Courtney Barnett
- Text by Shelley Jones

Launched just last year by a group of UK cassette label owners including Steven Rose of Sexbeat Records, Matt Flag of Suplex Cassettes, and Jen Long of Kissability, Cassette Store Day is raising its game this year, September 27, with a ton more releases and a US branch run by American cassette aficionados Burger Records.
In the run up to the big day, this Saturday, we’re asking some of our favourite Cassette Store Day artists to tell us about their favourite cassettes and explain what cassettes mean to them. First up is Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett.
Cassette Store Day Pop Quiz #1
What’s the first cassette you owned?
Ugly Kid Joe – America’s Least Wanted. Favourite tracks were Mr Record Man and Everything About You.
What was the last cassette you bought?
Bonnie Prince Billy.
What’s your favourite cassette ever?
Janet Jackson – Together Again.
What’s the best cassette artwork you’ve ever seen?
Midnight Oil – Red Sails In The Sunset.
What’s the best mix cassette you ever gave/received?
Nick Williamson made a mixtape for me and my bro. It was the only music we owned and we played it to death. It had EMF, Unbelievable. Jimi, Voodoo Child. Guns N’ Roses, November Rain. Nirvana, Lithium. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Give It Away. Spiderbait, Calypso. Killing In The Name Of…
Why are cassettes awesome?
They are the same shape as a packet of cigarettes but cheaper and better for you.
What release are you most looking forward to this store cassette day?
UV Race – Greatest Hits.
See more from our Cassette Store Day takeover.
Latest on Huck

“Struggle helps people come together”: Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory
Huck’s February interview — To hear more about the release of the indie darling’s first collaborative album, we caught up with her and Devra Hoff to hear about the record, motherhood in music and why the ’80s are back,
Written by: Isaac Muk

Nxdia: “Poems became an escape for me”
What Made Me — In this series, we ask artists and rebels about the forces and experiences that shaped who they are. Today, it’s Egyptian-British alt-pop shapeshifter Nxdia.
Written by: Nxdia

Kathy Shorr’s splashy portraits inside limousines
The Ride of a Lifetime — Wanting to marry a love of cars and photography, Kathy Shorr worked as a limousine driver in the ’80s to use as a studio on wheels. Her new photobook explores her archive.
Written by: Miss Rosen

Lewd tales of live sex shows in ’80s Times Square
Peep Man — Before its LED-beaming modern refresh, the Manhattan plaza was a hotbed for seedy transgression. A new memoir revisits its red light district heyday.
Written by: Miss Rosen

In a world of noise, IC3PEAK are finding radicality in the quiet
Coming Home — Having once been held up as a symbol of Russian youth activism and rebellion, the experimental duo are now living in exile. Their latest album explores their new reality.
Written by: Isaac Muk

Are we steamrolling towards the apocalypse?
One second closer to midnight — While the rolling news cycle, intensifying climate crisis and rapidly advancing technology can make it feel as if the end days are upon us, newsletter columnist Emma Garland remembers that things have always been terrible, and that is a natural part of human life.
Written by: Emma Garland