Technology through Time Collection - Music

In the 1980s and 90s, making a “mix tape” for a friend became a popular tradition. These were recorded from CDs, other cassette tapes or the radio. Usually, they were a selection of favourite songs from different artists, and the song name and artist would be handwritten onto the insert card, with a name also given to the compilation. 

You can see some mix tapes made in the 80s and 90s elsewhere in this collection. We have also included some community mix tapes to capture favourite songs of the current Cheney community!

Below is the tracklist for our two staff community tapes, and our Year Ten Museum Council mix tape.

Mass producing vinyl records is quite a complicated process. 

In the process called ‘Direct Metal Mastering’ (DMM), a cutting lathe is used to cut a master recording on a copper disc. This is like the reverse process of playing a record as a diamond cutter vibrates against the copper to cut the track.

The copper DMM is then electroplated with nickel to create a metal stamper. These negatives of the original recording are used to press the vinyl positives by mounting them on a hydraulic press.

Melted vinyl pellets are introduced between the stampers which are then pressed together to make the disc. The edges are trimmed with a blade.

 This method is used to create up to 2000 vinyl records at a time.  

An album is a collection of songs. It became the dominant form of recording from the 1960s onwards. They have often had striking artwork and designs, making them instantly recognisable.

Our Year Ten curators have chosen a set of iconic British albums from the 1960s to 1990s which capture each decade. 

 Nowadays, it is easy to skip songs and create playlists on platforms such as Spotify, which might mean listeners are less likely to play an album from start to finish. This might in turn affect the way artists compose their albums. 

Below is a list of the albums they have chosen:

OK Computer - Radiohead

Almost Here - Unbelievable Truth

The iPod is a line of portable media players and multi-purpose pocket computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc.

iPods enabled people to have their entire collection stored on one device, whereas Walkmans and Discmans meant playing one album at a time, and bringing others with you.

The first version was released on October 23, 2001. Only the iPod Touch remains in production.

We have a portable CD and cassette player in our collection. Boomboxes are transistorised, portable music players with cassettes, radio, an amplifier, integrated speakers, and a handle for carrying.

From the 1990s, CD players were often included. Many of them allowed recording from the radio and CDs, leading to many teenagers in the 1990s making mix tapes for their friends.

In the US, the boombox became closely linked to American hip hop culture and was very important in the rise of hip hop music.

Mix tapes were a popular way for friends in the 80s and 90s to share favourite songs with one another.

Many people owned CD or radios which incorporated a cassette player, which enabled recording from the radio or CDs. Double tape decks could enable recordings from cassettes too.

Cassettes tapes with blank inserts were purchased, so the maker of the mix tape could create a play list and particular messages, as well as naming the compilation, and/or who it was addressed to.