“磁带之父”去世，但磁带永不过时

都可Tape inventor gives us new way to listen

The name Lou Ottens doesn't appear in any history books I know of. But by inventing the cassette tape, he changed the way the world listens to music. His invention is still enjoying popularity in the digital age(电子时代).

Ottens, who passed away on March 6 at the age of 94, invented the cassette in 1962. It soon became hit(大受欢迎).At that time, people listened to music on vinyl records(黑胶唱片). They weren't' portable(便携). The cassette tape made it possible to take your music on the go, as well as record your favorite songs from the radio. Over 100 billion tapes have been sold over the years.

With the development of CDs and MP3s and today's' streaming(流媒体) playlists, cassettes started to disappear. However, they've come back in recent years.

A couple of my good friends have a record label(唱片公司) in Beijing that only releases cassette tape recordings. I've made one of these recordings myself, in fact. They also own a cafe that has "cocktail and cassette" nights. People bring in their favorite cassette tapes and play them while they chat and drink together.

People like cassettes for many reasons. The remind us of older times when things were simpler. When you listen to a cassette tape, you usually don't' skip(跳过) back and forth between songs. You enjoy the whole recording from start to end. Cassette tapes also come in a variety of(各种各样的) fun colors and often have beautiful cover art in their cases. They can be just as enjoyable to look at as they are to listen to.