Mixing it up

In which I do a deep dive into the mix tapes in my novel

The first album I ever owned was either Madonna’s True Blue or Whitney Houston’s Whitney, on cassette. I had both of them, and each was a birthday gift from my brother in successive years. The first CD I owned was by a British band called James and it was their self-titled album, which was released under a different title in the UK. I think I bought it because I liked the cover image and it was on sale at the music store in my town.

The music stores in town on Long Island and in Manhattan, particularly on St. Mark’s Place; the local college radio station; friends; Sassy Magazine—this is where I learned about music before the Internet.

I started making mix tapes by recording songs off the radio, but it was not possible to create a real mix tape in that way. You were at the mercy of DJs, so you couldn’t organize the songs the way you wanted them. I had small cassette players with only one cassette deck, so I couldn’t copy cassettes. For my twelfth or thirteenth birthday, I got a proper stereo with a five-disc changer, AM/FM tuner, and two cassette decks, and that’s when the mix tape-making began in earnest.

You had to decide who the tape was for, how long the tape would be, what the theme would be, what you would call it. Sometimes, I would use an index card to create a second cover for the mix tape on top of the track listing, so that I could make my own cover art. These were real labors of love.

Francie, the main character in my novel Acts of Lovingkindness, makes many mix tapes for her friends. If you are around the same age as I am, which is to say, if you were a teenager in the early - mid-90s, and you liked some of the same kind of music as I did (and do), you would probably realize that the mix tapes she makes are very much tailored to her friends.

Driving around mix tape for Sooz (“Sorry Again” - “Laid”)
Susannah is Francie’s artsy, kind of goofy best friend. She got her driver’s license first in their friend group, so this is just a fun tape for them to listen to while Sooz drives them around town. “Laid” is not on the first James album I owned, but it is a fabulous song to listen to in the car, especially if you enjoy smacking the steering wheel along to the music.

Random mix tape 1 (“Here’s Where the Story Ends” - “Country Feedback”)
This is the mix tape Francie is listening to while reading “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” when she is interrupted by Eitan’s first phone call. It includes “Alex Chilton,” the Replacements song that led me to discover Big Star, another band I love. “A Murder of One” is also my favorite Counting Crows song.

15th Birthday mix tape for Lola (“Summer of Drugs” - “Silent in the Morning”)
Lola is Francie’s younger sister. She’s a little moody, a little hippie, hence the Phish and Dave Matthews Band and “Thirteen” by the aforementioned Big Star.

Joseph’s Mix Tapes (“In the Evening” - “Patience”)
Joseph is Francie’s older brother, who is 21 at the time of the novel. Francie hasn’t seen him in four years. Growing up, she used to hear his music through the wall between their rooms. This mix tape is mostly hard rock bands, but their softer songs, like “Patience” by Guns N’Roses and “Is this Love” by Whitesnake.

Dance Mix for Starr (“Groove is in the Heart” - “I’m Free”)
Starr is Lola’s best friend, but Francie makes her a mix tape because Starr is throwing a Halloween party. It includes two songs with the word “groove” in them!

Valentine’s Mix Tape for Eitan (“What You Do to Me” - “Something So Strong”)
This is what a teenaged girl in love in 1995 would put on a mix tape for her boyfriend, so some of the songs are really, really over-the-top cheesy and obvious (“Into Your Arms” by the Lemonheads, “Ice Cream” by Sarah McLachlan).

Birthday Mix Tape for AJ (“Closer to Fine” - “Moonshadow”)
AJ is one of Francie’s other best friends, and Francie makes her this mix tape at a low point in their friendship. But AJ’s taste is folkier, influenced by all her summers away at sleepaway camp.

Mix Tape from Eitan (“You’re My Home” - “I Will Follow”)
This is the only mix tape that Francie receives throughout the novel, and it’s from her boyfriend Eitan. This is what a teenaged boy in love in 1995 would put on a mix tape for his girlfriend just before he leaves her for six weeks, so, again, some of the songs are over-the-top (“So Far Away” by Dire Straits, “You’re My Home,” by Billy Joel).

Graduation Mix Tape for Jason (“Accidents Will Happen” - “After Hours”)
This is the last mix tape in the book. Francie makes it for her best guy friend Jason at the end of the summer, after they’ve graduated from high school. There are some songs that hint at their friendship and also how it might have been something more (“Divorce Song” by Liz Phair, “Labour of Love” by Frente!”). I also included the sweetest, most beautiful Replacements song, “Skyway.” Having been to the skyways in Minneapolis, I was shocked that Paul Westerberg could write such a beautiful song about them.

I sadly no longer have any of my mix tapes. My husband strongly encouraged me to toss them when we moved from NYC to Boston nearly 20 years ago, and I obliged. I’m not holding any grudges at all, though!

Do you remember any of your mix tapes? Who gave them to you? Who did you make them for? Is creating a Spotify playlist for someone anywhere near the same thing?