Skip to main content

Mixed Tape Memories

I ran across all of my old mixed tapes yesterday while I was sorting through my office. I sat cross-legged on the trundle as I ran through each and every one of them, reading the song titles and trying to stay adrift in all the memories that flooded me.

I found the tapes that Brian made me each Valentine's Day for the four years we dated. They had songs by Smashing Pumpkins, Mathew Sweet, Phish, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, and Jane's Addiction. I haven't listened to those bands in years but I still know every word to those songs. Then there was the tape that Kevin sent me my first week of college. I think he knew that I would be a bit lonely and terrified and he sent me songs that would remind me of him and our old friends. There is a picture of Kevin in the 7th grade along side a picture of Ethan Embry in Empire Records, the movie we watched religiously our senior year of high school. The tape has songs by Cake, R.E.M, Jim Croce, and Oingo Boingo. I think even a song from the Partridge Family is on there. I also unearthed the tape that Tracy and I made, titled E3's greatest hits, filled with songs we constantly played in our college dorm room.

The majority of the tapes though are from Josh. I have the tape he made me when Brian left for Panama, the one that arrived in the mail after I had called him sobbing, telling him how I hated school and how all the people there were mean and religious hypocrites (not all of them were I was glad to soon discover), the one he gave me before he went to Nova Scotia for an entire semester, and the one he made after we had gone to see BareNaked Ladies at the Rose Room. There is a tape of his college radio show and a tape that he sent for a Tuesday Prize Day. The bands have names like The Rugburns, Pyschadelic Furs, and Mojo Nixon. The songs either made me laugh, think, or just sing along. They have become audio diaries, marking times and experiences that started fading away, but as soon as the opening hook to "We Close Our Eyes" begins, they all come back in vivid and bright color.

If I were to make a mixed tape now, to document the time and experiences I am living, I think the following songs would be there:
* "Girl" - Beck
* "Juicy" - Better Than Ezra
* "White Wedding" - Billy Idol
* "Things Have Changed" - Bob Dylan
* "Lovely Day" - Brad Walters
* "Rock n' Roll Lifesytle" - Cake
* "Life Less Ordinary" - Carbon Leaf
* "Deep Enough to Dream" - Chris Rice
* " Ain't No Other Man" - Christina Aguilera (guilty pleasure, I can't help it!)
* "Everything's Okay" - The Clumsy Lovers
* "Dead in the Water" - David Gray
* "Settle for a Slow Down" - Dierks Bentley
* "Not Ready to Make Nice" - Dixie Chicks
* "Remedies for Remembering" - Douglas Cameron
* "Half-Life" -Duncan Shiek
* "Pretty Little Thing" - Fink
* "Extraordinary Machine" - Fiona Apple
* "Language or the Kiss" -Indigo Girls

What would be on yours?
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Vivo en Guayaquil, Pero Mi Corazón Está en Quito

Oh Quito, how I love thee... Dave and I needed a break from the heat and honking of Guayaquil, so we hopped on a quick flight north.   We spent a wonderful four days in beautiful Quito, Ecuador.  Enjoying the many artisan markets, coffee shops, restaurants, mountains, and cool weather.  I wore jeans and long-sleeved shirts, slept with three blankets on the bed, and never left without my jacket, hat, and gloves for the first time in months.  It was pure heaven. Quito is a very tourist friendly destination, with people from all over the world walking through the streets.  It is not uncommon to hear whispers of French, Dutch, German, English, and, of course, Spanish as you travel down its cobblestone avenues.  The people are also so very friendly, pointing out points of interest that they have discovered to any other tourist they see.  People often can be seen giving tips on which restaurants to try or where the nearest bookstore can be found to complete strangers they bump into.  Many ar
Read more

Años Viejos, Pyromaniacs, and Fireworks...Oh My

I have to admit, it has been quite awhile since I have actually been awake to ring in the new year and say goodbye to the old.  Dave and I have always been a bit more concerned about the eight hours of sleep necessary to enjoy life rather than seeing the ball drop.  But this year...is different.   It is 12:58 and the neighbor's hired band just started, there are rapid fire explosives (aka fireworks) going off in three minute intervals, and the car alarms throughout our block seem to be answering the loving call of said fireworks.  There will be no eight hours to start off the year for the Richert's this time. Nothing about our experiences in Ecuador could be classified as typical, and New Year's Eve is proving to be no exception.  The evening started out quite and low key, dinner at home with a movie.  There were the occasional firework, but that isn't anything atypical.  I was even contemplating continuing the tradition of snuggling into bed by 10:30.   Before I called
Read more

Yes or No?

A couple weeks ago, slipped in the far reaches of my mailbox, I found a note that took me back to the good ol' days of elementary school.   You know what I'm talking about. Remember how you would just be sitting at your desk, one leg pumping back and forth, pencil eraser nudging your bottom lip, as you tried to puzzle out those mind-boggling multiplication tables?  And then, out of the corner of your eye, you would see Andy passing a note to Melissa, who would then pass it on to Mark, who would then palm it off to you right before Mrs. Nelson turned around from the blackboard.  Your name would be written all in cursive and curly-q's on the clumsily folded paper.  Carefully, stealthily, you unfold the paper to find: Well, InterAmerican sent me a 'check yes or no' note, and it raised the same sensation of anxiety that those old love notes of yesterday used to inspire.  Instead of the traditional, "do you like me?" question, it was the "will you continue
Read more