You never know when or where inspiration may strike. Yesterday, it came in the form of this blog post which was in turn inspired by this blog post. Which brings us to the first Mixtape Monday of 2017 which was inspired by both posts. We'll be listening to a tape that was never recorded yet has been listened to three times today: first, playing through my Klipsch desktop system as I wrote this; second, listening on my Grados while I read and commented on other blogs and third, soundtracking a 90-minute drive in The Blueberry on this glorious Spring-like day. Had I been struck by inspiration earlier in the day, I surely would have enjoyed listening on the back porch through my Marshall Acton speaker but that will have to wait for another day. The inspiration arose from the question posed at the end of the blog:
"if you were making a 1984 mixtape, what would you include?"
Mixtape Monday began in 2014 as a way to share the mixtapes I began making in 1984 for the woman who became my wife thirty years ago next month. I turned 18 years old, bought my first car and graduated from high school in 1984 so I am intimately familiar with the music of the time. I call my tape Orwell Was Wrong. It has a strong synth sound, some dated while other songs surprisingly held up well after thirty-three years unlike myself. The overall vibe on this one when I listen is a floating, drifting or even a flying sensation. Of course, your mileage may vary. The songs weren't chosen for their chart popularity nor their respective music videos nor their ranking in my favorite songs from the year though each and every one was in my vinyl collection circa 1984 or 1985 at the latest. Most of them are still on the Vinyl Wall.
| SIDE A | 45:47 | ||
| Had A Dream (Sleeping With The Enemy) | Roger Hodgson | 08:26 | |
| Torture | The Jacksons | 04:54 | |
| Infatuation | Rod Stewart | 05:15 | |
| All Night Long | Billy Squier | 04:49 | |
| Here Comes The Rain Again | Eurythmics | 04:55 | |
| Heaven (Must Be There) | Eurogliders | 03:46 | |
| Go Insane | Lindsey Buckingham | 03:05 | |
| Radio Ga Ga | Queen | 05:48 | |
| The Boys Of Summer | Don Henley | 04:49 | |
| SIDE B | 44:17 | ||
| Loverboy | Billy Ocean | 05:17 | |
| Don't Let Go | Wang Chung | 04:22 | |
| Voices | Russ Ballard | 05:34 | |
| Madam Butterfly | Malcolm McLaren | 06:30 | |
| No More Words | Berlin | 03:55 | |
| Beat Box (Diversion Six) | Art Of Noise | 03:57 | |
| Hello Again | The Cars | 03:48 | |
| Let It All Blow | Dazz Band | 03:58 | |
| Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young | Fire Inc. | 06:56 |
All but two of the songs are full-length album cuts though if I would have used all 45 edits, I could have squeezed more songs onto the playlist. By my calculations, using those single and radio edits would have freed up almost exactly nine minutes per side. Not too shabby; good enough for a few more songs. On the other end of the spectrum, eleven of the eighteen songs from Orwell Was Wrong are also available in extended or remixed versions - I covered some of them in My Most Favorite Twelve-Inch Singles of 1984 series HERE and HERE. Had I used a 100-minute cassette as the guideline, the next two songs to be added would probably have been Echo & the Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon" and "How Soon Is Now?" by The Smiths, as they fit that vibe I was feeling. Other contenders for the final cut of Orwell Was Wrong were Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Relax", ZZ Top's "Legs" and Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For A Hero" (which I nixed after realizing I had already included two other Steinman tunes.)
Special thanks to Mark and Len for their continued inspiration.
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