Mix Tape: the art of cassette culture

Play it: Thurston Moore's Love Mix
Play it: Warning: Sensitive Pussies Should Not Listen To This Awesome Set Of Ditties, by Ahmet Zappa

Trying to control sharing through music is like trying to control an affair of the heart -- nothing will stop it. - Thurston Moore

Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) recently put together a love letter to the past called mix tape: the art of cassette culture, which talks about and compiles mix tapes from various artists. With the advent of technology, making mixes has become so much easier: the iPod, the CD-R, and, of course, the easiest to share, Rhapsody. Mix tapes took a long time to make, giving it an edge in sentiment.

One passage from the book that I found most interesting, was the analog vs. digital argument, dealing specifically with what Moore calls the ear-heart. Essentially, digital (CD's, MP3's) is a definitive wave sound, whereas analog is not... so the first time you hear a song digitally, it's imprinted in your memory, and repeated listenings brings back the same imprint. Analog (tapes, vinyl) is an imperfect playback that your ear and brain fill in the blanks for.

Analog has the mystery arc where cosmos exist, which digital has not reined in. We used to listen to records over and over and each time they would offer something new because the ear-heart would respond to new resonations not previously detected. It was like each kiss had a new sensation... ...Anyway, a cassette rocking at normal bias will bring healing analog tones to the ear-heart. Trust me. You won't crash.
- Thurston Moore

Thurston Moore's Love Mix is one I think he made specifically for the book. When coming across a love mix tape with nothing but New York Dolls songs [You Best Believe I'm In Love (L-U-V),] Moore wonders whether this is more a love letter to oneself then to a prospective lover:

I asked one mix tape maker this question. He claims that when making mix tapes, love songs included, they are pretty much for himself first. Sure, he will pass them on to his amour for a Valentine, but he primarily made it because it's the music that kicks his own ass. Is there a desire to convert your lover into you? Why not make a mix tape with songs you know your darling likes, regardless of your own tastes?
- Thurston Moore

Warning: Sensitive Pussies Should Not Listen To This Awesome Set Of Ditties, by Ahmet Zappa, is another one that might've been made up specifically for the book. Explaining the impetus for the mix, Zappa says:

This mix is filled with the power of rock and is fueled by Satan himself. If you dare listen to the fine music I have assembled, you'll instantly be transported back to a time and place where people snorted coke off Nagel paintings, and lopard-print spandex camel-toes gave young boys instant erections.
- Ahmet Zappa

One of my favorite mix tapes I remember making was for Mary Lou Lord when we had a brief fling. I remember it had all the music that was blowing me away at the time: Nick Drake, Big Star, Ride, Guided By Voices, Swervedriver, Teenage Fanclub, Silkworm, Pavement, Archers of Loaf, Freedy Johnston - and I brazenly snuck in one of my own songs at the end of side B. We were going to exchange tapes back and forth, but she got busy touring and never got around to finishing one for me before she moved on to someone else to make mix tapes for. She said she liked it, though... I think it's romanticized in my mind as a great mix because I can't listen it now, nor probably concretely recreate it.

Years ago I made a couple for my eventual wife that we still have lying around someplace, and I need to look them over again. I'll try to resurrect one and post it later. I remember the best one of those began with Buffalo Tom's "Mountains of Your Head" but I draw a blank after that, other then I remember it was songs that I thought she would dig, which is my modus operandi on these mixes.

Do you have a favorite mix tape you remember making or receiving?

More:
Art of the Mix website
Automatic Mix Tape Generator

Thurston Moore interview on NPR (Listen w/ RealPlayer here.)

tags: playlist, music, thurston moore, mix tape, books, ahmet zappa