The Return of The Mixtape - the September 2024 Spin Challenge!

Day 11 - The pencil & the cassette
Play something with album art that has hand-written or drawn elements, preferably with pencil. (Yes, I know, the pencil is not for drawing on cassettes. For shits and giggles, you can also stick a pencil into the spindle hole of your record and spin it around if it makes you feel better.)

Not sure if this is a drawing or a woodcutting, but lets just go with drawing. Couldn't get a pencil to spin, but did get an eraser on the spindle.

Adding the closing track "Cardigan Song' to my playlist as its a nice continuation of the delicate nature of the previous Nick Drake song.

Kikagaku Moyo ~ House in the Tall Grass

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Day 8 - LORAN brand tapes
The company Loran made cassettes that were as tough as they get. Their outer shells were extra strong and heat-resistant. The tape material itself was not thought of as being very good for making quality recordings however.
Play a record housed in a tank of a sleeve. Alternatively, play a record with a beat-up sleeve. Bonus point if the pressing is average.

CHVRCHES - Screen Violence

This one arrived a bit beat up (luckily a lot of the bends show worse on the back), so I ended up getting a refund, so yay for free records.

"How Not To Drown"

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Day 10 - The Walkman
“Walkman. It’s like a stereo. Play your own cassette tapes.” (Super 8, directed by JJ Abrams, 2011)
Released in 1979, that iconic yellow plastic Sony Walkman is essentially the first truly portable music player where you are the DJ, and is just as responsible as anything else for the success of the cassette – and mixtapes – during the 80’s and 90’s. Did you own one? Or a clone?
Play something that goes well with a walk, run or workout

Alt-J - Relaxer

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1) Green Day - American Idiot
2) RATM - Killing in the Name
3) Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks
4) Camarón - Homenaje A Federico
5) Raconteurs - Carolina Drama
6) Erykah Badu - Didn't Cha Know
7) N. W. A. - ***K Tha Police
8) RTJ - Ooh La La
9) MLWTTKK - Burning Dirt
10) Alt-J - In Cold Blood
 
Day 9 - Sound bites and interludes
Did you add sound bites or various interludes to your mixes? I used to find ways to record various soundbites out of my favorite films to add quirk to a mix. I remember spending quite some time trying to lift the “Let me tell you about my mother” line off a Blade Runner VHS. I plugged the VCR audio out into the auxiliary in of my receiver and timed the button presses to get the precise bite I wanted onto cassette, to then dub that into the mixtape. Making these mixtapes was a serious art form that took effort, but so fun.
Play something that includes sound bites, dialogue, spoken interludes or short interlude tracks.

Mogwai - Rave Tapes

Like a lot of Mogwai, and post rock in general, this album has its share of spoken word weirdness. I'm going with the track "Repelish" for its extended discussion of satanic backmasking in Led Zeppelin.

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Day 11 - The pencil & the cassette
Everyone that grew up in the 80’s and 90’s is very familiar with the relationship between a cassette tape and a pencil. Those born later, maybe not.
Play something with album art that has hand-written or drawn elements, preferably with pencil. (Yes, I know, the pencil is not for drawing on cassettes. For shits and giggles, you can also stick a pencil into the spindle hole of your record and spin it around if it makes you feel better.)

Not exactly sure if it is pencil or pen, but a great album nonetheless.

Tortoise - TNT

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1) Green Day - American Idiot
2) RATM - Killing in the Name
3) Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks
4) Camarón - Homenaje A Federico
5) Raconteurs - Carolina Drama
6) Erykah Badu - Didn't Cha Know
7) N. W. A. - ***K Tha Police
8) RTJ - Ooh La La
9) MLWTTKK - Burning Dirt
10) Alt-J - In Cold Blood
11) Tortoise - Ten Day Interval
 
Day 12 - The world music mix
“Music of the soul” – Winston, as he hands over a mix CD containing tracks from Mulatu Astatke and other Ethiopian artists to his neighbor Don Johnston, who is about to embark on a quest to find the son he just found out about, Broken Flowers (directed by Jim Jarmusch, 2005).
Play something by an artist that is anything other than from an English-speaking country, or that is in a language other than English.

As the title of this comp shows and to play off the prompt, Brazilian Tim Maia wrote "Music of the Existential Soul" and the leadoff track, Que Beleza, is sung in Portuguese and gets added to the playlist.

Tim Maia ~ The Existential Soul of Tim Maia: Nobody Can Live Forever

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Day 10 - The Walkman
“Walkman. It’s like a stereo. Play your own cassette tapes.” (Super 8, directed by JJ Abrams, 2011)
Released in 1979, that iconic yellow plastic Sony Walkman is essentially the first truly portable music player where you are the DJ, and is just as responsible as anything else for the success of the cassette – and mixtapes – during the 80’s and 90’s. Did you own one? Or a clone?
Play something that goes well with a walk, run or workout.

Dummy - Free Energy

I usually listen to audiobooks while running, but I keep a handful of albums on my watch for the days I'm in the mood for music instead. A new release that I'm adding to the rotation is this one, which is keeping the dream of the 90s alive with Stereolab-esque goodness.

Track: "Blue Dada"

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Day 8 - LORAN brand tapes
Play a record tape with a beat-up sleeve. Bonus point if the pressing is average.

The Blues Travelers - Four
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Finding Cassette Tape jewel cases in decent condition is tough. Most are scratched or scuffed and many are broken or cracked. This one is not only chipped but also has multiple price tags stuck to it. Unfortunately I was not the lucky duck that paid 0.10¢ for this one. Also, as far as tapes go this one sounds pretty good.
 
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Day 9 - Sound bites and interludes
Play something that includes sound bites, dialogue, spoken interludes or short interlude tracks.

Various Artists - The Beavis and Butthead Experience
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This compilation barely works even with the a Beavis and Butt-Head tie-ins. Still we get a fun novelty take on Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe” plus one of Nirvana’s best non-album cuts
 
Day 11 - The pencil & the cassette
Play something with album art that has hand-written or drawn elements, preferably with pencil.

Guide By Voices - Bee Thousand
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So this album does not feature anything pencil related necessarily but Bob Pollard was a pioneer of the DIY aesthetic of the Lo-Fi scene and there is nothing more DIY/Lo-Fi than spooling up a tangled bit of tape with a No.2 pencil. His album art to this day consists mostly of handmade colleges constructed by Bob by cutting out images of old magazines and pasting them back together.
 
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Day 12 - The world music mix
Play something by an artist that is anything other than from an English-speaking country, or that is in a language other than English.

Beck - Mellow Gold
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I know I just played Beck but my tape collection isn’t nearly as diverse as record collection so Beck singing the chorus of “Loser” in Spanish is gonna have to do.
 
Day 12 - The world music mix
Play something by an artist that is anything other than from an English-speaking country, or that is in a language other than English.

Les Rita Mitsouko "The No Comprendo" (1986 Virgin; 2019 reissue)
For the next track, going with "Andy", a French new wave classic. It's pretty groovy so it fits well with what I've got going on. The funky breakdown during the last minute or so is killer.

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1. Thundercat "Oh Sheit it's X"
2. ABC "Poison Arrow"
3. Elvis Costello "The Beat"
4. Serge Gainsbourg "Requiem Pour Un Twisteur"
5. Camp Lo "Nicky Barnes aka It's Alright"
6. Theophilus London feat. Solange and Devonté Hinds "Flying Overseas"
7. War "The Cisco Kid"
8. Bob Marley & The Wailers "Roots Rock Reggae"
9. MC Solaar "Interlude"
10. Kaytranada "Dance Dance Dance Dance"
11. The Brooks "Drinking"
12. Les Rita Mitsouko "Andy"
 
Track 10




Open Qobuz

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There are quite a few songs that would work for a run or other more strenuous exercise on this album. I chose Q&A for a walk as when I listen to music during a walk (or walk in general), I am being contemplative. The song is just upbeat enough to support an increased heart beat but kind of chill and acoustic - it also contemplates the nature of the soul mate.
 
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