As 2020 wound down, so did my last chance to get Spotify for $9.99 until the end of March.  I was tempted, but ultimately decided against it.  After all, as I said here earlier, I have my own private Pandora; I hate iTunes, and just yesterday finally resisted the sticky, cherry picking lure of Spotify.  The idea of having so much music at your fingertips is great, but I already have that without my phone.  I’d rather go on saving the world, one mix cd at a time.

I haven’t written here for a while, and many things have changed.  Job life, band life, real life.  Musical obsessions have come and gone with nary a post.  But I find myself still pestering Monika with my latest observation about Bob Dylan or the Who, still cranking out cd mixes for my friends and desperately waiting for some kind of pat on the back, so I’m forcing myself back to this page to let it all out, and hopefully meet some like-minded readers.

Two years ago I met my biological uncle for the first time, and discovered that my deep need to share mix cd’s with my friends is somewhat genetic.  This was a revelation- up till then I figured it was just some weird habit I had picked up- a personal form of expression using other people’s words and music; a forum for minor historical study, and a new way of inhabiting albums as works of art.  

I was adopted, and have spent years searching for biological relatives.  Through sheer persistence I eventually did track down the story of my birth and the individuals who were responsible for me being here- some of it is depressing, and some of it is exceptionally joyful, but the main thing is that my newfound uncle is also obsessed with creating mix cd’s.  He was in the hospital recently, and called to tell me he was ok- but his main frustration was that his annual Christmas mix remained unfinished and unsent!  I can totally relate to that, and it’s hard to explain how it makes me feel.  

I have made mixes ever since the early 80’s, when I first owned my own stereo and cassette deck.  I have spent most of my free time either focusing on a new mix, listening to and revising a current one, or waiting with disappointment for a reaction to an old one.  I’ve spent over 10,000 hours doing it, easy.  So I’m getting to be an expert at it, and the time has come for me to put it out there.

I’ve made mixes for my mother, my father and my sister, as well as strangers I’ve met all over the world.  An old girlfriend of mine had amassed over 100 mixes that document that particular relationship over the course of 5 years or so.  There are other friends (musicians and just music fans alike) who still have and listen to cassettes that I made them over 30 years ago- many of them have buckets of tapes and cd’s that I painstakingly put together, listened to over and over and revised- and who still get mix cd’s from me now.  

As a New Year’s resolution, I’m going to start posting the playlists here, rather than joining the Spotify crowd.  I’m no music streaming expert, but it seems to me that Spotify is ruining music appreciation- I want people to really dig into old albums, and not just their favorite songs.  In general, it feels like having access to that much music on your cell phone forces you to cherry pick, and skim the surface. Not to mention the crappy sound, and the fact that the original artists get paid very little.

I’m not on any kind of crusade though-use Spotify if it works for you- but I am hereby offering to share my mixes as playlists, if you’re into that kind of thing, or preferably on a cd.  You’ll dig them!  I want to promote active listening, instead of passive.  Find a way to listen for at least 80 minutes without interruptions- hook up your cd player- send me your address, and I’ll send you some.

Here’s one I made just for myself.  I have developed a knack for using an album as the basis for a mix, and this one uses Bob Dylan’s recent album “Rough and Rowdy Ways.”  It’s also sort of a post pandemic ode to better things in 2021, and an illumination of the many song titles Bob mentions in the song “Murder Most Foul.”

Jeff’s 2021 Mix, Volume 1:

1. I Contain Multitudes
2. 1921- The Who
3. Night By Night- Steely Dan
4. False Prophet
5. The Seeker- The Who
6. The Devil’s Been Busy- Traveling Wilburys
7. Ramble Tamble- Creedence Clearwater Revival
8. Smash the Mirror- The Who
9. My Own Version of You
10. Where Were You Last Night- Traveling Wilburys
11. Photograph- Ringo Starr
12. I’d Have You Anytime- George Harrison
13. Goodbye Jimmy Reed
14. Whistling Past the Graveyard- Tom Waits
15. Black Beauty (solo piano version)- Duke Ellington
16. Black Rider
17. Black Napkins- Frank Zappa
18. Nature Boy- Nat King Cole
19. Crossing the Rubicon

Volume 2:

1. I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You
2. Cry Me A River- Barbra Streisand
3. Mystery Train- Elvis Presley
4. Wake Up Little Suzie- The Everly Brothers
5. I Want to Hold Your Hand- The Beatles
6. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood- The Animals
7. I’d Rather Go Blind- Etta James
8. Mother of Muses
9. Acid Queen- The Who
10. Anything Goes- Harpers Bizarre
11. Blue Sky- The Allman Brothers Band
12. Lost My Driving Wheel- The Byrds
13. Lonely At the Top- Randy Newman
14. Take It to the Limit- The Eagles
15. Tom Dooley- The Kingston Trio
16. Murder Most Foul
17. St. James Infirmary- Louis Armstrong
18. Another One Bites the Dust- Queen
19. Stella By Starlight- Bud Powell