Rather than unpacking everything all at once, I opened one box, and dug for mix tapes. One particularly scary find is simply labeled Rock Vol. II, a Memorex D-60 compilation of 7" singles circa 1981-2. Why did I feel I had to assert that this was "rock"? What's with the Roman numerals? Where did Rock Vol. I go, and is there a Rock Vol. III somewhere? Washing dishes tonight, I was pleasantly surprised to find that several b-sides had made their way onto the mix--they tend to age better than the a-sides, I kid you not.
Play along at home: here are the big pop hits from Vail Junior High in 7th grade, or at least for this post-Kiss / pre-Numan 7th grader. We'll count them down, from least to most embarassing....
10. "Rapture" b/w "Walk Like Me," Blondie--My only real regret about "Rapture" is that it's the single mix--it's so short compared to the ten-minute 12" mix I found a few years back. After an ill-fated "Blondie Awareness Party" in college where all we had to play was the ten-track Best of Blondie over and over, I started working on completing my Blondie back-catalogue on vinyl in the mid-1990s. Now watching the video, I find myself gasping, "Wait--is that Fab 5 Freddy?!" "Walk Like Me" is kind of B-52's-ish in a good way. I realized tonight that Missing Persons was basically a (noble but failed) West Coast attempt at filling the void that Blondie left after this album....
9. "Start Me Up," Rolling Stones--The video has so many funny takes of Charlie Watts' bemusement, while the other guys elbow each other for lens time. I think this was their last good single, save "Undercover." I came to really resent classic rock for a number years starting in 8th grade, but you see this was 7th grade.....8. "I Love Rock-n-Roll," Joan Jett & the Blackhearts--This was a favorite at dances well into early high school--the rockers loved it, the pop kids loved it, and it still sounds good. Dig a bit to hear her do "Bad Reputation" live on the Urgh! A Music War soundtrack--now that is good eating. You can hear the end of the studio version at the beginning of the video--can't say I remember that at all....Indicative of 1981 that her lyrics kept her four-square in the closet, so that is a little wince-worthy....
7. "Freeze-Frame" b/w "Flamethrower," The J. Geils Band--The first of two J. Geils singles on the tape; add the b-sides and four of the 14 songs on here are from them. At this point in my life, the hits are time-encased novelties, while (at least in my own mind) the flipsides are still worthy of a listen. If you've never heard it, check out the b--tasty solos.
6. "Shake it Up" b/w "Cruiser," The Cars--By the time I got into the Cars, they were on a slow but steady decline. At least, that's what I think now. Then, I found this great band, starting with this single, then the full album, then the three before the Shake it Up LP. By the time I saw them in Phoenix supporting Heartbeat City, they were one of my favorite bands. Come to think of it, though, I believe I was asserting at the time that the opening act, Wang Chung, was now my favorite band of the moment--but 9th/10th grade is a whole other list.
Next time, we'll hit the mother-lode of embarrassment. I'll give you a taste: Olivia Newton-John doesn't even make it to #1.
3 comments:
Bjorn, I look forward to seeing what else was on the mix tape! This post actually inspired me to dig through some of my old " mix cd's" and see what was going on back in 2000. Not as dated as the tracks on your tapes, but was still good for a laugh and a " What was I thinking?"
Always was a HUGE J. Giles fan and The Cars! Love the old school Boston Rock on there! I went through and found some of my older tunes from middle school and It's so much more disposable. Track like Fat Lip by Sum 41 and All Star by Smash mouth are just so 2003. I guess being raised by two self-admitted Music Junkies has allowed me to learn to love music that are classics and enjoy music that might be quickly forgotten.
olivia newton john isn't number 1??? Can't wait to see the rest! I think everyone has old tapes...well in my case old cds that i look back now and think why did i ever think this was good music....britney spears first album....savage garden....nsync to name a few! ya embarrassing! Good thing my dad is a huge fan of music so i was able to grow up on such things as the rolling stones, beachboys, the beatles, bruce springsteen, U2...etc.
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