Cassettes on the comeback?

I was catching up on some recent podcasts while taking a short vacation and enjoyed this "Soundcheck" episode on the alleged renaissance of cassette tapes among cool musicians.

First it was vinyl coming back, then a whisper of hope for 8-tracks, of all things. But cassettes, a ridiculous format prone to sound decay or the player chewing the tape itself? What's next, Hit Clips?

But I can actually see a little upside for this cassette trend, if there is one, as younger generations co-opt tape decks tossed aside by their parents or buy older cars that still play cassettes.

I for one am longing for a tape deck to play any of the dozens of mix tapes or punk albums I've still got stored in the garage. The deck in my '95 Explorer just died, so I'm unable to dig into lost treasures, many of which only exist for me in that format. They include this Urge Overkill classic, the last song that Explorer deck was able to play:

2010 Social Networking Map

Flowtown has posted a clever 2010 Social Networking Map that tries to mash traditional mapping with the reach and impact of social networks.

In between the fun is a lot of truth in labeling, including Land of Defunct Social Networks, some of which I've never heard of; the Receding Glaciers of AOL and Windows Live; and the United Territories of Wikimedia.

Roxy resurfaces, sounding just fine

Roxy Music has resurfaced, playing two songs on Britain's "Friday night with Jonathan Ross" show last week.

As you might expect from leader Bryan Ferry, there are new faces compared to the lineup that toured the States in 2005. The core -- Ferry, Phil Manzanera, Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson -- remains, however.

The band is touring in Europe into 2011, but no word yet on when they might return to the States or whether a long-rumored studio album is in the works or set for release. Bryan Ferry has a new solo album called "Olympia" set for release later this year, but his last few albums have been underwhelming.