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

Day 18 - Audio code for computers
One of the long-forgotten uses for cassette tapes is as a medium to save computer programs. The first personal computer I owned was a Texas Instruments Ti-99/4A, which didn’t actually have any built-in hard drive of any sort to save your work. Sure, there was a cartridge slot for various games (I had a few – I especially remember a Space Invaders clone). But to keep the basic-programming language games I would create (yes, I’d program my own games in basic); I’d use this tape recorder that was attached to the Ti-99/4A where the programs would be saved in a sort of audio code reminiscent of old modem call-up sounds.
David, locked in an infirmary room, secretly recorded a computer code that played as the guard left the room. He then plugged the jack of his tape recorder into the door’s electronic panel and played back the recorded sounds, causing the door to open, Wargames (directed by John Badham, 1983).
Play something that makes you think of video games, preferably classic 80’s games. Or play something electronic.

Jamie xx - In Waves

My vinyl is still in transit, but Bandcamp's got my back until then. First listen through tells me this new album of bangers is a fitting follow-up to Four Tet.

Track - "All You Children (feat. The Avalanches)"

1000152251.jpg
 
Day 20 – The old well-worn favorite mixtape
Play something that has stayed on constant rotation for you over the years.

The Jam - Dig The New Breed (Big Bird)

While I can’t remember if I bought this or Snap (cassette) first, The Jam have been a big part of my life since the early 80s, and this is still one of my go to albums of theirs . Every song could be on my mixtape but going with the Eddie Floyd classic here.

IMG_0518.jpeg

As a bonus here is a pic of the Modfather from last week. 66 and still rocking hard.
IMG_0509.jpeg
 
jamieanderson1968 said:
@Turbo - hey old man, wake up! You need to upload the next batch of prompts
Click to expand...

@Turbo trying to sort out the next set of prompts

cassette-tape-broken-casette-tape.gif
 
Day 9 - Sound bites and interludes
Play something that includes sound bites, dialogue, spoken interludes or short interlude tracks.

Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk (signed)

20240920_155309.jpg

The tracks "True Blue Interlude" and "Feeling DiskInserted?" and function as interludes on this 2024 AotY candidate.

20220330_225009.jpg

Miss you guys 🥺
 
LeSamourai said:
Day 18 - Audio code for computers
One of the long-forgotten uses for cassette tapes is as a medium to save computer programs. The first personal computer I owned was a Texas Instruments Ti-99/4A, which didn’t actually have any built-in hard drive of any sort to save your work. Sure, there was a cartridge slot for various games (I had a few – I especially remember a Space Invaders clone). But to keep the basic-programming language games I would create (yes, I’d program my own games in basic); I’d use this tape recorder that was attached to the Ti-99/4A where the programs would be saved in a sort of audio code reminiscent of old modem call-up sounds.
David, locked in an infirmary room, secretly recorded a computer code that played as the guard left the room. He then plugged the jack of his tape recorder into the door’s electronic panel and played back the recorded sounds, causing the door to open, Wargames (directed by John Badham, 1983).
Play something that makes you think of video games, preferably classic 80’s games. Or play something electronic.

Jamie xx - In Waves

My vinyl is still in transit, but Bandcamp's got my back until then. First listen through tells me this new album of bangers is a fitting follow-up to Four Tet.

Track - "All You Children (feat. The Avalanches)"

View attachment 214136
Click to expand...

My copy just arrived in the mail!
 
Day 20 – The old well-worn favorite mixtape
Play something that has stayed on constant rotation for you over the years.

Weezer - The Blue Album
IMG_9500.jpeg
This album has been by my side in one form or another since I first saw the video for “Undone (The Sweater Song)” on MTV one early autumn morning before heading to the school bus stop in 7th grade.
 
Day 20 – The old well-worn favorite mixtape
Play something that has stayed on constant rotation for you over the years.

Jean Leloup "Le Dôme" (1996 Audiogram; 2016 reissue)
This collection of songs have been on regular rotation for me since the album's release in the mid-90's. Leloup is what I'd call Quebec's answer to Beck. He's a guitarist with a knack for storytelling, but his albums mesh different genres. He's released albums that blend electronics and samples and others that are mellow and acoustic. This one's a trip with psychedelic, acoustic tracks and dancy jams. Fans of Bran Van 3000 will have come across Leloup (he contributed a to track on the Canadian version of Glee). One song from Le Dôme in particular hits home for me - "I Lost My Baby" (in short it recounts a tale about a fling with a girl from Ottawa... the mix of French and English is exactly how we spoke to each other, being raised as a franco-Ontarian). Name-dropping the small eastern Ontario town of Hawksbury is pretty fun too. This particular pressing is a recent purchase - so happy to finally own a vinyl copy. For the mix, I'm going with "Le Monde Est A Pleurer" since it's a bit more in tune with what I've got going. But adding "I Lost My Baby" for you all to sample if you've never had the opportunity to hear it. And what the hell, I'm throwing in "Sara" too so you can hear the variability in the songs.

IMG_1846.JPG







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"
13. INXS "Need You Tonight"
14. David Bowie "Fame"
15. Stevie Wonder "Sir Duke"
16. The Clash "This Is Radio Clash"
17. King Curtis "Whole Lotta Love"
18. Blur "Jubilee"
19. Gorillaz "Dare"
20. Jean Leloup "Le Monde Est A Pleurer"
 
Day 19 – Fast-Forward and Rewind
One of the biggest drawbacks to cassettes is the inability to easily cue up tracks like you can with vinyl, CD’s or even digital. If you want to hear a specific track, you have to fast-forward, hit play to hear where you are, and keep hitting FF and rewind until you hit the right spot. You want to hear a track again, you need to rewind and noodle around (although decks with number counters could be useful if you noted down the number where the track starts). In a sense, this quirk makes cassettes a perfect medium for listening to your mixtape as a whole. Have you driven around with a mixtape in the car, just letting it loop around multiple times in its entirety?
Play an album you feel must be listened to in its entirety.

The Notwist - Neon Golden

Track - "Consequence"

1000152281.jpg
 
Day 16 – Not enough space on the tape
“So, I've been making her a mix tape so she will know how I feel.”
The song is just about to finish and the recorder snaps off as the cassette runs out of tape.
“Ah, shit.”
– Charlie’s voice-over, as he is sitting in his room creating a mixtape on his double tape deck, The Perks of Being a Wallflower (directed by Stephen Chbosky, 2012).
…and sometimes, there just isn’t enough space to fit the perfect song you want on the tape.
What do you mean the single isn’t on the album? Play an album that didn’t include, at least upon initial release of the album, a single – or specific mix of a single - released around the same time (or play that single instead).

Well, I thought I had it figured out, then saw I was scooped by @Piratenovelist
I am a few days behind, so I'll just wrangle the prompt to suit my choice. It's my wife and my 11th anniversary today so I chose this single, one her all time favorite songs. She's currently dancing to it.

IMG_9679.JPG





Playlist
Social Distortion - Cold Feelings
Led Zeppelin - Friends
The Beatles - I’ve Just Seen a Face
Nina Simone - Feeling Good
Waylon Jennings - Gold Dust Woman
The Gourds - Gin and Juice
Steve Earle - Burnin' it Down
My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves
Tom Waits - 9th and Hennepin
Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio - Between the Mustard and the Mayo
Joni Mitchell - Nancy Whiskey
Antonio Carlos Jobim - Sabia
Rolling Stones - Bitch
The Doors - Not to Touch the Earth
The Police - Demolition Man
Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke
 
Day 17 – Bootlegs
Cassettes were used to tape live concerts to create bootleg tapes that would be traded among fans.
Play a live album

I was going to play a Zeppelin bootleg that I have, but my wife asked what was next on our anniversary playlist, so clearly a theme has developed this morning. I went with a mutual fave of ours, Carole King.

Carole King - So Far Away
IMG_9680.JPG
 
Day 21 - The road trip mixtape
“Sometimes all I want is to head West on 20 in a car I can't afford, with a plan I don't have, just me, my music, and the road” – Deborah, Baby Driver (directed by Edgar Wright, 2017).
Cassettes found a perfect home in car stereos.
Play something that you feel is great to accompany a road trip.

Husker Du - New Day Rising

When I went to UVic in the late 80s, my friend went as well. We would make the long, 3.5hr drive home over the Coquihalla Highway. The Coq has 2 peaks where you climb to over a mile above sea level. We played this tape every trip home and back.
IMG_0519.jpeg
 
Day 21 - The road trip mixtape
Play something that you feel is great to accompany a road trip.

Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense" (1984 Sire; 2023, reissue of the full concert)
When it comes to music to soundtrack a road trip, the songs don't need to be about cars or roads or anything. The music just needs to be engaging and at the same time be able to serve as a comfortable background to conversation and viewing the scenery. The list of songs also needs to be long enough that you're not constantly looking for something else to play. A good playlist works well, if you had the opportunity to create one ahead of time. So does an album like this, a double album filled with bangers. Going with "Slippery People" for the next track on the mixtape.

IMG_1847.JPG



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"
13. INXS "Need You Tonight"
14. David Bowie "Fame"
15. Stevie Wonder "Sir Duke"
16. The Clash "This Is Radio Clash"
17. King Curtis "Whole Lotta Love"
18. Blur "Jubilee"
19. Gorillaz "Dare"
20. Jean Leloup "Le Monde Est A Pleurer"
21. Talking Heads "Slippery People (live)"
 
Day 21 - The road trip mixtape
Play something that you feel is great to accompany a road trip.

Various Artists - Sounds Of The Seventies 1972: Take Two
IMG_9536.jpeg
The reason I began collecting tapes was mainly because in 2016 I purchased a 1990 Subaru Legacy Wagon with automatic seatbelts and a cassette tape player. I figured I should have some stuff to listen to while cruising around town. Unfortunately the tape collection lasted longer than the Subi. Still one of my fave road trippin’ tapes was this TIME LIFE comps, part of a series of tapes (unfortunately this is the only one I have acquired thus far) this one has a wide variety of bangers but mixes things nicely. 1972 was a helluva year for music. I decided to include the band, America’s hit tune, “Ventura Highway” for obvious reasons but there were a number of excellent choices.

 
Day 21 - The road trip mixtape
Play something that you feel is great to accompany a road trip.

Ok, at this point you are 2/3 of the way through the mix tape, attention might be starting to wane, especially with some deeper cuts, and the eyes are getting heavy on the road.

Time to bring everyone back together with a guaranteed singalong, adding Should I Stay or Should I Go to the playlist. Me, I only sing the choruses that are in spanish.

The Clash ~ Combat Rock

IMG_1030.jpeg

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top