Variety Tapes

Book about MixTapes by Thurston Moore. Available on Amazon.com among others. Read and discuss!

http://www.amazon.com/Mix-Tape-Thurston-Moore/dp/0789311992

The best turntable for making Mixtapes? Many would argue it’s irrelevent. Doesn’t everyone use CD’s? Not by a long shot. Many of the best (and weirdest) records ever made have never been converted to CD or Limewire. They’re on good old vinyl. You remember vinyl! It’s certainly not a perfect medium for storing music, but it has big advantages over digital that I won’t go into here.

Unless you plan on DJ-ing at parties and the like, a good turntable does not have to be rugged and fast. The Technics ‘wheels of steel’ have the rugged direct drive DJ market wrapped up. These are fine units but there are WAY better sounding turntables out there.  Of course, if you’re going to be putting your vinyl on to a tape or converting down to CD or MP3 this talk about perfection is pretty silly. Most of the advantages of an amazing turntable are lost within one generation. But there is something to be said for starting with the best possible source and for my money, that is the Linn LP-12.

http://www.linn.co.uk/music_systems_sondek_LP12

The Linn LP 12 is a bit like the Porsche 911 of turntables. It’s been around forever. It’s been updated and improved over the years, but it’s still the benchmark–the one against which others judge and compare themselves.  It has many worthy challengers, but when all’s said and done, why not get the real thing? I got mine second-hand and it’s simply a great machine. It’s very musical and true and solid as a tank. This last point is important–my previous turntable was a B&O Beogram 2000 and that was very fine but didn’t survive the move to New York!

It doesn't get (or sound) much better than this.

October 17th, 1993

Side A

Everything but the girl   Only living boy in New York
Iris Dement    Let the Mystery Be
Unrest    West Coast Love Affair
Cranberries   Linger
The Breeders    No Aloha
Stereolab   Jenny Ondoline
Nick Cave   Mercy Seat
Meryn Cadell   The Sweater
Specials   Ghost town
Fabulon   In a mood
Catherine Wheel   Crank
Cannonball Adderly   Autumn Leaves
Stereolab   Pack yer romantic mind

Side B

Prince    Pop Life
KD Lang   Mind of love
KD Lang   Miss Chatelaine
Fireside theater   Cockteaser
Stereo MCs   Playin with Fire
Unrest   Isabel
River Roses   US 99
Moby    Myopia
De La Soul   I am I be
Breeders   Driving all night
Earth, Wind and Fire   Shining Star
The Sonics   The Witch
Aretha Franklin   I never loved a Man
Tito Puente   Baila como es
StereoLab   Pack yer romanitic mind
Fireside Theater   Assembly

Side A

Gavin Bryars Jesus blood never failed me
That Petrol Emotion Cellophane
Björk Venus as a boy
This Mortal Coil You and your sister
Nick Hayward Kite
Fairport Convention I don’t know where I stand
Pet Shop Boys Liberation
John Holt Stick by me
C. Mingus / Jackie Paris Portrait
Earth WInd & Fire That’s the way of the world
Django Reinhardt I’ll see you in my dreams

Side B

Lemonheads The great big no
One Dove White Love
Liz Phair Fuck and Run
Gleaming Spires Are you ready for the Sex girls?
Catherine Wheel I confess
Simon and Garfunkel Only living boy in New York
Velvet Underground All tomorrow’s parties
Mekons Millionaire
Prefab Sprout Nancy
Kindness of strangers Border
Kirsty Maccoll You know its you
Tom Waits Gavin Bryers Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet
January 4th, 1994

Now you can take those favorite mixtapes and put them on a stick and put it in a mixtape.

Get it here.

Side A

Catherine Wheel Crank
the Jesus and Mary Chain Psychocandy
Elliot Smith Rose Parade
Air Ce matin la
Cornelius Crash
Money Mark Bossa Nova
Money Mark Rock in the Rain
Money Mark Crowns
Money Mark All the people
Missy Elliot Supa Fly
SWV Can we
Catatonia Road Rage

Side B

Metal as Anything If you
Beastie Boys Stargazer
Cornershop Brimful of Asha
Fatboy Slim Rockefeller
Roni Size Brown Paper
One Dove Fallen
Talking Heads The Great Curve
Patti Smith Dancing Barefoot
Beck Sleeping Bay
Pernice Brothers Overcome

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.

_

Side A
Lovely Day Bill Withers
Rodeo Aaron Copeland
Dancing Queen ABBA
Tennessee Arrested Development
Mais que nada Sergio Mendes
One of these days Pink Floyd
Witchita Lineman Glen Campbell
I Hope Gabriel Likes My Music Louis Armstrong
Naane Maharaja (I Am the Emperor) Vijaya Anand
I need you the Beatles
I wanna be sedated the Ramones
Something’s Got to Give Beastie Boys
Night and Day Everything but the girl
How to Die Quentin Crisp

Side B
El Paso Marty Robbins
Rumba Como Quiere Los Zafiros
Sweet Home Chicago Robert Johnson
Blow Data
The Kiss Harold Budd
Here Pavement
What do I get Buzzcocks
Girl, You’ll be a woman soon Urge Overkill
A new england BillyBragg
Fiesta Brava Celeste Mendoza
Pearl Necklace ZZ Top
Gnawa Toura Toura Tour Kelilah
Island Art of Noise
Beastie Boys Groove Holmes
Once Upon a Time Ennio Morricone
Lesbian Seagull Tom Wilson

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From Wikipedia:
A mixtape is a compilation of songs recorded in a specific order, traditionally onto a compact audio cassette.

A mixtape, which usually reflects the musical tastes of its compiler, can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a theme or mood, to a highly personal statement tailored to the tape’s intended recipient. Essayist Geoffrey O’Brien has called the personal mixtape “the most widely practiced American art form,”^[1] and many mixtape enthusiasts believe that by carefully selecting and ordering the tracks in a mix, an artistic statement can be created that is greater than the sum of its individual songs, much as an album of pop music in the post-Beatles era can be considered as something more than a collection of singles.

Read the entire entry here.