troy | 
03 12th, 2008| 
It’s hard to recall exactly what was going on during the Summer of 1992 for me, but this tape has to be something of a high water mark as far as my mix tapes go.
First of all, some technical notes: Maxell 100 capsule tapes were the bomb. They had a lovely, slim case design and 100 minutes of of fine chrome sound. I had my Nakamichi deck tuned specifically for them (those were the days) so they sounded true and hiss-free.
The music is my usual mixed bag affair. Some of this and some of that. I love ending a tape with a joke like “Lesbian Seagull” or “How to Die With Style” by Quentin Crisp… And “Lovely Day” and “El Paso” are great ’starters’. I think a good variety mix needs some ‘grounded pieces’ as well–ABBA, ZZ Topp, Ramones–things that everyone pretty much knows and loves. If you just do obscure Pavement songs and Cuban hits from the 1970’s you lose people.
The Everything But the Girl song “Night & Day” by Cole Porter I remember causing me particular pain to acquire–and then suddenly it appeared. The days of searching record stores for rare imports are pretty much over for me. MP3 has made things too easy. Sad, really.
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