Thursday, September 4, 2008

TVD Shuffle Bored | September 5, 2008

My mp3 collection totals around 12,000 songs. I acknowledge the ridiculousness of having that many songs and no time to listen to them but it's nice to put them on shuffle and hear songs I haven't heard since I was 18. And some songs come around in the shuffle that I love, and, occasionally, some songs that I hate (but juuuust can't delete). Normally in a shuffle I'll listen to one or two songs and then another will come along and I'll skip over it. Today, however, all 5 were songs that I would listen to in a row.

It's a shame how the rise in popularity of the ipod has caused music for many to become impersonal, leaving the fun of things like mix tapes (and, if you're of my generation, CDs) in the technological dust. I remember being a sophomore in high school and this senior, Travis who was quirky and smart in that nerd-in-a-movie way in which none of the girls really noticed him, but regretted it years later after he became a successful writer/artist/musician/earthworm wrangler, recorded a mix tape (that I was to supply) for me. Side note: The cassette, "borrowed" from my younger brother, was originally the story of Paul Bunyan as read by Jonathan Winters. I had to choose between that or one of my dad's Hall and Oates cassettes. I think I went with Paul Bunyan because it seemed there would be less chance of getting made fun of for a book on tape than toting around a tape of some mustachioed male 80s duo in my backpack. Upon returning it, Travis had written things like "Babe the Blue Ox hearts Pavement," which I thought was oh so rad.

I cherished that tape and played it a million times partially because I thought Travis was totally cute and knowledgeable about all things cool, but also because it was the first time anyone had given me a mix tape (unless you count the Vanilla Ice and NKOTB tapes my friends and I bootlegged for each other when I was 8) and I loved all of the music it exposed me to. I then spent the rest of my time in high school, on into college, perfecting my very own mix tape formula. Now, it seems, possibly due to busyness and/or laziness, I settle for the occasional iMix or just setting my tunes on shuffle. Modern technology may have the ability to put thousands and thousands of songs in one place, but it never gives me that rush of joy like when I popped that first mix tape into the player.


Langhorne Slim - Loretta Lee Jones (Mp3)
Mark Kozelek - Metropol 47 (Mp3)
Tsunami Bomb - My Machete (Mp3)
Jesca Hoop - Seed Of Wonder (Mp3)
The Boomtown Rats - Shes So Modern (Mp3)

5 comments:

Dickie Wallace said...

I appreciated your comments about the technological innovations and the changes they have made in our music-listening lives. When my son can't figure out my a music video he's been sent won't open on his computer, I tell him (using my best Grandpa Simpson voice), "Oh, back in my day, I would spent all night making a mixtape for the girl who sat next to me in European History..." And, my mother, overhearing us, uses her genuine grandmother voice to tell us about the first LP she brought home and how it didn't work on her little phonograph player because it had been designed for 45 rpm singles...

Anonymous said...

Great memories of mix tapes and using them to try and impress girls. Now that we are all married and have no one left to impress, my brothers and I still swap summer and Christmas mixes as presents. There's nothing like the feeling of popping it in and hearing what new gems or old faves will come roaring out of the speakers. Thanks for all that you do to create the same feeling with your blog.

Aya Amurjuev said...

Fantastic post! I could really relate to this as I've always been a mixtape person myself, starting back in the days when I was so little I had no money and spent hours making my own painstainking mixtapes from the radio. The story about Travis's mixtape was absolutely charming. Brings back so many memories. Thanks for sharing these tracks and your thoughts with us!

Jon said...

Juuuust for the record, I'd like to point out that Kris was the person who authored today's post and it was she who thought Travis was cute and who had the Vanilla Ice and NKOTB tapes.

Just sayin'.

KRIS said...

glad to be of service.

jon- travis was super cute, i'm sure you would agree if you met him.