Way Back Machine- audio stylings, circa 1991.

[mizarchivist]

In an effort to shake the chronic torpor I've been in at work for most of this week, I thought- hey! Cool! I still have a stash of old mix tapes! I'll listen to them and maybe I can focus.

What the hell was I thinking?! I was a very angsty, frustrated teenager. I grabbed a tape at random, you see-- not all of them were done by me. This one was.
My angst, let me show you it- the playlist:
Side A:
Liars Everywhere- Toad the Wet Sprocket
Nightingale Song - Toad
Just Like Heaven - Cure (mandatory mix inclusion for the early '90s)
Euphoria- School of Fish
Stairway to Heaven- Led Zepplin (really? ok...)
Breaking the Girl- Red Hot Chili Peppers
Mysterious Ways - U2
One- U2
Sisters of Mercy- Leonard Cohen
Wave of Mutilation- Pixies (from the Pump up the Volume soundtrack)
Many Rivers to Cross- Jimmy Cliff

Side B (where I started today):
O Superman - Laurie Anderson
Something I Can Never Have- Nine Inch Nails (where I remembered it was probably one of those mixes)
Hello- Shakespeare's Sister
I Will Not Take These Things For Granted- Toad (aka- I will slit my wrists before the end of this song)
Sample #22- Laurie Anderson (A fun diversion- finally. With German!)
Help Me Somebody- Brian Eno/David Byrne (as a lead in to next track- decent fade out)
Under the Bridge- Red Hot Chili Peppers
With or Without You - U2
Imagine- John Lennon
Caribbean Blue - Enya (I may fast forward through that one)
Book of Days- Enya (ditto)
I didn't date it, but I did this probably Junior year of high school.  ETA: Please note, this is not the worst offender of teenage drama set to music that I perpetrated. Those I left in the storage box with the other random bits and pieces. I considered this redeemable to listen to again.
While I really miss the art form of balancing a tape out, finding just enough songs not to have a lot of dead space at the end of a side- And something like this, cannot easily be altered without wrecking it, it's a piece of my -albeit awkward - history.  I generally prefer the modern type of iTunes driven play list- and it has some permanence if I make an effort- but the options for shuffle or removing tracks means you don't anticipate the next track like you would with a tape. Not quite the emotional punch. Mostly.

It is quite a relief to have tangible proof that I've had emotional growth at least. I feel much better now.

Comments

[tisana.livejournal.com]

I know and like a lot of those songs, though it took me a bit longer than 1991 to get to know them. I don't consider most of them that angsty, but that's me.
It's fun to look at things that used to be important and realize how much you've changed (for the better), isn't it?

[mizarchivist]

It's true, they're not all angsty- but some are so over the top (NIN specifically) that it colors the rest.

However, yes. It's fun and a relief.

[kazmat.livejournal.com]

I still love my Toad, even though I'm not an angsty college student anymore. Every once in a very great while I still come back to Torn as a personal anthem.

[sauergeek.livejournal.com]

I never made mix tapes at any time. But now I'm pondering what sort of mix tape I might've put together during junior year of high school.

Then again, I probably would have put Kansas: Dust in the Wind and Brownsville Station: Martian Boogie on the same tape. (On the rare occasions I got to control music selection anywhere, someone else very quickly took over...)

[drwex]

*grin* I'm glad you feel better. It's interesting to get this glimpse, though. Thanks for sharing!

[isabelluna.livejournal.com]

I remember most of those. I was just thinking about one of the tapes you made me, which sadly I think died. You had taken quotes from Monty Python. I started reciting the Bruce skit at work.

[mizarchivist]

Would that I'd written down the playlists for my own records- never did. Silly me! I'm glad I have some that survived.