Mix Tapes

I remember the days of sitting on my bedroom floor in front of the stereo, poised to hit record as soon as the DJ stopped talking and the song started. Even cutting out the introductory "B96 9 Most Wanted" intro. From the first note. Down to a science.

Because how else would you listen to all your favorite songs whenever you wanted to?

Somewhere around junior high came Napster and CD burners. It made things a little easier, though slower. Dial-up Internet and one phone line! 

In high school, it was a zipper case full of mixes 1-80 between my store bought ones stacked 4-up. Driving Mix. Showering Mix. Waking Up Mix. Warped Tour Mix. Rap Mix. Mix for this friend and that one, this boy and that one.

So what do kids do now? Do they even own CD players? 

"Hey babe, I made you this Spotify playlist. You should log in check it out"?

I still make people mixes. I still have that spindle of blank CDs, though it's taking me longer to work through since I don't make myself mixes much. I made my last boss a mix for when she ran the Chicago Marathon. I also made her and another coworker a 90s dance/pop mixes on more than one occasion. I gifted mixes to my three best friends from grade school a few Christmases ago. Last month I made 90s Mix and 03core Mix for the NBF's birthday.

Before my uncle passed away, I made a singer-songwriter mix for him and my aunt. I even showed them how to use their computer's CD burner. (I often serve as tech support.) I also made them a "Maski Paps" Mix as requested, learning the term for the first time. 

Maski Paps: Short for "Maski Papaano" in Tagalog. Meaning you can dance to it however you want.

I still get psyched when people give me mixes. For my last birthday I got 5. One called Mix 27, because I turned 27 and she knew I had issues with descriptive names for my CDs at times. Sleepy Time Mix, 03core Mix, Sing-Along, and Pickslide from the NBF. The best part of getting one as a present is listening to it without looking at the track listing. It's always exciting to hear that song you forgot about after a few years.

So kids, make mix CDs. It's way easier than it was 20 years ago. Barney Stinson has a Get Psyched Mix. He knows what's up.

Old lady out.