HERC was a prolific mixtape maker from the time he got his first cassette recorder in 1978 until 2002 or so when recordable CDs all but made cassettes obsolete. Still, HERC held onto his own mixtapes and when he and MRS HERC stood before a Justice of the Peace in 1987, she brought into the union the entire collection of more than one hundred mixtapes HERC used to woo her. Throw in another hundred or so mixtapes from his good buddy, John Book, and that's quite a stash. For today's post, HERC grabbed the tape that was sitting on the top of the pile in the first box he opened and it is an all-time personal favorite:
BITING THE EDGE 1979-1988
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| Like most mixtapes HERC made, this one does not have a label on either side of the TDK SA 90 tape |
The tape is unique among others in the collection as it actually has a dated J-card and that date is nearly twenty-five years ago. In the grand scheme of things, it is a rather late entry in his mixtape collection but man is it a solid representation of the music he still loves and listens to today. HERC says the primary inspiration for this tape were the songs from two of his favorite K-tel albums, Rock 80 and The Beat.
Like most of his fellow mixtape makers, HERC's first mixtape efforts were recorded from radio broadcasts, usually from countdown shows like American Top 40. He then progressed onto making tapes of his favorite songs from his own vinyl albums and those he borrowed from friends. These tapes were in some ways his own versions of K-tel and Ronco hit collections. This is one of those tapes. Be sure to share your mixtape thoughts and memories in the Comments below.
not found on Spotify:
"Goodbye, Goodbye" - Oingo Boingo (Fast Times At Ridgemont High version)
Curious minds want to know how this mixtape would score on the K-Tel scale.
ReplyDeleteFor nearly 3 years (from 4/'85 thru 12/'87), I obsessively recorded all of my vinyl singles to cassette in the order they debuted in the Top 40... How do you like them apples??
ReplyDeleteHere's a peek at what was cookin' at "DIRK'S Hideaway" in April/May of 1986!: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Tang8EIQNro/UxSmSAhiARI/AAAAAAAAAME/x0KsWSTOuzA/w960-h720-no/IMG_6324.JPG
With twelve tracks missing the Top 40 completely, virtually no crossover charting except to Rock charts and only five Top 10 hits including a lone #1 in "My Sharona", the mixtape scores a miserable 12.08 on The K-tel Scale.
ReplyDeleteNow we know.
Dirk, Dirk, Dirk
ReplyDeleteYour late 80s Top 40 obsession surely exceeds mine. As does your pretty penmanship, my man. Would like to see more evidence of both somewhere on the Web. Surely you can find a space to park your shiny new Tumblr? Come join the blogoverse you committed tweeter you.
You know you want to.
I'll let you in on a little secret here, Herc-ster. My obsession with the pop charts is not merely confined to the Late '80s... No, sir. I dare say, my specific musical interests would fall within a roughly 20 year time-span (1975-1994, to be exact). That's why if I do ever start my own blog, I've got the name already picked out... (Brace yourself!) How about, "My (Two) Favorite Decades"?? Gotta' nice ring to it, no?
ReplyDeleteI'll gladly concede everything after 1984 but my favorite decade musically speaking was and will always be 1973-1982.
ReplyDeleteComing from you, I'd expect a little more creativity and originality on the whole blog naming thing. Stop hemming and hawing and just do this.