On Mixtapes and Failure
Oddly enough, one of my most effective study tunes albums is this mix that my last boyfriend gave me. He didn’t even make it “for me”- it’s the pilot episode of his radio show, if he were to have one. Clever idea. And it’s a great mix! It also happens to be way better than any of the mixes that were made intentionally for me. Huh.
Then there’s the mixes from this guy that was never a boyfriend, but I still had to sort of break up with…you know. One of those super creepy/awkward “But really, you have the wrong idea” scenarios. Of the mixes I received from him, all but one terrify me. Schizophrenic jazz and Tom Waits mixed with soul-funk and Gogol Bordello all on one cd- it sounds like a clown nightmare. Three disks. Three clown nightmares in my iTunes. But then, after these, he randomly mailed me this fantastic cd of the Winton Marsalis band covering Edith Piaf, which is beautiful and a complete 180 from the others. Where this came from I haven’t the slightest. But it’s also another favorite.
So to recap thus far:
- Both boys make multiple mixes. All are failures. (But at least the recent ex’s were decent to listen to and didn’t have Gogol Bordello on them.)
- Of the cds received from each, it was the off-handed less-intentional disks which were the best.
- Inexplicably, the two odd-one-out cds from each I still totally enjoy, but any mutual bands we had in common…nope. Ruined.
- Lastly: Both guys included “Bodhisatva” by Steely Dan on their mixes. WEIRD.
The only other bf I’ve had didn’t have any more success either. His one mix was half metal, half Sugarland.
And to think that 16 year old me didn’t think a mix could get any worse…
