Okay--there's this really cool free music service that mainly only teenagers know about [thank god I'm living with losts of teenagers this summer at my friend Amy's house], called Tiny Mix Tapes, which takes requests for mix tapes that have to have a certain interesting "theme," and then their volunteer "mixers" take it upon themselves to make the tape mix for you [it can take a little while--they provide the song list, then you download it via Limewire.com or another open music source]. Recent mix themes have included: "Songs for when you're tripping on Robitussin and your best friend's mother catches you dancing around with a towel on your head to the song Eat Y'self Fitter," "my embarrassing secret is that, at nearly sixteen years old, i've often felt that the only reason i am still alive is because it would be wrong to die before losing my virginity. well, it's gone now," "songs to knit to," "music to drown yourself to," "depressing songs to play at the porn store i work at, so customers forget they're horny and go home and quit bothering me," and my personal favorite, "holy shit, I just made out with my brother."As a little experiment, and in tribute to Stephanie Trigg's talk at NCS on "medievalism," I have submitted a request for a rock/punk/rage metal mix under the theme of "getting medieval." We'll see what happens.
Addendum [posted later in day]: in case anyone was wondering, a "Beowulf Soundtrack" mix tape was already requested, and this was the result:
Requested by: robin
Complied by: Alabaster
01. Boards of Canada - "In a Beautiful Place out in the Country" (In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country)
02. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - "Another Day Full of Dread" (I See a Darkness)
03. Entrance - "Wandering Stranger" (?)
04. The Black Heart Procession - "The Visitor" (II)
05. Fugazi - "Epic Problem" (The Argument)
06. Mogwai - "Hunted by a Freak" (Happy Songs For Happy People)
07. Hanged Up - "Fuck This Place" (Clatter for Control)
08. Alasdair Roberts - "I Went Hunting" (Farewell Sorrow)
09. The Birthday Party - "Deep in the Woods" (Hits)
10. Slant 6 - "What Kind of Monster Are You?" (Twenty Years of Dischord)
11. Low - "Fearless" (A Lifetime of Temporary Relief)
12. Magik Markers - "Hero for Our Times pt. 1/2" (Feel the Crayon)
13. Hototogisu - "Run into the Woods" (Green)
14. The Stooges - "Search and Destroy" (Raw Power)
15. Tom Waits - "Flash Pan Hunter" (The Black Rider)
16. Woody Guthrie - "So Long It's Been Good To Know You" (Dustbowl Ballads)
4 comments:
I found these hilarious:
"I am having a garage sale! Give me a mixtape to convince little old ladies to buy my shit!"
"...the soundtrack to me having my ass kicked by a robot who gets more girls than me."
"Songs to help me feel righteous when I'm eating eggs for the 13th straight day but at least I didn't take that PR job with ClearChannel"
And this pathological beautiful request:
"I'm really creepy. I spend hours and hours inventing aliases on LiveJournal and other sites, creating fake conversations among my aliases. Time has no meaning for me, so everyone I've ever come into contact with is still being written about. Including dead people. I'm an old hippie with surprisingly hip taste. And I'm always on the internet. Always. I'd be great if I wasn't such a weirdo. Don't give me your real name or I'll never leave you alone."
I love browsing through the Tiny Mix Tape mixes because, with a few exceptions, it provides a beautiful window on the messed-up collective teenage soul.
I know I have better things to do with my time, but I had a rush of inspiration just now. Ladies and Gentlemen and Others, I give you Sir Gowther:
01. ‘Mother was a Lady’ – Jimmie Rodgers
02. ‘Handsome Devil’ – The Smiths (or, ‘Devil Boy’- Tech N9ne)
03. ‘Satan Spawn, The Caco-Daemon’ - Deicide
04. 'Bad Mouth' - Fugazi
05. ‘Raid the Convent’ – Nunslaughter
06. ‘Mr. You’re On Fire Mr.’ – The Liars (or ‘Baby’s On Fire’ – Brian Eno, or ‘Great Balls of Fire’ – Jerry Lee Lewis)
07. ‘Where Next to Conquer?’ – Bolthrower
08. ‘Beast in Me’ – Nick Lowe
09. ‘Sorry’ – The Easybeats
10. ‘The Power of Thy Sword’ – Manowar
11. (lot of options here: ‘Walking the Dog’ – Rolling Stones; ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ – The Stooges; ‘Here Come the Dogs’ – Unwound; ‘Hair of the Dog’ – Nazareth; ‘Shouldn’t Happen to a Dog’ - Thee Headcoats; but probably the best is ‘Do the Dog’ – The Specials)
12. ‘Say it Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)’ – James Brown (or ‘Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White’ – The Standells)
13. ‘Red Alert’ – Teenage Jesus and the Jerks (or ‘Red Hot’ – Billy Lee Riley: this one I had to cheat on by doing a quick search of my mp3s)
14. ‘White Cross’ – Sonic Youth
15. ‘Heaven’ – Talking Heads
Can't wait to see this! Wonder how closely it would intersect with a "getting gothic" mix: I'm fascinated by the cross-overs between these two clusters of ideas and associations. But I am reconciled, in advance, to not recognising much of the music...
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