Mixtape: Encyclopedia II - Mixtape - Media references to mix tapes

Mixtape - Media references to mix tapes

Since the publication of Nick Hornby's High Fidelity, the frequency of literary and pop cultural references to mix tapes has increased considerably, although Hornby was far from the first author to mention the phenomenon. Some of the earliest references to mix tapes can be found in Less Than Zero, the 1986 novel by Bret Easton Ellis. For example: "We get into Blair's car and she puts in a tape that she made the other night and Bananarama starts to sing and Trent asks her where the Beach-Mix tape is and Blaire tells him that she burned it because she heard it too many times." The novel Morvern Callar by Alan Warner, which was published shortly before High Fidelity, includes track listings for three mix tapes made by the book's main character.

However, extended critical or journalistic treatments of mix tape culture have only begun to appear over the past several years, possibly as a nostalgic response to the decline of the audio cassette itself as a medium for homemade mixes. Take the Cannoli, a 2001 book by Salon.com columnist Sarah Vowell, includes an essay entitled "Thanks for the Memorex," an account of a "long-distance love affair by cassette tape" with an extended treatment of mix tape culture. More recently, Sonata for Jukebox, a 2004 essay collection by Geoffrey O'Brien, is structured as a mix tape, with each essay introduced by a song "cue" intended to set the tone for the piece to follow. It also includes thoughts on what the author calls "the most widely practiced American art form: the personal mix tape of favorite songs that serves as self-portrait, gesture of friendship, prescription for an ideal party, or simply as an environment consisting solely of what is most ardently loved." Finally, Mix Tape, the first book entirely devoted to the phenomenon, was published in December 2004. Written by Thurston Moore (a founding member of the rock band Sonic Youth), the book includes personal stories and reminiscences from over eighty mix tape enthusiasts.

Not surprisingly, quite a few references to mix tapes have been made by recording artists themselves. For example:

• Butch Walker's single, "Mixtape."
• Let it Burn, an album by pop-punk group The Ataris, includes a track entitled "Song for a Mix Tape." Lyrics include: "Today I made you a mix tape / To say exactly how I feel inside / And make you feel it too."
• From the Ben Folds Five song "Kate": "When all words fail she speaks / her mix tape's a masterpiece."
• From the Beastie Boys song "Professor Bootie": "Life ain't nothing but a good groove / A good mix tape to put you in the right mood."
• From the Beastie Boys song "Flute Loop": "I feel like a winner when I make a mix tape because I get ill when I'm on the pause button / and I get my fill and you can't say nothing."
• From the Semisonic song "Singing in My Sleep": "Got your tape and it changed my mind... / I've been living in your cassette... / Now I'm falling in love too fast / With you or the songs you chose / I can hear you sing it to me in my sleep."
• From the Björk song "Headphones": "Genius to fall asleep to your tape last night."
• From the Better Than Ezra song "Rewind": "Cut a tape of my favorite songs / Said what I can't face to face... / Now there is nothing but a mix tape left behind / Now it won't rewind."
• From the Brand New song "Mix Tape": "This is the first song for your mix tape / And it’s short just like your temper."
• From the The Frames song "Your Face": "And I'm going to wait for you/I've got to send this tape to you" - The song itself frequently described during live performances by it's writer, Glen Hansard as being about making mix tapes for your friends.
• From the Promise Ring song "Make Me A Mix Tape": "Make me a mix tape/something old and something new/something I said or that we did/that reminds me of you/make me a mix tape that makes me yours"
• The Broadway musical Avenue Q features a song called "Mix Tape." Lyrics include: "A mix tape / He made a mix tape / He was thinking of me, which shows he cares / Sometimes when someone has a crush on you / They'll make you a mix tape to give you a clue."

A number of other references to mix tapes in popular culture include:

• From the original screenplay of Boogie Nights, by Paul Thomas Anderson: "I put a mix tape together of all my favorite songs...This is song number three...I love putting mix tapes together, you know...if you buy an album of a tape or something, those guys put songs in their order and they try and say how you should listen to the songs, but I don't like that. I don't like to be told what to listen to, when to listen to or anything..." (Spoken by Rahad Jackson, played by Alfred Molina.)
• In a deleted scene from the movie Say Anything, Lloyd Dobler (played by John Cusack, who would later star in High Fidelity) presents Diane (played by Ione Skye) with a "cool English road tape." (Director Cameron Crowe claims to have rediscovered the Peter Gabriel song "In Your Eyes," which figures memorably in the movie, while compiling a mix tape for his own wedding.)
• The Blair Witch Project has a companion album intended to represent a mix tape found in the car of one of the main characters.
• An episode of the television series Friends entitled "The One With The Unagi (a.k.a. The One With the Mix Tape)" features a mix tape given by Chandler to Monica for Valentine's Day. This mix tape had been given to Chandler by his ex-girlfriend Janice, a fact which Monica discovers when we hear Janice's voice on the tape. This was episode 17 of season 6.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Media references to mix tapes", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki