HISTORY MIXTAPES - A Stealth Labor History of Mixtapes with Austin McCoy (Part I)

03/20/25 • 26 min

In this episode, historian Katherine Rye Jewell and historian Austin McCoy use their parents' record collections to interrogate the personal meanings of various music formats—from vinyl to cassettes to CDs—and their influence on their musical sensibilities . They discuss the role of mixtapes in hip hop and punk cultures, their significance in creating connections within underground scenes, and their transformation into digital playlists. The conversation highlights how their parents' music collections influenced their tastes, and how mixtapes served as a medium for artistic and emotional expression. The episode also explores the historical context of mixtape culture, its evolution, and its commercial aspects. Jewel and McCoy reflect on the emotional bonds forged through these music formats, encouraging listeners to share their own mixtape experiences.

This is part I of our conversation with Austin McCoy, and check out our collectively created playlist.

Also quoted in this episode:

Diamond, Michael, and Adam Horovitz. Beastie Boys Book. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2018.

Masters, Marc. High Bias: The Distorted History of the Cassette Tape. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2023.

This is part I of our conversation with Austin McCoy, and check out our collectively created playlist.

Also quoted in this episode:

Diamond, Michael, and Adam Horovitz. Beastie Boys Book. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2018.

Masters, Marc. High Bias: The Distorted History of the Cassette Tape. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2023.

Previous Episode

HISTORY MIXTAPES - Poverty and Homelessness with Dave Hitchcock

In this episode, historian Dave Hitchcock, a Senior Lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University, discusses how his expertise in vagrancy and poverty in early modern England and British Atlantic world use of music, such as broadside ballads, set up his exploration of themes of poverty and homelessness across musical expression. He contextualizes songs reflecting modern urban poverty and illuminates underlying common themes that include individual versus structural explanations of poverty.

For the extended playlist on Spotify, visit https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0sSBtpIEob9cr99jzL1aiS?si=7a186db4bd3d4c7b.

The songs featured in this episode are available as a YouTube playlist.

History Mixtapes - HISTORY MIXTAPES - A Stealth Labor History of Mixtapes with Austin McCoy (Part I)

Transcript

Kate Jewell00:00:02.700

In the Beastie Boys book, Adam Horowitz writes, "Anyone who's trying to convince you that tapes are cool and that iPhones are corny is dead wrong. I can tell you from experience and with a professional's opinion, the cassette versus vinyl versus CD versus MP three argument is boring.... Being able to scroll and click to get to the next song is a wonderful new feature. To me," he writes, "the only thing that's really missing with the iPhone is t