June Playlist: I Made You a Mix Tape

My first "mix tape" using a CD burner.

iTunes has brought play lists a long way since then.

Two of my favorite books center around the art of the mix tape. The first is "Love is a Mix Tape," by Rolling Stone columnist Rob Sheffield, chronicling the love story between him and his first wife, and the aftermath of her untimely death. Music brought them together, was communication between them, and helped heal him after her passing.

The other, "I Made You a Mix Tape," is a compilation of stories how sharing music cemented friendships, first loves, or captured that one special moment in time.

A product of the 80s, my early mixes were done the old-fashioned way, with a tape recorder and a microphone next to the speaker, and hoping to God no one walked in and ruined your audio by talking. I was especially diligent during the end of year countdowns, my pre-teen sister forever captured over the strains of 38 Special.

I can attempt to conjure up some old mixes, I think I have some of my college radio shows still on tape, any maybe even some of the older mixes if I didn't tape over them. But for now, here's the compilation I made in 1998 to share with girlfriends, Lipstick on the Mike, my first attempt using a CD burner. Like the old days, you crammed as much music as you could into one piece of audio:

1. Melissa Etheridge, Bring Me Some Water
2. Heart, Dog and Butterfly
3. Bangles, Going Down to Liverpool
4. Blondie, Dreaming
5. Stevie Nicks, If Anyone Falls
6. Tori Amos, China
7. Belly, Thief
8. The Fugees, Killing Me Softly
9. Bananarama, He Was Really Saying Something
10. Bjork, Big Time Sensuality
11. Siouxie and the Banshees, Peekaboo!
12. Joan Jett, Do Ya Wanna Touch?
13. Hole, Violet
14. Concrete Blonde, Ghost of a Texas Ladies Man
15. PJ Harvey, Down By the River
16. Garbage, Special
17. Liz Phair, Supernova
18. Madonna, Beautiful Stranger
19. Eurythmics, I Need a Man
20. No Doubt, New