Mystery Tape #1 - The First In A Series Of Unmarked Cassette Mix-Tapes

I was looking for one song. Just one! I knew it was a song that I had on a mix-tape cassette. The problem is this:

• I have a lot of mix-tapes. The ones that I consider worthy of road trip material got the treatment. Labels, artwork, the whole nine! (See previous posts). The song I was looking for was not on any of these marked tapes.
• I have roughly 25 of these marked mix-tapes. I have about 100 unmarked mix-tapes! That's a lot of searching! Time-consuming and tedious.
  
• "Skip to next track" is not in cassette's vocabulary. Did I say this will take some time?

The thought of banging my fingers on a hunk of machinery for days and days did not entice me to jump on this project. So, I created a little game for myself. I call it Mystery Tapes.

I will document these unmarked plastic music vessels on this website. And this way, I can recover even the most tucked away nuggets I might have hiding in these naked tapes. I might find the song I am looking for, eventually. We'll see.

Just because my strict guidelines for being a worthy mix-tape might have disregarded these castaways years ago, the fact is: These unmarked tapes were used more as holding tanks for future mix-tape mastery.

I believe I just took a dull, repetitive task and made it into a mission with a passion.

OK, I'll stop blabbing! I present to you...

...Mystery Tape #1...





Side A:

1. The Stairs - Mexican R&B
2. Camper Van Beethoven - Where The Hell Is Bill?
3. Self - Lucid Anne
4. Love And Rockets - Bound For Hell
5. Dukes Of Stratosphere - My Love Explodes
6. Sugar - The Gift
7. Jason Falkner - Miracle Medicine
   
8. Kevin Gilbert - Shadow Self
9. The Stairs - Mr. Windowpane
10. Ween - Piss Up A Rope
11. Meat Puppets - Station
12. Dukes of Stratosphere - Your Gold Dress

Side B:

1. Ween - Tick
2. Kevin Gilbert - Goodness Gracious
3. Meat Puppets - Why?
4. Jason Falkner - Afraid Himself To Be
5. The Stranglers - Peaches
6. Camper Van Beethoven - Lassie Went To The Moon
7. Squeeze - Break My Heart
8. Mano Negra - Soledad
9. Harry Nilsson - Joy
10. Kevin Gilbert - Kashmir

Favorite Song: Mano Negra - Soledad. What a vibrant, spicy song from the early 90's. I forgot how cool these guys are. I also have a friend at work named Soledad. I dedicate this first Mystery Tape to her. Hi Soledad!

Honorable Mention: Kevin Gilbert - Kashmir. What a find this was. The late Kevin Gilbert's rendition of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir is an instant classic. Shadow Self is also a great tune. Too bad that Mr. Gilbert is no longer with us. He would have done more fine work.

I hope you enjoy first Mystery Tape. I enjoyed converting it, even though the one song still eludes me. I'll get it soon, I'm sure.

Yo Quiero My Ass - Mix Tape For Fast-Food Trips circa 1997

Remember those late night fast-food trips?

The Taco Bell sign was visible from my front porch when I lived in Newark, CA in the Bay Area. For a few bucks, I could get 2 Burrito Supremes, 2 soft tacos and a drink. And it was always good.

So good, that I made a mix tape for the occasion. Remember the Chihuahua?

I know that this Taco Bell was within sight of my house, but driving, and driving music, was imperative. I hope you enjoy this mix.


Side A

1. Hooray For Tuesday - The Minders
2. Keep On Thinkin' - Sloan
3. Uke Said It - Roy Smeck
4. Melted Pat (Guided By Voices cover) - Shove
5. 10,000 Buckets of Rain - Photon Band
6. Soon - Squirrel Nut Zippers
7. Sing You A Love You Song - Of Montreal
8. More and More - The Minders
9. Much Abliged - Pee Shy
10. Suppose They Close The Door - Sloan
11. 2:37am - Photon Band
12. Rocket 58 - The Minders
13. Topple Into My Fantasy - Richard Davies

Side B

1. Dumb - Silver Sun
2. Tomorrow Will Be Like Today - Money Mark
3. Potato - Thumb Of The Maid
4. Golden Skin - Silver Sun
   
5. Jack-Ass - Beck
6. Mini-Management - The High Llamas
7. Pauline - The Minders
8. The Suits Are Picking Up The Bill - Squirrel Nut Zippers
9. Rock In The Rain - Money Mark
10. People Are Leaving - Robert Pollard
11. Hi-Ball Nova Scotia - The High Llamas
12. O.K. Alright - The Digger$
13. I Don't Wanna Know - Julian Lennon

A lot of these songs are still my favorites. The Guided By Voices remake Melted Pat by Shove is one of the better covers I have heard. Roy Smeck and his Ukulele grace this mix some tropical flavor. And who can resist the soothing sounds of The High Llamas.

I was able to capture a few songs and convert them to mp3. With every tape I dig up and document here in this blog, I am recovering lost music from my life. And in the process, I am sharing it with you. Enjoy.

Eat At Mars - Mix Tape From Outer Space circa 1998

Good Sunday Evening. Thanks to all who have visited and to all my friends and family who have blessed this blog over the last 2 or 3 days. This is turning into a lot of fun and a new favorite hobby. Re-discovering the music from my old tape mixes is awesome. The memories that some songs bring on are not always kind. But as I listen to and revisit these chunks of life, I feel as if they are finally passing through me and being set free of my emotional hold on them. Then, all that is left is the music.

Now, back to business. Get your spacesuit on and bring a full tummy, 'cause you'll need both!

EAT AT MARS

Thanks to gtl for the tip on this awesome mix tape tool. I will be using this often. I hope that you all enjoy listening to the mixes while you read or surf. Deck-O-Rator is a nifty music tool made by fuzz. I used my Technics M270X to computer set up to convert the songs to mp3, then uploaded them to fuzz.

Side A

1. Half Mind - Jonny Polonsky
   
2. Evil Scurvy Love - Jonny Polonsky
3. Uh-Oh - Jonny Polonsky
4. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry Over You - The Hi-Fives
   
5. Time Is Now - The Hi-Fives
6. No-No - The Hi-Fives
7. It's Up To You - The Hi-Fives
8. You're New Boyfriend - Moxy Fruvous
   
9. Kick In The Ass - Moxy Fruvous
10. Boo Time - Moxy Fruvous
11. You Will Go To The Moon - Moxy Fruvous
12. Dead In The Water - Supersuckers
13. Non-Addictive Marijuana - Supersuckers
14. Juicy Pureballs - Supersuckers
15. Hangliders - Supersuckers
16. The Ugly Truth - Matthew Sweet
17. Gone Gone Gone - Echo & The Bunnymen
18. Enlightened - Echo & The Bunnymen
19. Never Coming Down (Part 1) - Spacehog

Side B

1. Never Coming Down (Part 2) - Spacehog
2. Pacer - The Amps
3. UNKNOWN - Tall Dwarfs
   
4. UNKNOWN - Tall Dwarfs
5. UNKNOWN - Tall Dwarfs
6. UNKNOWN - Tall Dwarfs
   
7. UNKNOWN - Tall Dwarfs
8. UNKNOWN - Tall Dwarfs
9. Water Boy - Imperial Teen
   
10. Butch - Imperial Teen
11. Pig Latin - Imperial Teen
12. Tippy Tap - Imperial Teen
13. Copafeelia - Imperial Teen
14. You're One - Imperial Teen
15. Balloon - Imperial Teen

Created by: MixMaster Matt circa 1998
Cassette: Maxell UDII90
Cover: Collage and Pen

Wow, I am amazed at the selection of entrees at the buffet. Very unique and different cuisines, all rolled up into one plastic vessel. I got full about half way through Side B. But like Kobayashi, I kept sinking those dogs at the end.

There were some great tunes on this tape, however. Some of the Tall Dwarfs songs are worth posting this tape. In fact, I cannot name any of the Tall Dwarfs songs. If you can help with these, please let me know.

This tape also made me a fan of The Hi-Fives all over again. And how about Echo & The Bunnymen, sans Ian. Good stuff.

My Favorite Song: Kick In The Ass - Moxy Fruvous

Overall, this was a cleansing experience. I feel lighter. Maybe its the Mars food.

If you are interested in contributing your mix tape to this project or you would like to have your mix tapes converted to mp3 or CD, please email me. Thanks.

MixMaster Matt Is In The House. I'll Be Your TeeJay, aka Tape Jockey

Yo Yo Wassup Y'all!

MixMaster Matt is in the house. Actually, it's an apartment. But who's counting square feet?

My name is Matthew and I have a flare for retro and the things that used to be hip.

Why is this not hip anymore?

I ask this question frequently. It's a quandry. Some things last forever. Diamonds, pictures, great music and memories. But then there are those things that didn't quite have the ooomph to gain longevity. Disco comes to mind, as does 8-Track and of course, the beloved Cassette.

Funny how the long lost art of creating mix tapes contains some of life's most precious and cherished moments. From creating the list of songs, to blending moods, making the labels and cover, to telling a story. I would spend hours and hours contemplating what songs to put and in which order. It was an obsession of mine.


I recently acquired a Technics M270X Cassette Player from the early 1980s. I have it hooked up to my SoundBlaster Audigy 2 soundcard on my computer. I use this setup to convert Cassettes to mp3 or CD. It's a great way to archive those nuggets that are only found on Cassette. I will be sharing some of those nuggets here, as well.

Some of my life's hinging moments were documented through these plastic time capsules. I look forward to documenting them in this blog. Please feel free to comment. I'd love to here from you.

MMM...MMM...MMM - Songs That Bite Vol. 1 - Mix Tape

Introductions will come later. First, a mix tape I made in 1994. With it's title, I feel it makes a perfect subject for my first post.

Side A

1. You're My Drug - Dukes Of Stratosphere
2. We'll Deal With You Later - The Beautiful South
3. Faith, Hope - Food For Feet
4. Break My Heart - Squeeze
5. I Can See It In Your Eyes - Men At Work
6. Do You Believe In God? - Fungo Mungo
7. Either/Or - Ocean Blue
8. Size Of A Cow - The Wonderstuff
9. Poop Ship Destroyer - Ween
10. Do You Right - 311
11. Obscurity Knocks - Trashcan Sinatras
12. September - David Sylvian

Side B

1. Heartbeats Accelerating - Wailing Souls
2. Book Of Rules - The Heptones
3. Where's My Thing? - Rush
4. Big Jilm - Ween
5. Tequila - Food For Feet
6. Dinner Bell - They Might Be Giants
7. Bloodrush - Trashcan Sinatras
8. Unhappy Birthday - The Smiths
9. Walk Between Raindrops - Donald Fagen
10. My Little Island - Brent Bourgeois
11. Dogtown - Spent Poets
12. Euro-Trash Girl - Cracker
13. Hush - Jellyfish

Created by: MixMaster Matt on 6.7.1994
Cassette: TDK SA90 Dolby NR (cover is an XLII)

This tape has a lot of interesting emotions behind it. I found myself being tugged in different directions while typing out the song list. The name, Songs That Bite Vol. 1, holds true today. These songs definitely have some teeth. I felt love, loss, hurt, anger, adventure and inspiration all in a matter of seconds. Mix tapes sure can pack a wallop.

My Favorite Song: Where's My Thing? - Rush

I will be adding more tapes soon. Introductions will be next. Stayed tuned.