mixtape = love (pt. 1)

I have been thinking about mixtapes. Two years ago, I had to leave my dual-tape deck AIWA stereo behind in Philadelphia and there’s been a gaping hole in my musical experiences, specifically sharing music with others, since I’ve lost the ability to put together a tape.  I miss them. I loved making the cute little covers, (so much that I still have tapes that were meant for other people just because I liked the artwork I did for them enough that I decided to keep them) and obsessively working on that tracklist that would clock in at 30-45 minutes (depending on the length of the tape I was using.)

A lot of my friends were very into themes. I’ve always been keenly sensitive to sound, so even though I would start out with a theme, I would end up throwing that out the window and just trying to make sure the songs flowed into one another. I became particularly obsessed with “flowage” after receiving a mix tape in the mail that was so jarring in it’s continuity that I could only listen to it once. I can recall spending a whole day locked in my Denton, TX apartment working on a tape for a boyfriend and feeling such a sense of accomplishment when I was finally able to make it flow. It’s amazing how a task so small sounding in scope could end up being a day long endeavor. It’s even more amazing to me how proud I was over a cassette tape, how artistic I felt simply by stitching a bunch of other people’s art together. As I laid each song next to the other, the endeavor became mine, my own personal letter written without needing a pen.

Anyway, I know a few of the people that read this blog still have old tapes lying around. I want you to find (or recall) your favorite and tell me about it. What kind of music was on it? Who made it for you? Did you actively search out the music on the tape after receiving it? Was the cover for your tape equally amazing? Just tell me whatever you remember about it. I’ll return in kind with some more words about my favorite mixes.