Collectors and music fans wearing the T-shirts of obscure rock bands brave the tropical heat outside a record store near Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, waiting to get their hands on new cassette tapes. No, this isn't a flashback to the '80s, but an event marking the recent International Cassette Store Day, an annual celebration of a music format once believed to be headed for extinction but now enjoying a renaissance. Vinyl's return is well-documented, and now it seems cassettes are returning from the dead, with artists such as Kanye West and Justin Bieber releasing songs on tape. In Southeast Asia, low production costs and a retro-cool image have made cassettes an underground music fixture, especially for struggling bands getting their name out. "Cassettes are our bestsellers," said Mohammad Radzi Jasni, owner of Teenage Head Records, after shoving a tape by Singaporean surf-punk band Force Vomit into a bulky player. "They are still the best way to discover new bands here. It's ...
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