Episode 2: My First Mixtape

Spotify Playlist: My First Mixtape (Early 80's)

This episode I talk about cassette tapes and my very first mixtape I made in the early 80's.

Transcript

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Welcome to Mixtapes of Today, Episode 2. I am your host, Suze Jones. This week I am going to share my very first mixtape that I made in the early 80s. I have made quite a few in my lifetime, but this is the very first one I remember. Back in the day, I don't remember calling the mixtapes to be honest. It was just my music. I had a tape deck and a radio, and when I discovered that I could record off the radio, I knew that would probably be the only way I could listen to a lot of those popular songs that I was crazy about on a budget. I could put all my favorite songs on a cassette tape for pennies compared to having to buy an entire album at my local music store. For those of you kids that are still not familiar with what a cassette tape actually is, let me run down a little bit of history. The cassette tape, also called compact cassette, audio cassette, or simply called a tape, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. It was invented by a guy named Lou Autons and his team at the Dutch company Phillips. That company might sound familiar when it comes to audio equipment. The compact cassette was introduced in August of 1963. Now there were already reel-to-reel magnetic tape machines, and that was invented back in the 1920s and 30s, and then those became recording standards in the 1940s and 50s, but they were huge and not portable at all. Lou and the Phillips group figured out a way to add music to tracks on a smaller scale. Cassette tapes came in two forms, either containing content as a pre-recorded cassette or as a fully recordable blank cassette. Both forms had two sides and they were reversible. Other tape cassette formats also exist, for example, the micro cassette, mostly used in mini tape recorders, and those old-fashioned telephone answering machines that don't really exist anymore because everything has gone to digital recording and voicemail. Either way, we use the generic terms cassette or tape for all sizes. From 1983 to 1991, the cassette tape was the most popular audio format for new music sales in the United States. The first blank cassette tapes that came out had a capacity of a total of 60 minutes. That would be 30 minutes on each side. They came out with the most awesome tape length, the 90-minute tape, with the capacity to have 45 minutes of audio on each side. You could put entire albums on those tapes, and I remember my older brothers would do that so they could play them in their cars. Later, I found it most valuable to have my music portable by playing my cassette tapes with The Walkman, the ultimate portable music player. The Sony Walkman was introduced in 1979, but became more influential on the popular culture by promoting individual music consumption and private listening. The headphones. The Walkman also contributed to the adoption of the compact cassette format, and it surpassed vinyl record sales in 1983. So now that you know a little bit more about what the cassette tape was, let's go back to the mix tape. I made my first one when I was in sixth grade, strictly from the radio, and would take my tunes with me to school and play my music when I just wanted to be in my own little world. Several other kids would bring bigger tape players and boom boxes that came along later to share music with each other. Some would have the money to actually buy entire albums on cassette, but it turned out to be more interesting to have a random mix that we could choose instead of listening to an album where you might want to fast forward through tracks you didn't like. Fast forwarding and rewinding on cassette tapes, that took a special skill. Okay, let's get into the 10 tracks I selected for this week's mixtape. You'll find the playlist link in the description. Track number one. I Can't Go For That, No Can Do, by Daryl Hall and John Oates. Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall and Oates, were an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1970. Daryl Hall was generally the lead vocalist, while John Oates primarily supplied electric guitar and backing vocals. On occasion, he would sing lead vocals depending on the song. The two wrote most of the songs they performed either separately or in collaboration. They achieved their greatest fame from the mid-1970s to the late 80s with a fusion of rock music, soul music, and rhythm and blues. They never officially changed their name to just Holland Oates for their studio albums, as they preferred to be credited as Daryl Hall and John Oates from the beginning. The shorthand, Holland Oates, was popularized by fans and media throughout their career, starting in the 70s, but it was not their official branding. I Can't Go for That, No Can Do, was released as the second single from their tenth studio album, Private Eyes, in 1981. The song became the fourth number one hit single of their career on the Billboard Hot 100. Track number two, Major Tom Coming Home by Peter Schilling. Peter Schilling is a German synthpop musician whose songs often feature science fiction themed like aliens, astronauts, catastrophes. He's best known for his 1983 hit single Major Tom, which was an international success, reaching the top positions on billboards worldwide. This song was the lead single from his album, Error in the System, featuring the story of a character unofficially related to Major Tom, an astronaut depicted in British musician's David Bowie's 1969 song The Space Oddity and other releases. Schilling's track describes a protagonist who leaves Earth and begins drifting out into outer space as radio contact breaks off with his ground control team. Versions of the song in both the English language and in Schilling's Native German have earned critical and commercial acclaim over multiple decades. Talking in your sleep by the Romantics. The Romantics are an American rock band formed in 1977 in Detroit, Michigan. The band's music is often categorized as Power Pop and New Wave. They were influenced by the 1950s American Rock and Roll, Detroit's MC Five, The Stooges, Early Bob Seeger, Motown, American Garage Rock, as well as the British Invasion Rockers. The romantics achieved substantial popularity in the US, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Canada, and Australia, with their two best charting songs, What I Like About You, and this song, Talking in Your Sleep. The song was released in September 1983. It became the band's most successful single in the US, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1984, and this was their only top 10 hit. The song would uh have a release two months later in Australia and New Zealand, a release later in Japan, and then in 1984 in the UK, it failed to chart in both countries. However, the song did become a UK hit in August that year for another British group that actually released it. And the name of the uh group was Bucks Fizz. Now I remember this song specifically by the Romantics, and I remember the posters and the band and their video with the shiny leather jackets and the big poofy hair. Duran Duran is an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by keyboardist Nick Rhodes, guitarist in the beginning, John Taylor, and singer and bassist Stephen Duffy. The band went through several early changes before the band's lineup settled in May of 1980 as Rhodes, bassist John Taylor, singer Simon LeBon, and guitarist Annie Taylor, and drummer Roger Taylor. Emerging as one of the most successful bands of the new romantic scene in early 1980s, they were innovators of the music video and a leading band in the MTV-driven second British invasion of the US. They really did take their music videos to the next level with the higher production. And were not only considered great musicians, but heartthrobs in their own right with their fashion and makeup, and uh they were showing up in the teen magazines and posters. Fans affectionately called themselves Durannies. Hungry Like the Wolf is the fifth single from Duran Duran. It won a Grammy Award in 1984. Track 5. Taco is an Indonesian-born Dutch musician, actor, and entertainer who started his career in Germany. He scored a global hit song in 1982 with this version of Putin on the Ritz. Some people thought the group was named Taco, but it was actually the first name of the musical performer. Putting on the Ritz is a song written by Irving Berlin, who wrote it in May of 1927 and first published it on December 2nd, 1929. It was registered as an unpublished song in August of 27 and again in 28. Taco recorded and released a modernized version of the song, accompanied by a music video that aired on MTV and other music video networks. Taco's cover became a top 10 hit in the US, Canada, and much of Europe. Track 6. I Just Died in Your Arms by Cutting Crew. Cutting Crew is an English rock band formed in London in 1985 by lead vocalist Nick Van Eed and guitarist Kevin McMichael. The group achieved international success with their 1986 debut album, I Just Died in Your Arms. And it reached number one in the U.S. and charted highly worldwide. The song was written by Nick, and the phrase was based on his personal experience with an ex-girlfriend. The lyrics are depicting the ecstasy of being with someone he loved while still experiencing the internal conflict of staying in a relationship that needed to end, and he was having a hard time walking away from it. Toto is an American band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1977. Toto combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, hard rock, RB, blues, and jazz. Having released 14 studio albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, the group has received several Grammy Awards, and they were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009. The members of Toto were regulars on albums by Steely Dan, Seals and Croft, Boz Skaggs, Sonny and Cher, and many others. They contributed to many of the most popular records of the 1970s. Africa is the tenth and final record on their fourth studio album, uh Toto 4, from 1982. A polyphonic analog synthesizer, I believe it was a Yamaha CS80, was in mind when the song was written, along with a bass, snare, hi-hat, and congo for the groove. Josh Broquero and his father made percussion loops on bottle caps and marimba to recreate the sound of the African pavilion drummers of the 1964 New World's Fair and a National Geographic special featuring the drum culture. What a magical percussion sound! Track 8. Matthew Wilder is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his 1983 hit single, Break My Stride. Wilder also wrote the music for the Disney animated feature film Mulan and provided the singing voice for the character Ling. Break My Stride was released in August of 1983 as the lead single from his debut album, I Don't Speak the Language. A little interesting history about this song when it came out. The well-known record producer Clive Davis originally signed Wilder to Arista Records in 1981 to 1982, but Wilder was not getting the results he wanted or finding the style of music that worked for him. Wilder ended up self-financing the recording of Break My Stride. The record label did not see potential in the song, imagine that, and released him from his contract, and then Wilder found a record promoter that somehow managed to promote the song in a non-conventional way, and it ended up hitting number two on the cash box chart and number five on the Billboard Hot 100. Track nine. The song spent 10 consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, which tied the record of most consecutive weeks at number one at the time. And it became the longest-running number one hit single by an Australian artist on the Billboard charts to date. Can you believe it was actually banned in some markets because of the suggestive lyrics? Newton John had a clean-cut image up until this point, and it definitely changed that in 1981. It basically revived her career, and there was also this music video that accompanied the song, which helped with the popularity. Michael Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. He was dubbed the king of pop, and he is widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 20th century. Over four decades career, his musical achievements broke American racial barriers and made him a dominant figure worldwide. PYT was written by James Ingram and Quincy Jones and was released in September of 1983. The single charted at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. James Ingram presented his demo and Quincy Jones liked it and told him to finish the lyrics. So Jackson says he loved the version Ingram and Jones came up with, stating that he liked the code in the lyrics. A little trivia about this track also is the background vocals on Michael Jackson's PYT includes Michael's sister Janet Jackson, his sister Latoya Jackson, and also, notably the Facts of Life star Mindy Kahn. Producer Quincy Jones invited Janet and Kahn to sing on the track during the session, with Kahn confirming she provided some of the kids at the end vocals. This concludes this episode of Mixtapes of Today. Hope you enjoyed the list this week. 10 tracks from my very first mixtape I made in the early 80s. Please check out the Spotify playlist link in the description. Thanks for listening to Mixtapes of Today. We will be back next week. Talk to you soon.