Afternoon, morning, or whatever takes your fancy.
I have decided to take mixtapes that I made in the 90s and recreate them on Spotify. Nothing wrong with that, you're thinking. Well, hold on a minute, before you give me the benefit of the doubt, because I'm not just doing that.
I'm also writing about them here, and exploring my reasoning for putting them on the tapes in the first place.
Yes, you're right. There is indeed no point whatsoever in doing that. But look at me, doing it anyway.
This one is from 1994, when the world was young and we knew naught of the sorrows yet to come. If you want to listen along at home, here is the link:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/21zST1B0Ujyxppeu3C6W1i?si=05xMWRLtQIqZUlcsf2HBZA
Zooropa - U2
It's Easter 1994 and I live in a big rented house with some of the people I was at university with. Luckily for them, I am very into U2 at this point, and so they get to hear songs like this all the time.
This is a pretty good piece of music. It builds interestingly, which is a thing I enjoy. I like listening to a song slowly coming together, developing sonically as the various instruments join in. This is extra good because of all the weird radio chatter and feedback, making it all alien and mysterious.
There's a version of U2 here that I really like, and I'm sad it never went beyond this album. Listen to that lovely spacey stuff at about 3 minutes in. Absolutely gorgeous. Make albums full of that, Bono. Come on. There's still time.
I Go To Extremes - Billy Joel
You also join my 1994 self in the middle of a massive Billy Joel phase. Where did that come from? I honesty am not sure. River of Dreams had just come out, I suppose, so there was that. And there's also that strange desire that I seem to have at around this point in my life, which is to find the music which is absolutely definitely the least cool thing possible for a young man in the 90s to listen to, and listen to that.
Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm - Crash Test Dummies
A rare instance of 'actually in the charts' music, here. This song was a big deal at the time, and it's still quite fun to listen to now. Lovely instrumentation and quite unlike anything else you tend to hear.
The album, however, was not much fun. Someone in the house owned it and I occasionally made the mistake of playing the whole thing. It turns out that raspy-voice quirky nonsense is fun for a maximum of just one song. After that, the tone becomes rather relentless, and you quickly go from thinking, "This is unlike most other songs!" to thinking, "Yeah, now I know why. One is enough."
Crockett's Theme - Jan Hammer
Just in case anyone got cocky and thought, "Ah, I'm listening to a selection of top pop hits!", I threw this into the mix. That's right - it's a piece of incidental music from Miami Vice. A television show I have never ever watched.
This must have been a single or something, otherwise why would I have ever heard of it? I'm guessing it's target audience was 30 somethings who wanted to seem urbane and cool and pretend they had an apartment overlooking the sea, instead of just 'a house' overlooking 'other houses'. I cannot for the life of me recall why I had access to this song, or why I decided to put it on here.
I do like it, but that's because I have an almost indiscriminate love of synths and sometimes they make me feel vulnerable and I don't know why.
Ultra Violet (Light My Way) - U2
Oh, there'll be no escape from U2 for quite a while yet. Just in case you're wondering when my obsession with them starts to wane and you'll be spared. Not for ages, is the answer.
This is on the tape partly because I really like the line about "I want to get it wrong". In 1994 I am coming down from several years of fairly zealous Christian-ness, and am intrigued by the idea that maybe I don't have to suffer internal moral conflict every single day of my life.
I do know that I am bored of my girlfriend at this point, and very interested in another woman. But rather than a) finishing the current relationship and seeing the other girl or b) ignoring the other girl and trying to make things work with actual girlfriend, I opt for c) live in a state of tension between the two, neither doing the right thing nor the wrong and making everyone sad. Getting it wrong was an attractive idea, and might have been a better path.
Stuck In the Middle With You - Stealer's Wheel
Oh, the fun we had with this song. Putting it on at parties and dancing around, pretending to be Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs. Tying Richard to a chair and waving knives dangerously around his face as we danced.
We spent a lot of time in the 90s defending Tarantino films from the accusations that they inspired violence. But if one of us had drunkenly cut off Richard's ear, it would absolutely definitely have been down to his influence.
State of Grace - Billy Joel
Some more Billy Joel for the lucky visitor to the house, or passenger in my car. Perfectly good song, though this playlist is a bit samey so far.
This is one of those mixtapes that I listened to so often, the order of songs is burned into my mind. Whenever 'Stuck In the Middle' is on the radio, which is reasonably often, my brain will automatically start playing this song as it comes to an end. Thanks brain. Now can you remember where I put the spare batteries?
No. I thought not.
Runaway - Marillion
Marillion finally got round to releasing their new album in Spring 1994. It was called 'Brave' and it featured absolutely no singles that worked on a mixtape.
This was a frustration to me. Their last album - Holidays in Eden - had been packed with light, fun, poppy singles that were excellent for populating compilation tapes. You could listen to them in company and people would think, "Oh, a song," and just enjoy it.
Marillion were clearly furious about this and thus determined to make something altogether more complicated and irritating. Now, this kind of music is exactly why I liked the band in the first place so I should have been delighted. But an interesting shift had occurred in my outlook since I started making compilation tapes. Songs had started to become commodities, subject to the demands of the mixtape.
This song made it on because it was short (relatively) and had a sort-of verse chorus structure. Plus I loved (and still love) the middle music-box-like section. But my appreciation of the rest of the album suffered a little from my new obsession with pasting songs together on tape, and that would take a while to fix.
Something the Boy Said - Sting
Another song from Ten Summoner's Tales? Haven't I used them all? Apparently not.
This one isn't as distinctive or interesting as the others, but it's still perfectly lovely and I was hugely into Mr. Sting at this point, so that meant everyone in ear shot had to be too.
Detonation Boulevard - Sisters of Mercy
I was still working at the local Laser Quest in the Spring of '94, experiencing all the job satisfaction that comes with constantly repeating the phrase, "Please don't smack each other in the face with the guns."
One of my new workmates was a guy who we'll call Patrick, because he had similar chiselled cheekbones to the T1000 in Terminator 2. Who was played by Robert Patrick.
We became friends, even though he was a preening, self aggrandising prima donna and mostly annoying. And, from his point of view, I was a confused idiot who insisted on playing Marillion at you whenever you came near.
He was into the Sisters of Mercy. And I thought I might get into them too. It's kind of weird that I didn't - it's exactly my kind of thing. I quite enjoy them, but it's all a bit "Perfectly nice polite kids pretending to be techno-satanists". Maybe that's unfair on the band, and I'm just projecting my annoyance at Patrick.
This song ran out on the tape exactly as the whiny guitar phrase start at 2.52. So of course, every time I hear it now, my brain jumps up and down and shouts, "Remember? Remember when it used to run out here?"
What are any of my passwords, brain? Hmm? Hmm?
All About Soul - Billy Joel
Yep, more Billy. This is a good song which I still enjoy. I have no further connection to it that this, however, and so let's move on.
Streets of Philadephia - Bruce Springsteen
I very much enjoyed the soundtrack to this film, and I rushed out to buy it straight away. I liked this song a lot and I liked Neil Young's song 'Philadephia', from the same album. Young's song should be on this playlist but isn't, because Neil Young hates Spotify and they hate him.
Anyway. This song is drifty and sad and has lovely synth pads, which makes it lots more interesting, in my opinion, than other Bruce Springsteen songs. I'm a particular fan of the drum riff, which manages to be both incredibly simple and also instantly recognisable when it starts the song, all by itself. That's impressive.
The Man With the Child in His Eyes - Kate Bush
Someone in the house must have had a Kate Bush 'best of', because we're in for quite a few of her top pop hits in playlists to come. I liked her well enough, but was never a massive enough fan to buy her music. Which seems odd, really. She has all the qualities I enjoy in a musician - she's a bit weird and she creates melodies which are at once unique and seem weirdly familiar.
This is great music, and is a welcome break on this playlist, which is otherwise composed of very blokey, mid tempo rock stuff. Looking back, songs like this seem like flowers breaking through the concrete of my staid musical tastes. Don't worry - eventually there are enough flowers to break open the ground for good.
Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury - Marillion
As if to atone for the playful, ethereal beauty of the last song, here's a very boring, plodding piece of rock. This was another single from Marillion's 'Brave' album and is by far the least interesting thing on it. But it was a single, so I decided it would do.
There are some nice harmonies in the bridge and chorus near the two minute mark, and it's not that bad, melody wise. But this is middle ground stuff that fails to satisfy the Marillion fans because it's not weird enough, but misses mainstream appeal because it doesn't really seem to be trying very hard.
The Closer I Get to You - Ultravox
And I continue to mine the 'I Can't Believe It's Not Ultravox' album that's been with us for several mixtapes now. This isn't actually that bad, and after the last song it at least has the advantage of some energy and proper dynamics.
The River of Dreams - Billy Joel
More Billy Joel, and thinking about it, this must have been housemate Antony's album. He had a much better appreciation of music that was fun and rhythmically interesting, while I regarded such things with great suspicion.
I remember seeing the adverts for this album before it came out - I still bought Q magazine at this point - and thinking it seemed mysterious and inviting. The title and the artwork suggested music that delved into the unconscious and probed the dark and dangerous things within. When I heard the actual song - this jaunty piece of groove-based frippery - I was profoundly disappointed.
But, as has been noted, this is because I was an idiot who did not yet know how to enjoy himself.
Near Wild Heaven - REM
No matter how stupid and boring my tastes were, there was always room in my heart for a great pop song. I'm kind of done with REM these days, but in the 90s I was super obsessed with them, and I think with good reason. This is a lovely song and suggests great freedom and joy.
I remember putting this mixtape on at Laserquest. When this song came on, my workmate - a droll young man called Nick - perked up briefly, and said, "This is the only good song on this entire tape."
Army Dreamers - Kate Bush
Another incredibly odd song from Kate, sitting among the rest of these songs like the coolest, weirdest person at an otherwise pretty sensible party. I remember the video of this from whenever it was in the charts. All photo-clicking eyes and Kate staring down the camera with her terrifying, beautiful gaze.
The Downeaster 'Alexa' - Billy Joel
Yes, it's more Billy Joel and I think we can all agree that the laws of mixtapes have been well and truly transgressed by the number of his songs I've seen fit to include. But - BUT - this one is great, and so you have to let me off.
I've loved this song since I first heard it. It pulls at me like the currents of the sea.
Ashes to Ashes - David Bowie
Now what on earth is this doing here? One of the best songs ever by one of my favourite artists, and here it is, tucked away at the end of this resolutely unadventurous collection of songs.
Someone in the house - Antony again, I think - had a Best of Bowie CD, and I started to pilfer songs from that. It's not weird that I chose Ashes to Ashes. I bloody love it. What's weird is that there's not five Bowie songs on this collection, instead of all the Billy Joel.
This is quite a thing, though, isn't it? A piece of music that dances between different section as if easily bored, never quite settling on it's main groove. Hopping through ideas that would have sustained other musicians for entire songs, scampering madly from moment to moment without ever losing its crazy power.
It's odd to find it here, but it's also kind of nice. Along with the Kate Bush, it suggests that there is hope for me.
Systems of Love - Ultravox
And then, as if to remind us that I'm still in my early 20s and very much an idiot, here comes a piece of average synth pop. Sorry.
This Corrosion - Sisters of Mercy
I think this was another 'tape about to run out' choice. I really loved the opening moments of this song, and wanted to include them. But the entire song is a ridiculous ten minutes, which I thought was rather overdoing it.
Taking a good idea and making it last for far too long is only cool when Marillion do it, I think you'll find.
That's it for another tape. I hope it has brought you some pleasure to realise that you didn't live with me in the 90s, and so you didn't have to put up with this every day.
Glutton for punishment? Go back in time to early Spring 1994 - here!
Or charge excitedly forwards in time, to Summer 1994 - here.
