I wish I had kept all my old mixtapes
This is one of the few I have remaining
A few weeks ago, my brother Ross suggested to our sister Carla and I that the three of us should make weekly 10-song mixtapes to help give us a musical focus in these unprecedented times. The aim is to send them to each other every Monday morning on our WhatsApp chat.
Mixtapes have a rich history in our family. I used to post mixtapes with written commentary on each song to my brother when he moved to Edinburgh to study at uni. Years later I would do the same when our younger sister went to Art School. Although by then it was cd's!
Both would send me mixtapes or cd's back. As things gradually went digital (although we all still buy vinyl) and as we got a little older, we gradually grew out of making mixtapes.
Reflecting on my younger siblings moving out the family home to study, I guess making mixtapes for them was my way of showing them I was thinking about them. As the older brother, both would regularly raid my CD and record collection to discover new music. Mixtapes were my way of communicating about music I was discovering and owned.
Family catch up a year ago
Now it's WhatsApp video calls
Now we can't see each other, mixtapes/playlists have come back to help us communicate.
There is an art to making a mixtape. I blog regularly about my Never Ending Mixtape, but I just throw songs on there. There is an art to a 10-song mixtape There are different arts.
So I'm going to share our weekly mixtapes. Here is week 1. All are very different!
I start with a short instrumental, lead into some euphoric electro/house, have some pure pop, a cool cover, a superb re-edit, some northern soul, some Charlatans and a nice hopeful message.
Ross mainly goes 80's! I love the Kiki Dee, R. Dean Taylor and INXS songs in particular. And what an epic closer!
Carla mixes it up. I particularly enjoyed the Peals song that I hadn't heard before, the classic Motown by Carolyn Crawford and the Whyte Horses closer. One of my sisters favourite bands.
Dig in - I hope you enjoy.
Volume 1 - Monday 30th
Murray
Her Smile - [bsd.u], White Love - One Dove, If Everybody Looked The Same - Groove Armada, Where Love Lives - Alison Limerick, Two Can Play That Game - Bobby Brown, Jumpin' Jack Flash - Ananda Shankar, Nowhere To Go - Smoove, Turnin' My Heartbeat Up - The M.V.P's, How High - The Charlatans, We've Got To Find A Way Back To Love - Freda Payne
Ross
I've Got The Music In Me - The Kiki Dee Band, Say Goodbye To Hollywood - Ronnie Spector, Heart and Soul - T'Pau, French Kissin' - Debbie Harry, Church Of The Poison Mind - Culture Club, Indiana Wants Me - R. Dean Taylor, S.O.B - Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats, The Loved One - INXS, There She Goes, My Beautiful World - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Carla
Out Of The Black - Neneh Cherry (featuring Robyn), Become Younger - Peals, Awake O Zion - Twinkie Clark, Walkin' Down The Line - Jennifer Castle, Night Shift - Lucy Dacus, Oops Here I Go Again - Edna Wright, Then I Met You - The Proclaimers, Darlin' Be Home Soon - The Lovin' Spoonful, The Abandoned Hospital Ship - The Flaming Lips, My Smile Is Just A Frown (Turned Upside Down) - Carolyn Crawford, Fear Is Such A ... - Whyte Horses
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