Podcast for the Youtube generation
The Tape Library review
Production company – Spectrevision Radio
Rating – 
I was a scornful youth when I was growing up. My friends and I were quick to mock people with differing music tastes, especially in the metal genre. We considered ourselves gatekeepers, and top of our list were girls who only liked bands because they fancied the lead singer. Next were people who liked bands, but only knew the singles that made the charts, or were the ballads (nothing else matters right?*)
As I grew up, I came to accept that it didn’t really matter how people got into the music, and that having an “in” was perfectly acceptable. Everyone has to start somewhere don’t they, and as long as the destination is the same, who cares how you ended up there right?
I thought I’d got over this annoying arrogance until my kids started watching youtubers going on ghost hunts, and boy did my derision return in spades. What can I say? I guess if you cut me in half, “gatekeeping dickhead” would be written through my body like a stick of rock.
So what’s it about?
The Tape Library is a podcast about dark history, conspiracy theories, the paranormal, and many other spooky topics. Interspersed with this are whole episodes dedicated to reading stories from Reddit and other repositories of creepy fiction.
The episodes are minimalist to say the least. Just a lone voice with a minimal background drone gives the episodes a “late night radio in the car” feel, and this really gets you in the right mindset for creepiness. This format varies slightly with the inclusion of the “scary stories in the…” episodes. The have background sound effect of rain, or a crackling bonfire (which actually sounds like an old vinyl record) etc.
The question is though, is that being yet another Spectrevision Radio production, is this a zinger like The Haunted Objects Podcast or Strange Familiars, or will we be left wanting?
Is it any good?
Here’s where my preamble becomes somewhat relevant. This podcast sounds like the thousands of YouTube channels that all cover this same area of investigation. These channels, usually presented by very young, trendy people with bad haircuts and even worse dress sense, chase engagement by catering to the short attention spans of the millennial market. See? I am a gatekeeping dickhead!
This is the audio version of that. There is nothing here that anyone with a passing interest in the subjects won’t have heard before. I’m also wary of shows that include episodes about so-called “ritual games”. These are so obviously just creepypastas that to include them in the same space as actual paranormal stories really tells me that it is jumping on the bandwagon.
I have to wonder what the point of the show is? There are better paranormal podcasts, and there are better spooky fiction podcasts. Hell, there are better podcasts that do both (LPOTL for example).
If you are already a fan of people like Sam And Colby or Wendigoon, then you’ll love this show. You’ll also probably like it if you don’t know the stories covered. However, if you do know about these stories, then unfortunately there is little here for you.
Final thoughts
Maybe I’m being too harsh here. Maybe I should accept that times change, and I’m not the arbiter of taste I like to think I am. I will have to leave that up to you to decide. Give the show a listen, you may well love it. Unfortunately, I don’t. Will I stick with it? Probably. Rather than go through every episode like I usually do, I will just be picking episodes that stand out to me.
You can get The Tape Library here:
For more great reviews, I recommend GreatPods
*bonus points if you got the reference there