D
espite the popularity of streaming
and downloading music, nothing
beats the magic conjured up by
a mix tape. Whether committed
to a cassette or CD it can transport
you back to people, places and
fondly remembered life experiences.
While the numerous Now compilations satisfy the
appetites of those wanting an immediate hits
fix, the mix tape can be the ‘thinking person’s’
playlist. If you’re of a certain age, you’ll recall
how creating a mix tape was a rewarding and
worthwhile pursuit. At a time when buying an
album burned a not-so-insignificant hole in pocket
money, borrowing records from school friends
introduced us to new material at little expense.
And it not only eased the challenge of keeping up
with the latest releases, it was also a time when
serenading a crush with a ‘love token’ C90 of their
favourite songs, would virtually guarantee a date.
My mix taping began with a second-hand Cossor
reel-to-reel tape recorder. I would hunker down
in my bedroom with fingers poised on the record/
pause buttons, ready to capture the best of Radio 1,
from Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman’s Pick of the Pops on a
Sunday to John Peel’s more eclectic music choices
on a school night, inevitably snatching snippets
of their voiceovers in the process.
Technology moved me on, through cassette
recorders (with their fragile tapes which would,
sooner or later, get twisted and mangled up,
prompting a painstaking pencil intervention), and ILLUSTRATION: ANNELIESE KLOSWhy we love a mix tape
WE MAY NO LONGER CROUCH BY THE RADIO, FINGER POISED
ON ‘RECORD’, BUT THE JOY OF COMPILING A PLAYLIST ISN’T
LOST. JOIN US IN CELEBRATING THE CHARM OF THE MIX TAPEWords ANDREW GALLANTNOSTALGIAonto the advent of the CD. While back in the day it
required a vast and varied music collection to create
a decent playlist, today you can pull together music
from all over with a simple click of your mouse.
Now, to aficionados, mix taping has become
something of an art. These days, my own mix
tapes are not merely collections of favourite tracks
randomly burned onto a CD. Rather, each one has
a defined theme. I’m particularly fond of a double-
CD set celebrating New York. It takes the listener
through a day in the life of the city, from Grace Jones
‘The Apple Stretching’, through U2 ‘Angel of Harlem’
culminating with Frank Sinatra ‘New York, New
York’ – what else?. With careful segues between
songs, the CDs paints a picture and tells a story.
Most people have their own rules governing the
construction of a mix tape. For example, if you’re
creating a playlist of just one band or artist, my
preference is to keep songs in chronological order.
Take The Beatles. It would seem odd to follow
‘A Day in the Life’ with ‘She Loves You’, say,.
I also like to throw in an unexpected oddball as
the final track of a themed CD. Try Johnny Cash
‘One Piece at a Time’ finishing my American road
trip compilation – Cars & Guitars. Or B J Thomas
‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head’ rounding
up my rain-themed playlist.
In fact, made with careful consideration and
a lot of love, as well as an hour of brilliant tunes
(that’s if you’re listening on a C60, of course), you
can understand why so many of us still get misty-
eyed about mix tapes.D
espite the popularity of streaming
and downloading music, nothing
beats the magic conjured up by
a mix tape. Whether committed
to a cassette or CD it can transport
you back to people, places and
fondly remembered life experiences.
While the numerous Now compilations satisfy the
appetites of those wanting an immediate hits
fix, the mix tape can be the ‘thinking person’s’
playlist. If you’re of a certain age, you’ll recall
how creating a mix tape was a rewarding and
worthwhile pursuit. At a time when buying an
album burned a not-so-insignificant hole in pocket
money, borrowing records from school friends
introduced us to new material at little expense.
And it not only eased the challenge of keeping up
with the latest releases, it was also a time when
serenading a crush with a ‘love token’ C90 of their
favourite songs, would virtually guarantee a date.
My mix taping began with a second-hand Cossor
reel-to-reel tape recorder. I would hunker down
in my bedroom with fingers poised on the record/
pause buttons, ready to capture the best of Radio 1,
from Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman’s Pick of the Pops on a
Sunday to John Peel’s more eclectic music choices
on a school night, inevitably snatching snippets
of their voiceovers in the process.
Technology moved me on, through cassette
recorders (with their fragile tapes which would,
sooner or later, get twisted and mangled up,
prompting a painstaking pencil intervention), and ILLUSTRATION: ANNELIESE KLOSWhy we love a mix tape
WE MAY NO LONGER CROUCH BY THE RADIO, FINGER POISED
ON ‘RECORD’, BUT THE JOY OF COMPILING A PLAYLIST ISN’T
LOST. JOIN US IN CELEBRATING THE CHARM OF THE MIX TAPEWords ANDREW GALLANTNOSTALGIA
onto the advent of the CD. While back in the day it
required a vast and varied music collection to create
a decent playlist, today you can pull together music
from all over with a simple click of your mouse.
Now, to aficionados, mix taping has become
something of an art. These days, my own mix
tapes are not merely collections of favourite tracks
randomly burned onto a CD. Rather, each one has
a defined theme. I’m particularly fond of a double-
CD set celebrating New York. It takes the listener
through a day in the life of the city, from Grace Jones
‘The Apple Stretching’, through U2 ‘Angel of Harlem’
culminating with Frank Sinatra ‘New York, New
York’ – what else?. With careful segues between
songs, the CDs paints a picture and tells a story.
Most people have their own rules governing the
construction of a mix tape. For example, if you’re
creating a playlist of just one band or artist, my
preference is to keep songs in chronological order.
Take The Beatles. It would seem odd to follow
‘A Day in the Life’ with ‘She Loves You’, say,.
I also like to throw in an unexpected oddball as
the final track of a themed CD. Try Johnny Cash
‘One Piece at a Time’ finishing my American road
trip compilation – Cars & Guitars. Or B J Thomas
‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head’ rounding
up my rain-themed playlist.
In fact, made with careful consideration and
a lot of love, as well as an hour of brilliant tunes
(that’s if you’re listening on a C60, of course), you
can understand why so many of us still get misty-
eyed about mix tapes.