Old Mix Tapes

[scramjet]

It was interesting reading about Mrs. Blir's old mix tape. Here are the track listings for a few of mine that have weathered the slings & arrows of time (along with titles that were put on the tapes by me or a friend):

The first two were made for me by a DJ friend and mailed to me when I was away and not able to keep up on music. The tape was made before "Don't You Forget About Me" and "Shout" were huge hits

"New Music" (from about 1984)
Side 1.
1. Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me
2. Shreikback - Lined Up
3. Depeche Mode - Master and Servant
4. Depeche Mode - Blasphemous Rumours
5. Strawberry Switchblade - Since Yesterday
6. Tears for Fears - Shout (extended)

Side 2.
1. The Porcelain Iguanas - The Little Old Man On A Park Bench (Gun Control)
2. The Alarm - Absolute Reality
3. The Smiths - The Headmaster Ritual
4. The Smiths - How Soon is Now?
5. The Reducers - Let's Go
6. INXS - I Send a Message
7. INXS - Burn for You
8. Shoes - Will You Spin For Me?

Another from about '84:
Side 1 is called "Various Oingo Boingo" and contains songs from their 1st 3 albums.
Side 2 is labeled "Various Other Stuff":
1. The Europeans - A.E.I.O.U.
2. Stray Cats - Too Hip, Gotta Go
3. Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy - Hold It
4. Minor Detail - Canvas of Life
5. The Bongos - Numbers With Wings
6. Blancmange - Living on the Ceiling
7. Tears for Fears - The Hurting
8. Gang of Four - I Fled
9. The Ascenders - Make My Own Rules
10. Adrian Belew - The Ideal Woman
11. The Polecats - Make a Circuit With Me
12. Angst - Neil Armstrong
13. Tim Scott - Swear

I made this mix of old and new stuff probably in early '88 for a girl - possibly the one I ended up marrying (can't remember [:I]) labeled "K-Tell Presents: Wild Wild Tunes"
Side A:
1. The Ramones - Time Has Come Today
2. The Romantics - What I Like About You
3. The Romantics - She's Got Everything
4. Roman Holiday - Stand By
5. X - Breathless
6. The Cult - Rain
7. Joe Jackson - The Jet Set
8. Wang Chung - Dance Hall Days
9. Ultravox - Dancing With Tears in My Eyes
10. Adam Ant - Antmusic
11. Latin Quarter - Radio Africa
12. Ultravox - Reap the Wild Wind
13. The Screaming Blue Messiahs - Wild Blue Yonder

Side B:
1. The Dead Milkmen - Bitchin' Camaro
2. Midnight Oil - Dreamworld
3. The Connells - I Suppose
4. The Housemartins - Happy Hour
5. Lords of the New Church - Like a Virgin
6. The Nip Drivers - Rio
7. Echo & the Bunnymen - Lips Like Sugar
8. The Smiths - Death at One's Elbow
9. The Cure - Close to Me
10. R.E.M. - Driver 8
11. The B-52's - Private Idaho
12. The Screaming Blue Messiahs - I Wanna Be a Flintstone
13. The Smithereens - Behind the Wall of Sleep
14. Martini Ranch - How Can the Laboring Man Find Time for Self-Culture?

Interesting snapshots of what I was interested in and listening to.

[marie3]

Great topic!
Some great songs. Strawberry Switchblade, Shreikback, Tim Scott, X, The Screaming Blue Messiahs! (I'd forgotten about that song!)
I have a few of tapes made by a friend when I lived in Florida 1985 or so. There was no new wave down there at all. She would mail them down to me and they were my little treasures back them.

[red x red]

Great selection of music Scram.

I'm glad you were finally able to identify the Ascenders song!
I'll have to pull some of my old tapes and see what is on them.

[scramjet]

The funny thing about these old tapes is that I'll listen to a song on a CD now, and as it's ending the song after it on my old tape will come into my mind. Wierd how these things stick with you.

[MARV]

[quote][i]Originally posted by scramjet[/i]
<br>The funny thing about these old tapes is that I'll listen to a song on a CD now, and as it's ending the song after it on my old tape will come into my mind. Wierd how these things stick with you.
[/quote]

Wow, that is funny. I've taken to making CD-R's of some old mix tapes, with a few changes. It's funny how you want to stick to these old compilations. But I always did and still do put alot of thought and consideration into my compilations.

[KYYX4ever]

[quote][i]Originally posted by scramjet[/i]
<br>The funny thing about these old tapes is that I'll listen to a song on a CD now, and as it's ending the song after it on my old tape will come into my mind. Wierd how these things stick with you.
[/quote]

DUDE! That happens to me ALL the time. I listen to my CDR comps and expect certain songs to play next. Wow--I'm glad it's not just me.[8D]

[WolverineSyr]

Same here. I used to make tapes for specific road trips or eveings spent with friends. I still hear a song that would be on one of those tapes & remember that night, conversations, etc. & why I made the tape. I'm still pretty thoughtful about the mix cds I make - try to create a flow, etc.

A few months ago (pre-hub) I found an old tape which had Into the Flow from Boys Brigade. I had forgotton all about that song, but became deperate to find it again, as the tape was now unplayable. I ended up buying the album on ebay & discovered all their other great songs!

[geoffolehane]

I turned my mixed cassette recordings into individual projects. It was like an art form to me.

I always made sure that the songs flowed well. Fast ones or similar artists would go together. Likewise with slow ones. Songs that ended cold would segue into songs that started hot (or cold). I had instant start and stop on my cassette deck so I could make things real tight. Plus it allowed me to make my own special edits, which I would occassionally do if I had a 12-inch that I wanted to shorten up a bit.

I also had (still have) a special broadcasters stop watch which adds and substracts in Base-60. I'd time my tapes as I made them and make sure that each side would end right at the leader tape so there'd only be a short delay in switching sides.

A little obsessive maybe?

[2Nu]

Not At All Dude
Each one was an individual creation IMO

I particularly enjoyed the C90 format, it gave you plenty of time to get a good mood and song flow going.

Since my Odyssey has a cassette deck (funny how those are still factory installed) I played those old tapes on a few interstate trips and they still sound fresh.

On a slightly technical note:
Remember those different tape formulations?(Plain, CrO2 and Metal)
and was Dolby NR really necessary? (I hated it, always muddied the sound)

IMO: Having a mixing board was KEY to making great tapes.

I still have my Pyramid mixer BTW (paid $50 cash for it back round '85 from one of those shops down on Fulton St.)

That audio component was the best investment and has given me countless hours of listening pleasure (both live and on tape). Even after 20 years (15 of heavy use, 5 of almost non-use) Those slides and crossfades are still velvet smooth and noise free.

I'm really glad someone thought to incorporate a 0-3 sec crossfade feature into my
<a href="http://www.digitalnetworksna.com/shop/_templates/item_main_Rio.asp?model=261" target="blank">Rio Karma Mp3 player</a> so my playlists can flow like they did on my mix tapes.[8D]

P.S. How many of you cassettephiles used a mixer vs straight pause & record? (Possible Poll Question[?])

[bpdp3]

The name of the book escapes me, but I saw a book by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth all about nothing but (guess what) mix tapes!! I think it's a fairly recent book; it had pictures of tapes, song lists, etc. etc.

See, we're not the only ones......

[MARV]

I was SO into making my own remixes from 12 inch vinyls. I would mix up a song, extend intros, combine dubs with the radio edits of the same songs and sometimes I even mixed in wacky dialogue from talk radio. I came across one of these old tapes the other day and immediately brought it into the car keep. So funny, what we did as kids. Now our game is up several notches with computers, mixing software and CD burners. These early mixes of mine, even though primitive by today's home grown standards, are very endearing to me.

[design_femme]

I had a little signature thing on my mix tapes: on side 2, I would start off with Monty Python's Executive Announcement.

Michael Palin would start yelling:

"This is Side Two! If you want to play the record from the beginning, please turn over! Do not play this side if you want Side One! This is SIDE TWO!"


And then, Graham Chapman would politely follow up with:

"We would like to apologize to purchasers of the executive
version of this record for the peremptory nature of that
announcement. The brusque tone was intended for buyers of the
cheaper version."

[googoomuc]

This is cool for transfering all your mixed tapes with your pc.


http://www.plusdeck.com/

[2Nu]

[quote][i]Originally posted by design_femme[/i]
<br>I had a little signature thing on my mix tapes: on side 2, I would start off with Monty Python's Executive Announcement.
[/quote]
LOL! Pretty neat df.
I was never that sophisicated and witty with my tape mixes but when making workout tapes for my SO, I would give them whimsical titles.[:D]

[quote][i]Originally posted by googoomuc[/i]
This is cool for transfering all your mixed tapes with your pc.
http://www.plusdeck.com/
[/quote]
$149.00 at <a href="http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=PLUSDECK2-N&cm_mmc=geekmail-_-daily_html-_-6%2f13%2f2005-_-geekdeck2" target="blank">Computer Geeks dot com</a>
<IMG SRC="http://www.geeks.com/images/300x300/con-plusdeck2-n-unit.jpg">

[KYYX4ever]

[quote][i]Originally posted by 2Nu[/i]
<br>
P.S. How many of you cassettephiles used a mixer vs straight pause & record? (Possible Poll Question[?])
[/quote]

pause and record for me. I had no money for anything fancy.

[quote]
<br>
Remember those different tape formulations?(Plain, CrO2 and Metal)
and was Dolby NR really necessary? (I hated it, always muddied the sound)
[/quote]
YES! I remember those; I always wondered if they really truly meant anything. I bought the higher end ones anyway.

Design femme: Those Monty Python recordings sound funny as heck !!