferred their music onto quarter inch tape in 8 individual stripes (a left and right for each “program”), I’m as much in the dark as you.  But they did it!  But they only made 100 and released 60 to the public at $420 each.  Now if only you had a player.  And $420.

I must say (brag?) that I’ve never owned an 8-track player.  Even at the height of their popularity, I thought they were ridiculous.  Especially when concept albums were becoming popular, why would you want to switch around from the middle of one song to the middle of another while listening to an album?  But I do remember that my brother had one of the only 8-track recorders I’ve ever seen.  Yep, you could transfer your vinyl albums onto 8-track for convenient listening on the road.

What are your memories about 8-tracks?