High Bias

Marc Masters is a music journalist whose work has appeared on NPR and in the Washington Post, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and Bandcamp Daily. He is author of No Wave.

An affectionate ode . . . Masters constructs a lively and detailed case for the cassette as a vital driver of cultural creation. This charming history is sure to please anyone nostalgic for the mixtapes of yesteryear."-Publishers Weekly A thoroughly enjoyable romp . . . With energy, insight, and wit, Masters provides a welcome examination of an often overlooked cultural turning point."-Kirkus Reviews (STARRED review) This accessible primer unravels past and present uses and misuses of cassettes. . . . Masters builds a generous lineage, where it is clear that as much as 'sounds realign magnetic particles on a tape . . . the tape realigns your brain.'"-The Wire Knowingly written from the perspective of an entangled enthusiast rather than a distanced observer, [High Bias] carries an awareness that an objective history of the impact of a piece of technology isn't possible, all we can do is collect the stories we tell through it. . . . High Bias is a material history, but it's also a folk history."-The Quietus "Masters, whose work often goes far below the surface of all things sonic . . . offers a fascinating look at the shifting role of cassettes over the years-and some of the fascinating ways in which people have used them."-InsideHook A wonderful book, whose title is derived from the term for tape quality."-The Goo