Whale songs? Haunted elevators? An entire album made of typewriter sounds? Welcome to the magnetic weirdness of the cassette era.

Cassette tapes were never just for music

They were time capsules, DIY experiments, government recordings, and sometimes, truly baffling audio oddities. And thanks to the format’s affordability and flexibility, the cassette world became a wild west for sound.

Here’s a tour through some of the strangest, most head-scratching releases ever committed to magnetic tape.

1. NASA’s Whale Songs of Earth

Yes, really. In 1977, NASA released a cassette version of the Voyager Golden Record audiomeant to represent Earth’s sounds to any alien who might stumble across our spacecraft. Alongside greetings in 55 languages, heartbeat recordings, and thunder, it included the haunting songs of humpback whales.

Even better? A commercial version of this was distributed by the National Geographic Society in cassette form for classrooms. Imagine your school tape deck gently echoing whale calls across 4th-period science.

Why? Because if aliens vibe with anything, it's probably cetacean ambient.

2. Library Sound Effects Catalogues

Before digital sound banks, libraries, educators, and radio producers relied on cassette sound libraries. These weren’t for pleasure they were tools. But they were weird.

Example:

“Sound Effects Vol. 12: Doors, Elevators & Footsteps”

Thirty minutes of squeaky hinges, eerie escalators, and “nondescript walking on linoleum.”

Or how about:

“Public Transport Sound Environments” 

Which is just…bus noise. For an hour.

Perfect if your mixtape needed to segue from Joy Division into “Midtown Bus 33 Pulls Away from Curb.”

3. Prank & Complaint Line Compilations

Some indie labels in the 80s and 90s released cassettes of recorded complaint line calls, prank phone calls, and even answering machine messages.

Highlights:

“Shut Up, Little Man!”

Cult classic cassette of two roommates (Peter and Raymond) yelling at each other through thin apartment walls in San Francisco. It became so infamous, it inspired plays and a documentary.

“Jerky Boys”

The original bootleg prank call tapes, pre-fame.

These tapes lived in gloveboxes, passed around like audio contraband.

4. Self-Hypnosis & Psychic Training Tapes

The New Age movement loved cassettes. They were the ideal medium for whispery-voiced gurus and hypnotists to guide you into self-improvement—or self-delusion.

Examples include:

“Astral Projection for Beginners”

“How to Communicate with Your Dog”

“Stop Smoking by Talking to Your Inner Toddler”

Some were oddly soothing. Others felt like being slowly brainwashed by someone named Cheryl.

5. Albums Made Entirely of Typewriter Sounds

Japanese artist Tetsuya Umeda released tapes in the 90s that used typewriters, pencil scratches, and desk fans as instruments. Not ambient about offices recorded in them.

It’s the kind of thing you could only release on cassette. Too lo-fi for radio, too strange for vinyl. But cassette? A perfect format for creative chaos.

Bonus Track: Play It Anywhere with A2D2 Stream

Now, if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on one of these weird treasures, playing it shouldn’t be limited to one creaky tape deck.

The A2D2 Stream bridges the analogue past with your modern setup.
Just plug in your cassette player, and A2D2 streams that tape wirelessly to your Bluetooth or Wi-Fi speakers or headphones in glorious real-time, no conversion necessary.

Whether it’s whale songs or elevator doors, A2D2 Stream lets you beam your bizarre cassette collection all over the house. You’re welcome.

Final Rewind
Cassette tapes represented a medium beyond just music. They were:

• Field recorders for the strange
• Comedy venues
• Spiritual portals
• Avant-garde instruments

And somehow, that crackly little shell made it all sound important.
From NASA’s hopeful whale calls to unhinged roommate fights, cassette tapes preserved moments no other format would touch.