the original playlist…. ?>

the original playlist….

I found an old shoebox under the bed in my guest room and it was full of cassette tapes. Not just any old tapes, but all of them were mix tapes. Ah mix tapes…the original playlist. Those tapes represent more than just a compilation of music. They are full of memories, they are historical documents. You made a tape for every mood and every occasion. There were the fun mix tapes  you played at parties or the slow jam mix tape you played when some guy broke your heart. The best of the 1980s lives in that shoebox. I would spend hours choosing just the right songs and finding magazine photos and words to decorate the covers. Yes, I put that much thought and effort into each tape.

Broke college students even gave them as gifts. You could spend a couple of bucks and create the perfect tape for a friend. The gift was personalized and showed even though you didn’t have a lot of money, you wanted to get him or her something special. Giving someone a mix tape was definitely a sign of importance. You only went to that much effort for a good friend or someone with whom you wanted to be more than just friends.

Sometimes good things do come in small packages.

6 thoughts on “the original playlist….

  1. That’s so true! One of the sweetest most heartfelt gifts I remember receiving was a mix tape someone gave me at a goodbye party. They made a point of telling me they stayed up all night making it.

  2. Being the Sting-o-phile I am, I always had one of his or the Police’s on mine! (I Can’t Stand Losing You/I Burn For You/Love is the Seventh Wave are perennial favorites!!!)

  3. i still have my mix tapes (somewhere) – any time i come across one it’s like an instant flashback! 🙂 🙂

  4. I must be stuck in the 80s because Trent still makes me “mix” CDs even now!! Thanks to him I listen to music I may not have otherwise

  5. Thanks to everyone who has commented so far. It makes me more excited to write when I know people are reading and interacting with my posts! And good for Trent, some things from the 80s should just go away, but not mix tapes. Nostalgia is good. Look at all the neon colored clothing right now. We definitely wore those in the mid 80s!

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