MIX CDs = LOVE (but usually they = vanity project)

I've been M.I.A. because I've been L.A.Z.Y.

Last weekend Mark, Sherrie, Tony and I made the big trek down to the O.C.  Rebeca was turning the big 3-0, and that's worth a trip to Fullerton (even though the traffic was horrible.  On the way back home, they shut down the 5 to one lane, twice).  But whaddyagonnado?  This girl is an intellectual brick house, and she ain't bad on the eyes either, plus we go back.  Retail and bookstores bonded us.  I had just moved to the OC and I was afraid of everyone there, but not her (even though at first she so wrongly assumed I was a religious zealot), but that's another story for another time.   For her birthday I got her a few bootleg Cd's of a certain redheaded singer, and I also made her a mix CD.

One of my big passions growing up was making mix tapes for people.  It started out as introducing people to new music they might have never heard of.  I played the part of a musical prophet bringing down the tunes from the Mount to quench the musical thirst of my disciples.  This was all good and fine for awhile, but getting people hooked onto new music wasn't enough any more, and making mix tapes eventually turned into something else.  I got bored of just putting random songs onto a tape.  The flow was mastered that was fine, but it seemed like something was missing.

As technology improved, mix tapes turned into mix Cd's and song placement got a little trickier.  Side 1 always used to be the first part of some great musical story or journey.  Side two was the conclusion, ending in a finale of a song that would leave the recipient breathless and wanting more. With no physical intermission such as turning the tape over, you had to think of a better way to sequence your CD so that your listener would still be interested.  Whereas each side of a tape became like a pop tart individually wrapped in foil, a mix CD was all of the pop tarts in one bag, and you had to eat them all otherwise the rest would go stale.

I realized, that the songs I was picking all started to have a theme to them.   Ah, so here it was, the challenge came to me.  Let's make a mix CD with a story, with a different kind of flow.  Of course the music had to be good, but now they had to mean something.  Mix Cd's then became a challenge to me, and in turn that much more fun to make.  My other great passion in life was writing, so I figure aside from music journalism, this was a way to utilize both of my great loves.

Of course for my job now, what I do most of the day is make mix Cd's.  That killed any kind of enthusiasm I had for the art.  So on special occasions, like Rebeca's birthday, I shake off the dust and see if I still have it.

I realize that I put too much emphasis on making Cd's.  Mark asked me, "Do people really appreciate it when you give them mix Cd's?"  The answer is always, they might appreciate them, but not as much as the person who made them.  It's a narcissistic art on the one hand, and on the other it's a narcissistic art.  As long as they seem happy when they get them, I'm OK with it.  They might never listen to the CD and I'll be fine with it.  (bastards!)

The following mix CD is a double doozy.  It's a love story, from beginning to end.  From falling in love to breaking up, to fucking hating your ex, to everything being a-OK, and back to wanting to fall in love again.   It's kind of like when Cupid met Psyche or like when Annie Hall meets Alvy singer.  There are a couple MP3's in there so...enjoy!  Also if you like the music check out some of the links I've provided so you can check out some other tracks, and maybe buy something.

THE WITCH, THE MORTAL, AND THE SCORE SHE HAD TO SETTLE

Disc 1

1. Miranda July - When I Call a Name 
2. Josh Ritter - Come and Find Me (remix)
3. Lovage - To Catch a Thief
4. John Martyn - Glory Box
5. The Kills - The Good Ones
6. Iron and Wine w/ Calexico - He Lays in Reins
7. Sara Montiel - Quizas, Quizas, Quizas
8. Maggie Estep - I'm an Emotional Idiot
9. Antony and the Johnsons - Be My Husband
10. Eleni Mandell - Can't You See I'm Soulful
11. Etta James - Baby, What You Want Me To Do
12. Cat Power - Good Woman
13. Sharon Jones - How Long Do I Have To Wait For You
14. Linnzi Zaorski and the Delta Royale - Evenin'
15. Mirah - Don't Die In Me
16. The Frames - What Happens When the Heart Just Stops
17. Telepopmusik - Brighton Beach
18. Handsome Boy Modeling School feat. Cat Power - I've Been Thinking
19. Nina Simone - Since I Fell For You
20. Lyrics Born - I Changed My Mind

Disc 2

1. Eileen - Ces Bottes sont faites pour marcher
2. Oscar Brown Jr - But I Was Cool
3. Kathy McCarty - Desperate Man Blues
4. The Real Tuesday Weld - Still Terminally Ambivalent Over You
5. Hefner - Hymn for the Cigarettes
6. PJ Harvey - Who Will Love Me Now?
7. The Decemberists - Engine Driver
8. Spoon - Tear Me Down
9. Clem Snide - Something Beautiful
10. Le Tigre - Tell You Now
11. World Leader Pretend - Punches
12. Ladytron - Destroy Everything You Touch
13. Colin Meloy - I Know Very Well How I Got My Name
14. Siouxsie - The Passenger
15. Holly Golightly - Walk a Mile
16. Wicked Little Town (Tommy Gnosis version) - from the Hedwig and the Angry Inch OST
17. K-Os - Hallelujah
18. Ruth Brown - If I Can't Sell It
19. Elliott Smith - Happiness
20. Kanye West - Touch the Sky

Disc 1 (Answer Key)

#1 Taken from the original soundtrack to one of my favorite movies of the year, so far, Me, You and Everyone We Know / #3 From the Lovage album Music To Make Love To Your Older Lady By, featuring Dan the Automator, Mike Patton, and Jennifer Charles from Elysian Fields / #7 Sara Montiel's version of Quizas can be seen in the Pedro Almodovar Bad Education and it can also be heard on the album 24 Grandes Exitos / #10 Eleni Mandell's smokey song can be found on the album Afternoon / #17 Telepopmusik featuring Angela McCluskey off of their latest album Angel Milk

Disc 2 (Answer Key)

#1 A French cover of These Boots Were Made For Walking by Eileen, found on the compilation album Femmes de Paris volume 1 / #5 From Hefner's 1999 album, The Fidelity Wars / #6 A b-side to PJ Harvey's single, That Was My Veil / #8 Spoons cover of Tear Me Down from the benefit cd of Hedwig and the Angry Inch covers, Wig in a Box (probably the best cover on the album) / #15 Holly Golightly, from the album, Truly She is None Other

                                 

Comments

[rebeca]

yes, your cd mixing mastery is greatly appreciatd especially by musically ignorant girls like myself. You gave me enought stuff to listen to for a long time, thank you!

[Jay Whitley]

If it's at all possible, could you PLEEEAAASSSE send me 'I Know Very Well.....' by Colin Meloy to hello_dave@hotmail.com ?

If you could, I would be eternally grateful!!!