eight tracks bad

April 11 is National Eight Track Tape Day. I’m not sure who declared this, or why, but it is. You can’t make this stuff up. I had a couple of cars that had players. There’s no way around it; they sucked. If you ever had one you know. When they worked, the tracks would change mid-song and spoil the music and the mood. When they failed, you’d find a pile of tape spaghetti pouring out with little or no chance of repair. The technology all but disappeared by the late 70s, replaced by the more reasonable cassette tape. These days eight tracks are treasured by people who have cars from the era, by people who are completist collectors of bands, and wacky collectors who should have more sense.