Autobiographical Monday MixTape

Diagnosis: Futuristic Musical Nostalgia

Prescription: Mixtape Autobiography

So I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty familiar with oldies music. When I was in middle school, my Mom would drive me and my friend to school in her 1986 Volvo (props to my mom for the safety and reliability in her choice in automobiles). Seeing as how the car had aged quite a bit since the hayday of the mid-80s, it had a few problems - like how the radio tuner was busted, for example. Darn thing only played AM radio stations. So every morning on the way to school, instead of listening to awesome 90s pop or hip-hop tunes, we listened to KONO Good-time oldies. I remember noticing how much my Mom enjoyed listening to it as she hummed along to the melody while twiddling her thumb up and down on the steering wheel to the rhythm of the song.

One morning (when I was actually awake and not distracted by watching raindrops race across the windshield while I silently cheered for them), I asked her if this was the kind of stuff she listened to as a kid. She said she drove my grandmother crazy during her adolescence playing these songs over and over and over. The thought of my mom blasting Marvin Gaye while my grandma yelled at her to turn it down was pretty entertaining.

I never quite had that discussion with my Dad though. I had to find that stuff out later on when I discovered his old record collection tucked away under a pile of clothes in his closet. The unearthing was perfect timing because a) my dad had just moved his old, yet quality Kenwood stereo complete with record player and 4 foot tall speakers into my bedroom and b) the notion of something being vintage had recently become cool to me. As I played his old records by Three Dog Night, Janis Joplin, and Peter Frampton, I tried to imagine what my old man was like back in those days, rockin out to those tunes. I wondered if he felt the same way about music as I had, despite the fact that anytime I tried to put on any radio station that I liked he’d immediately change the station and say “What is this junk?!”

Now I know that every generation finds the music of the preceding generation boring, and the music of the next generation scary and off-putting. I get it. But, even back then as a teenager, I felt like there had to be some connection between them. As I continued to peruse my dad's record collection, I eventually found the missing link.

I put on an album by Dionne Warwick, and the track “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself” came on. I recognized it immediately, and then flipped out for a minute. I had been listening to this song repeatedly at the time, but it was a different version. The one I was listening to was by the White Stripes, who had done a cover of it on their recent album Elephant, which I coincidentally had been playing constantly on my car stereo. Back then, I don't think I even really knew what a "cover" was, but for me it was like musically traveling through time and finding some connection between the world of my parents and my own.

I guess this memory is fresh in my mind because I revisited it just last month. I had a brief weekend trip home, and found the Kenwood stereo still in my room, untouched. I found a Cat Stevens greatest hits collection, dusted off the record player, and put it on. Listening to “Father & Son” I knew I’d heard other songs just like it in my itunes. It took me a minute, but I figured it out - it sounded just like "Fight Test" by the Flaming Lips. I was impressed, I'd found yet another musical link.

Maybe it's because it's still close to New Year’s and that always induces some kind of reflection about time, but I've been thinking a lot about this lately. At first I found it all pretty funny. I laughed as I thought about trying to get my dad into the Flaming Lips (his reaction would be priceless I'm sure). I crack up wondering what it’s gonna be like when I get older. Am I going to be listening to an oldies station in my car, tapping my hands to the beat and humming along to the lyrics of Li’l Wayne’s “Lollipop” while my offspring are just chillin in the backseat? Is my teenager’s favorite band going to be releasing a cover of Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A”? Personally, I look forward to going to a college reunion when I'm older and dancing to "Crank dat Superman" just like my parents get down to "the Hustle."

But there was something more to it than just those hilarious hypotheticals. I guess I'm just starting to appreciate the ability for music to serve as a time capsule of sorts, the thought that the music I listen to, much like my dad's record collection, could serve as some sort of autobiography - a tracking of the music someone listened to and what they were like and what they might have felt when they listened to it. And that when you compare them, you can find common threads, and see how they relate - whether it be Dionne Warwick and the White Stripes, or Cat Stevens and the Flaming Lips.

So this week's mixtape is an attempt to encapsulate a short period in my personal music history. Having just ended 2009, I looked back on my "Most Played" playlist in my itunes and picked out the 5 songs that defined the past year for me. Now I think this could be somewhat embarrassing later on. I mean, I don't think I'd want to know my top 5 playlist from my middle school days when all the kids were listening to nu metal. But then again, I guess not all things about an autobiography are all that pretty...If you're feeling reflective or daring, try it out for yourself. Might be interesting to see what you find, I know it was kinda cool for me.

Looking ahead to 2010, I put together some tracks of the music I think will be blowing up my ipod in the upcoming year. It's a little added bonus since I've struggled with posting the past couple of weeks. Track listing is below and follows the '09 songs on the grooveshark playlist.

"Horchata" off of Contra by Vampire Weekend - this track off of the highly anticipated new album seems to really deliver for most vw fans. Plus, I happen to love horchata.

"Wet Hair" off of Post-Nothing by Japandroids - I saw these guys perform this song on Jimmy Fallon the other night and I think that they, more than any other band, make want to just drop everything I'm doing in life and just start a rock group.

"VCR" off of xx by the xx - Lover's rock that I'm sad to say I will be missing out on seeing live cuz both of their shows in D.C. this winter are sold out already.

"Gila" off of Devotion by Beach House - for some reason I just really enjoy the guitar riff on this song, plus they got a new album coming out this month too

"Soundtrack 2 my Life" off of Man on the Moon: The End of Day by Kid Cudi - already praised Kid Cudi in my previous remixtape post, but just another sampling of his album.

Enjoy the tunes, happy Monday, and happy MLK day

-DR