I read something on someone's blog once that stuck with me and pops out now and then at odd times. She said something like, "I never really thought much about music; I never had a soundtrack running through my life." I thought this was especially perceptive from someone who doesn't have a soundtrack to realize that many of us do have soundtracks. I could go through my whole life and put together a series of soundtracks, starting with Sunday School songs and Crosby, Stills, and Nash; awakening to Cheap Trick, ELO, and Andy Gibb; traveling through Billy Joel, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, the Kinks, and the Stones; dancing to Brian and the Nightmares; immersed in Dire Straits, Jackson Browne, Fleetwood Mac, and Cat Stevens; always with Simon and Garfunkel, Nanci Griffith, and the Beatles. And that's just skimming the surface.
But lately Randy and I have been obsessed with Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah" (watch it here or just listen). "This song," I told Randy, "would have been on The Tape."
The Tape is a pivotal part of SmallWorld history. One has to wonder whether there would even be a SmallWorld without The Tape. The Tape was....a declaration. Of things past. Of moving forward. Of unforgettable love. You know those kinds of tapes. The scene: an off-the-beaten path (and long-since closed) restaurant in Johnson City, Tennessee--the Beacon Cafe. The characters: Dr. H and me, four months into our Break-up. I'm a senior in college; he's a drop-out. The action: we eat lunch. The Mountain Burger is sublime and the batter-diipped fries incomparable. I give him The Tape. And I am free. I have given him everything in that tape, and I walk away. Fast Forward: Here we are, nearly 20 years later. We misplaced the tape many, many years ago, and we have been lamenting ever since. It should have been passed on to our grandchildren.
We tried to re-create the tape a couple of times, but it was never quite so perfect as in its first incarnation. But here is what I remember, and perhaps Dr. H can fill in the missing dozen songs or so...
Depeche Mode: Somebody
Cat Stevens: Wild World, How Can I Tell You
Dire Straits: Romeo and Juliet
Jackson Browne: Fountain of Sorrow
Suzanne Vega: Gypsy
Dan Fogelberg: Old Tennessee
Graham Nash: Simple Man
Neil Young: Sugar Mountain, I Am a Child
Fleetwood Mac: Songbird, Landslide, Beautiful Child
So, we aren't the only ones who made mixed tapes. I remember an episode of "Friends" or maybe "Seinfeld" that centered on the Mixed Tape Phenomenon. Anyone else remember a significant mixed tape?
Comments
Saturday, November 3, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by jennfromtenn (69.254.97.221)
Yes, yes, and yes again. I found a box of my old mix tapes from high school when my parents moved, and I spent hours reminiscing. Thanks to iTunes, I now download an oldie when it comes to mind, and make myself mix CD's. And several of my favorites are on your list.
I'm not a country music fan, but there's a song by Trisha Yearwood called "The Song Remembers When," and it's about the whole soundtrack running through our lives thing. That's actually one of the only ways I can remember what happened when- by relating it to what I was listening to at the time.
BTW, I rarely buy whole CD's these days, but I love "Delilah," so much that I've gotta go out and buy the CD. Little Joe walks around humming it all day long.
Saturday, November 3, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by hsmomof2 (68.42.17.4)
Oh my...
My sister and I used to go to Record City in San Jose CA and get our fave 45s on 8-Track. Yes, I am that old. 5th Dimension, Blood Sweat and Tears... We didn't actually buy the 45s - just chose our picks from the racks. I am sure now that it was illegal!
An old drinking buddy used to make me tapes of 80s music: Robert Palmer, Huey Lewis and the News, David Bowie. I still keep in touch with the drinking buddy, somewhat. He's probably still listening to those tapes...
I don't guess my husband and I have A Tape, though! Hmmm.. it'd be... Brandenburg Concertos, Messiah, Handel's Oboe Sonatas, Hymns from the Ryman, Ray Charles...
Sorry for the long comment, but I guess you asked!
Saturday, November 3, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by debbiecorley (76.114.75.180)
Sounds like a great soundtrack!
My husband has a friend who was (back in the late 80's-early 90's) the king of such tapes. He gave them crazy titles like...I Love Cybill Shepherd and Duck Stew.
Don't you think ipods are like high tech innovation of the mixed tape phenom?
Monday, November 5, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by FoxCreekAcademy (70.153.98.167)
I love your blog, it's awesome. I decided to leave my comment on this particular post b/c it brought back college memories.
My college roomate (btw, she is still my best friend) & I had these musicians on tape Tom Petty, Enya, Cranberries, Louis Armstrong, Blondie, and Ottmar Liebert. Good times, good times.....
Abby from Monday Fun
www.meetourfamily2.blogspot.com
ETA: The HSB account is old. The above blog address is current.
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