As we all know (as documented in such films as "High Fidelity,") there's an art to making a good mix tape (or burned CD compilation). They are made for any number of reasons, but it seems like everyone has that one particular mix tape that stands out in his collection.

So the topic is this: Give me the SONGS (artist & song title) and TITLE of your favorite mix tape/compilation. (And give my every song, in order from an actual mix -- don't edit the tracklist or combine two mixes -- it's essential that it's an existing compilation in your collection)

Here's mine (given to me in college):

BEAUTIFUL MUSIC (Circa 1990)

New Order: Your Silent Face
New Order: Age of Consent
Book of Love: Witchcraft
Book of Love: Oranges & Lemons
Book of Love: Lullaby
Love & Rockets: Saudade
The Cocteau Twins: Blue Bell Knoll
The Cocteau Twins: Carolyn's Fingers
The Cocteau Twins: Spooning Good Singing Gum
Siouxsie & The Banshees: Rhapsody
The Cure: Plainsong Catch
The Cure: Pictures of You
New Order: Bizarre Love Triangle
New Order: Love Less
New Order: Every Little Counts
Siouxsie & the Banshies: Killing Jar
Siouxsie & the Banshies: Carousel
Love & Rockets: Haunted When the Minutes Drag

I'm going to have to go digging around the mixes my friend Geoff made for me back in the mid-80s. They were my favorite.

Here, however, is a cassette I made for a friend of mine back in the early 90s. It just kind of threw it together, but he liked it enough to request it on CD when the technology became available.

"Why Does That Name Sound Familiar?"

1. "A Noun Is A Person Place Or Thing" Schoolhouse Rock"
2. "I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar" Jonathan Richman
3. "River Deep, Mountain High" Annie Lennox
4. "Jacksons, Monk And Rowe" Elvis Costello & The Brodsky Quartet
5. "The Rocking Chair" Beautiful South
6. "Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis" Tom Waits
7. "Every Sperm Is Sacred" Monty Python
8. "Let X=X" "It Tango" Laurie Anderson
9. "I Wanna Be A Boss" Stan Ridgway
10. "CBGB's" Syd Straw
"Reel Ten" The Plugz

"Reel Ten" The Plugz
1. "The Tale Of Mr. Morton" Schoolhouse Rock
2. "Come A Long Way" Michelle Shocked
3. "1952 Vincent Black Lightning" Richard Thompson
4. "Little Brother Sure Can Dance" Kristina Olsen
5. "Greetings To The New Brunette" Billy Bragg
6. "(I Wish That I Could Sing Like) Johnny Cash" The Jazzebels
7. "16 Tons" The Dorkestra
8. "Amelia Almost 13" Carrie Newcomer
9. "Caroline, No" Brian Wilson
10. "Sweet Old World" Lucinda Williams
11. "Don't Touch My Hat" Lyle Lovett
12. "In Heaven There Is No Beer" Brave Combo

Now Playing: "Extra Special Guy" Gomez _Split The Difference_ (Virgin)

made for my now-wife ...

"the sound of mandolins, baby"

freedom - charles mingus
pyramid song - radiohead
rain - the beatles
frank's wild years - tom waits
here's where the story ends - the sundays
new partner - palace music
wild is the wind - cat power

our time has passed - pernice brothers
lover, you should've come over - jeff buckley
the look of love - dusty springfield
gold day - sparklehorse
goodbye lucille #1 - prefab sprout
how to fight loneliness - wilco
somewhere over the rainbow - judy garland

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winter.

Here is a Smiths compilation cassette made for me by mi compadre, mark f. It was made prior to the release of The Queen is Dead and thus includes only songs from the first 2 LPs plus all the singles that they released up to that point. I have since made my own Smiths compilation cassette drawn from all the Smiths releases which theorectically should have been better. More material, I got to pick my favorite songs, how could it not be better? Well, its not. I have no explanantion. Thanks mark f.

Side 1
01. What Difference Does it Make?
02. Nowhere Fast
03. Hansome Devil
04. Hand In Glove
05. Girl Afraid
06. William, it was Really Nothing
07. What She Said
08. Pretty Girls Make Graves
09. These Things Take Time
10. Barbarism Begins at Home
11. I Want the One I Can't Have
12. Still Ill
13. Shakespear's Sister
14. Miserable Lie

Side 2
01. This Charming Man
02. How Soon is Now?
03. The Headmaster Ritual
04. Accept Yourself
05. You've Got Everything Now
06. Rusholme Ruffians
07. Heaven Know I'm Miserable Now
08. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle
09. Suffer Little Children
10. Reel Around the Fountain

I wouldn't presume to call this the best existing mix tape or compilation, but this is a CD I burned for some friends this weekend.

A bit of background, they're a couple in their 40s who love music, but are finding it harder and harder to find new music. They grew up listening to the radio and reading Rolling Stone, which actually did mean something once upon a time. Locally our independent rock station plays some new music, but it's a minority of the playlist and shows a bias for the big labels.

They like rock with a tendency towards singer songwriters (Springsteen) and a lot of the music that led to alt-country (Iris DeMent), so this collection leans in that direction. She is more adventurous than he is, so quirkier indie bands (Modest Mouse) and anything hip-hop is out. He loves The Ramones, but if it gets much harder than that, I think it's a stretch.

In all, though, give the limitations I gave myself, I'm pretty happy with the result.

"Hold Me Up" Velvet Crush
"Mahgeetah" My Morning Jacket
"Come To Jesus" Mindy Smith
"Test Tube Kid" Honey Dogs
"Take Your Mama" Scissor Sisters
"I Believe In A Thing Called Love" The Darkness
"The Rest Of My Life" Sloan
"What To Do With Michael" Candy Butchers
"Portland, Oregon" Loretta Lynn
"New Watch" The Red Thread
"Take Me Out" Franz Ferdinand
"Toto Dies" Nellie Mckay
"One Plus One" David Mead
"Me Against Me" Bill Lloyd
"Timorous Me" Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
"Old Fashion Morphine" Jolie Holland
"Miracle Drug" A.C. Newman
"I Don't Wanna Break-Up" Tsar
"Mind The Gap" The Soundtrack Of Our Lives
"12:51" The Strokes

What did I miss?

Now Playing: "The Number Song" D.J. Shadow In Tune and On Time Live! streaming on Seattle's KEXP

From the songs/ artists I recognize, it sounds like you didn't "miss" anything. If they enjoy it, you can just come up with others for another mix. I did appreciate your inclusion of TSOOL, so I'm not really being facetious when I say turn them on to the whole album.

I am embarrassed to say that I'm not familiar with several of the artists, but I have gleaned some info through your other posts. Maybe after hal leaves and I stop revisiting my old records, I'll get caught up to date. Of course after hal leaves, I'll be catching up with about 30 new cds and so will hal.

Linn Tate: hal and I discuss you often and it's all good! Later, Gator.

TSOOL is a pretty recent discovery for me, mark. My friend Chris had been after me for over a year to check it out, so I did, but it wasn't until just the past two months that it finally clicked with me. The exact same thing happened with Calexico. Funny how that happens.

Thanks for the feedback and for your kind words. I'd be happy to send a copy of the mix your way if you like.

Have a great time visiting with hal. I'm sorry to miss it.

Now Playing: NPR's "All Things Considered"

quote:

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Originally posted by LinnTate:

Thanks for the feedback and for your kind words. I'd be happy to send a copy of the mix your way if you like.

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Of course, I'd like it, but how do we swing it? I guess hal gave you his e-mail, so if you go through that, we can set something going while he's here. L, G.

quote:

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Originally posted by LinnTate:

"I Don't Wanna Break-Up" Tsar

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Anybody who puts the mighty Tsar on a comp is OK in my book. Those guys are a lean, mean rock machine, and really nice to boot. Saw them twice while still in the ATL. They put out a new 7" recently, and I hope a new record is on the horizon. That record was played a WHOLE LOT in the record store I worked in for a summer...

Tsar is another very recent discovery for me, PE. I'm going to have to track down the 7" and word that a new album may be on the way is good news indeed.

Now Playing: "Suite: Part I: Prayer And Meditation: Day / Part II: Peace And After / Part III: Prayer And Meditation: Evening / Part IV: Affirmation / Part V: Prayer And Meditation: 4 A.M." John Coltrane The Classic Quartet: Complete Impulse! Studio Recordings (Impulse!)

quote:

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Originally posted by LinnTate:
Tsar is another very recent discovery for me, PE. I'm going to have to track down the 7" and word that a new album may be on the way is good news indeed.

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Here's the info on the 7", LT. I had to dig it out. It's called "Straight" and its on Birdman Records. www.birdmanrecords.com

Thanks for the tip, PE. I checked out the Website and didn't see if for sale any longer. Cool. I love the hunt!

Now Playing: "Harbor Lights" Elvis Presley Elvis At Sun (BMG)

quote:

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Originally posted by LinnTate:
Thanks for the tip, PE. I checked out the Website and didn't see if for sale any longer. Cool. I love the hunt!

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While you're hunting, LT, look for a copy of the promo ep "King of the School" ep, if you don't already have it. It's got 7 tracks of demos, live cuts, and great cover of the Backstreet Boys' "Larger Than Life"(!!!) that was the set-closer for their live shows. It was pretty common when the record was out, but I haven't seen them much lately. Came in a cool promo pack with a Tsar "Rule the School" ruler!

Metafilter linked to an interesting mix project today, "Big Songs For Little Attention Spans," a successful attempt to fit 100 songs on a single CD. I've only glanced at the track list, but from what I've seen so far, I think I'm going to have to download a copy.

The discussion that followed included a couple of additional cool links and a call for They Might Be Giants' "Minimum Wage," which remains a personal favorite among songs that clock in at under a minute.

Now Playing: Die Hard on FX. Action Adventure is not my usual cup of tea, so why is it I've seen this movie about a thousand times?

quote:

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Originally posted by LinnTate:

Now Playing: _Die Hard_ on FX. Action Adventure is not my usual cup of tea, so why is it I've seen this movie about a thousand times?

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Probably, LT, because you have this overwhelming desire to tell somebody that "we're gonna need some more FBI guys" sometime really soon!

I just hosted a crazy party for my girlfriend's birthday on Saturday night and made a few mixes ahead of time for it. This is the best one, it seemed to go over quite well.
Side A:
Ghostwriter-Rjd2
Down to the Nightclub-Tower of Power
Make it Funky-James Brown
The Return of the Crazy One-Digital Underground
Planet Rock-Afrika Bambaata
Desert Search For Techno Allah-Mr.Bungle
The Flower of Carnage-Meiko Kaji
Back in Baby's Arms-Patsy Cline
She Loves My Automobile-ZZ Top
Earache My Eye-Cheech & Chong
I Gots A Weasel-Ween
When I'm Sixty Four-The Beatles
Syeeda's Song Flute-John Coltrane
God's Away on Business-Tom Waits
Style#386-Buck 65
Money's Not An Issue-The Vandals
No Fgcnuik-No Means No
I Like Food-Descendents

Side B:
Redondo Beach-Patti Smith
Wat About Di Workin'Class?-Linton Kwesi Johnson
Centerpiece-Van Morrison w/ Georgie Fame
Thank You Falletinme Be Mice Elf Again-Sly & the Family Stone
Musicology-Prince
It Blows My Mind-Snoop Dogg/Neptunes
Superfly-Curtis Mayfield
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret-Queens of the Stone Age
Ball Tongue-Korn
NoW-Ministry
Ode To Joy-Ludwig Van Beethoven
Ohm-Saul Williams
Strict Machine-Goldfrapp

That's on a Maxell 110 minute tape. I used under 10 minutes of Ode to Joy.

quote:

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Originally posted by philosopherEric:

quote:

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Originally posted by LinnTate:
Tsar is another very recent discovery for me, PE. I'm going to have to track down the 7" and word that a new album may be on the way is good news indeed.

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Here's the info on the 7", LT. I had to dig it out. It's called "Straight" and its on Birdman Records. http://www.birdmanrecords.com

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Holy cow, PE! I casually mentioned the Tsar 7" to my local record guy and he's already tracked it down. I should be able to pick it up tonight or tomorrow.

Cripes. I wonder if my turntable is working?

Now Playing: "Freedom Park" Marah 20,000 Streets Under the Sky (Yep Roc) <-- I think you're including this on your best of 2004 list now, PE? I expect it's on my way there as well.

quote:

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Originally posted by LinnTate:

[Now Playing: "Freedom Park" Marah _20,000 Streets Under the Sky_ (Yep Roc) <-- I think you're including this on your best of 2004 list now, PE? I expect it's on my way there as well.

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Yeah, I let it sit for a week or so before i played it, but it's getting better each spin. I also saw that they've reissued the out-of-print first album, with bonus cuts. I'm gonna have to track that down, too, and trade in my old copy...

Now don't judge the individual too hard, but this was the first disc I made in the Napster era a few years back. As a whole, it's got an interesting vibe. Check it out:

1. Len - Steal My Sunshine
2. Elvis Costello - She
3. Elvis Presley - Always on My Mind
4. Misfits - Las Caress
5. Marilyn Manson - The Dope Show
6. Oingo Boingo - Violent Love
7. Pet Shop Boys - Suburbia
8. Rod Stewart - Hot Legs
9. The Stones - Honky Tonk Woman (Live)
10. Spice Girls - Say You'll Be There (gotta love it)
11. Stone Temple Pilots - Plush (Live)
12. Tommy James - Crimsons & Clover
13. U2 - Lemon
14. Van Halen - The Rover (Cover Live)

I just made this one yesterday.

1. Boy for Sale; Where is Love? - Oliver Soundtrack
2. Water Boy - Live
3. Lonely Goatherd - The Sound of Music
4. Mother Earth is a Viscous Crowd - Live
5. Climb Every Mountain - The Sound of Music
6. Carolina - M. Ward
7. On My Own - Les Miserables
8. Merica - Live
9. Losing My Religion - R.E.M.
10. I'd Do Anything - Oliver
11. Everyone's a VIP to Someone - Emiliana Torrini
12. I Am Mine - Pearl Jam
13. Where I like to Stand - Vashti Bunyan
14. Junior Kickstart - Emiliana Torrini
15. Waltz (Better than Fine) - Fiona Apple
16. Let's Go Fly a Kite - Mary Poppins
17. Jog Along Bess - Vashti Bunyan
18. Consider Yourself - Oliver
19. Free - Cat Power
20. Come Wind Come Rain - Vashti Bunyan
21. Ladyflash - Emiliana Torrini
22. A Spoonful of Sugar - Mary Poppins