Wednesday, May 17, 2017

The Art of the Mix Tape




If you care enough about music, eventually you will make a mix tape or a compilation cd or something. 

Something that you present to someone, or maybe you keep it for yourself. Think of the options

Break up songs
I love you songs
Songs to fuck to
Songs to listen to while you work out
The list could go on and on… 

Maybe you have scoured the internet for guides, or have watched videos. Maybe you looked for themes; maybe you have a million ideas.

Wanna know what I think?  There are no fucking rules!!!

Sure some of the guides make sense, but at the same time, no one has ever made the album you are making. You aren’t remastering Rubber Soul.  This is a new thing

Sure maybe someone else made a cd for Pamela Johnson, but that dude didn’t have your style.  He opened with something from the Lion King; you can open with Frank Zappa


So, I decided to make a mix tape, and just tell you about it.   I will tell you as we go along, maybe the theme will come to you…

If there even is a theme. 

There doesn’t always have to be a theme

In fact, the mix that I am going to give you, has an almost anti theme, that I will explain at the end….

Maybe…



      1.     Feels Like Summer – Weezer




So I am just starting out with a song that I am anticipating.  Weezer has an album coming out at some point, tentatively titled “The Black Album” which means it will just be another self-titled album.

 I love it. It is supposed to be darker, edgier and sadder.
 Pinkerton 2.0? 

Let’s not get our hopes up.  But still
I think it’s a great way to start off






       2.     The Beatles - Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!/I Want You (She's So Heavy)/Helter Skelter




I have been fixated on The Beatles Love experience from Cirque du Soleil.  So much so that I want to go to Vegas badly.  Just to see this and go home.  Of course, that’s not much of a trip.  But I’ve had shorter trips to Vegas in the past.

So the whole album is just one flowy mind fuck from beginning to end.  It’s wild man. 
There are other songs that you can trip out to, but I just like the way this one ends, especially when added to a comp cd




       3.     The Beach Boys – Caroline, No



Just a continuation of the mind fuckery.   I think if you read these long enough, you know how I feel about The Beach Boys. 

So the main reason I picked this was due to the comma in the title, which was the result of misheard lyrics.

Look it up for yourself




      4.     Frank Ocean – Crack Rock



When your lead in is the closing song of Pet Sounds, where do you go from there? 

Something that touches you deep from a different point of view.  

The extension to me is the depth that a break up can spiral to.

That is, if you see Caroline, No as a break up song.  2 months later you are alone high and quivering. And that’s where it goes

Plus then, near the end, there is that discussion on the value of a cop versus the value of a drugged out, depressed black dude.

But let’s not get into that political discussion




      5.     Bob Dylan – Forever young



I can’t find a video containing a full version of this song

But it is real and legit

It is almost 3 minutes long.  Somehow I wish I could get it to you, but I don’t know where I got it
  Let’s move on.  I just added this track to pick the mood back up




      6.     Jimi Hendrix – Foxy Lady


The first 7 seconds of this song are so quiet, they are there and they are good, but...

That’s the way they suck you in,  You turn it up to hear the twang and just as you do, the control volume goes up, and now you are rocking and screaming and near deaf.
Then you rock for 3 minutes,

Then silence again

Fuck yeah




     7.     Jack Johnson -  Banana Pancakes


It’s just a simple happy tune about what to do on a rainy day. 

This is a fun song.  How many happy songs are there about rainy days, (besides Bus Stop by The Hollies)?

I like the random lyrics and the simplistic nature of the recording




     8.     Simon and Garfunkel - The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)


This is nothing more than an older version of Banana Pancakes

It’s just a happy little ditty about having a lazy day

The title of the song for the sake of the lord says “Feeling Groovy”

It is less than 2 minutes long.

If I write anything more it will surpass the length of the song.




     9.     Cat Stevens – The First Cut is the Deepest


Yes I am well aware that this is probably not the version of the song that you know

But this is the fucking original.

Rod Stewart’s was just an interpretation. And Sheryl Crow’s version was an interpretation of that. 

The real reasoning for me picking this song is that it is not Father and Son.  I put that on so many mix tapes that well, it’s played out

This whole album is beginning to sound like a break up album

It is not

I am happily married




     10.                         Ben Kweller – On My Way




So, first off, it is not Ben Folds.  I usually put a folds song on for filler.  

Of all the Kweller songs that I could have used this is the most delicate, and it’s a fresh start

The lyrics continue down the path of mistakes, but in the end, it’s a happy song.

At least to me it is

And here is the bonus of the day






     11.                        Bob Marley & The Wailers – No Woman No Cry (Live)





My wife hates live recordings, I don’t get it.

There is a trueness to live music. It is as it is intended.  Do I love what studio bands can do?  Sure, but they each have their own place, and for me someone who can perform a song live and still sound original.  That’s talent

So I just wanted to take a step back and clear the mind of the listener.

Just something to take the edge off.

Reggae has a way of relaxing you. Whether you are into the extra-curricular activities or not.

I love Bob Marley, not because I am a stoner, but because of the message.  It is a shame he was taken from us too soon. 


Almost sooner too.


Just think about that.




     12.                         Hanson – MmmBop (Acoustic)


In 1997 people thought it was junk. 

Maybe it was, but they are still selling out shows.  They must be doing something right.

I like this acoustic, live setting, because it is intimate enough to feel what is happening, without overpowering you with too much

Ok, so it’s a guilty pleasure, but it’s mine.  And this song has helped me progress any live sets I have needed a cool filler for.  Girls my age are nostalgic for this shit.





     13.                         Sublime - Badfish


Originally this was going to come on earlier, but it needed to be after the Bob Marley break. 

I think this is just the heart almost of the CD

Remember I don’t follow rules

So I can build you as slow as I want




     14.                         The Dirty Mac – Yer Blues




In 1968 The Rolling Stones put together their Rock N Roll Circus.

They invited some great musicians.  The Dirty mac was:

John Lennon (as "Winston Leg-Thigh") – vocals, rhythm guitar (from The Beatles)
Eric Clapton – lead guitar (from Cream)
Mitch Mitchell – drums (from The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
Keith Richards – bass (from The Rolling Stones)


How the hell could they go wrong plus they do just such a romping number. 

Yer Blues was from the Beatles White Album, but this has Clapton and Richards

Some would say that it is a faux pas to put 2 Beatles songs on 1 album.

I disagree

It’s fucking sonic craftsmanship





     15.                        The Monkees – Zilch


And the mind fuck comes to an end








The Finished product

So as a whole, there is no theme. 

It’s sort of an anti-thematic mix.

 It is as much noise as I could put on in 15 songs. 

I tried to find songs with as much extra noise as possible, songs that start soft and finish strong, that was my only real guiding force, extra noise and louder at the end

And that is my 1 rule; don’t fill the disc just because you can.  And now, now that we can make digital playlists there is no track limit.  But that doesn’t mean you should just keep adding

All I wanted was an album that I could watch the stars with.  Get high and sit on a roof.  Each song brings you something new to think about or talk about.

So my final thought is, Fuck it, and make your mix. Have fun, get loud. Just do it.

I encourage you to just sit for a few hours and make 1 playlist 1 great mixtape, 1 cool comp cd. Hell, I put my life story on 2 discs once.  All the way to my funeral

I love you.  See you soon

It’s good to be back