The Legend of the Mixed Tape

(written for Dinner4Date )

Back in the 70s and 80s, it was a something that you painstakingly put together on a blank cassette. Pause, record and play, pause, record and play - a mix of songs from the radio and individual tracks from your favourite albums. Once finished, you’d stick a label on the cassette and give it your own original title and then one by one, list the songs in order on the inlay card (track title and artist if you could fit it all on). And there it was - a special compilation of music that you wanted your new love to listen to and in doing so, think of you.

So is the tradition of the mixed tape past its prime or is it still possible to compile a selection of songs for that someone special without it seeming cheesy or dated?

Personal taste in music is one of the first topics of conversation that we often share when we meet someone new. It’s something to bond over and because of the constant release of new songs and artists, a mutual passion develops over time. You can listen, talk and share, like, loathe and love together.

Maybe it is a little tacky but there’s still something touching about the time and effort it takes someone to choose and compile a collection of music that they think you’ll appreciate. Whether there are new bands or new songs that they want to introduce you to or a list of your anthems you both love, you know that they spent an hour or two at home thinking of you.

The key is to make it fun. No overloading of sentimentality, especially if you’ve only been dating a short while. You want your partner to enjoy it, not feel uncomfortable on hearing deep and meaningful lyrics when you are not yet at that level of conversation. By all means include a few tracks that illustrate your feelings but balance these with others that are upbeat to keep the end result bright and breezy:

·         Do You Want To – Franz Ferdinand

·         Have A Nice Day – Stereophonics

·         Somewhere Only We Know – Keane

·         Love The Way You Lie – Eninem & Rhianna

·         Mr Brightside – The Killers

·         Doesn’t Mean Anything – Alicia Keys

·         One Day Like This – Elbow

·         How To Save a Life – The Fray

·         Changed The Way You Kissed Me – Example

·         Ole Black n Blue Eyes – The Fratellis

With technology advancing all the time, you now have options as to what format you use to deliver your creative gift. A blank CD is the natural progression from the classic cassette but music files or even a flash drive are alternative methods too. If you’re going to design a cover, keep it simple and appropriate to the music selection. Something quirky will again keep the gesture light – no attempts at a self portrait or anything else that would fall in the overkill category.

Similarly, the giving itself should be just that – a simple gift from me to you. No detailed explanation as to why you included each song and what it means to you. If you were giving a book, you wouldn’t recite the story and give away the ending after all. Let your partner figure it out for themselves.

Don’t let your expectations get carried away and imagine them to be wowed by the sentiment. Don’t call them the following day to ask what they thought, secretly anticipating a track by track rundown of what they liked and didn’t. They may not even have had the chance to listen to it yet and you’ll take all the fun out of it by putting them on the spot. Even if they have played it, do not expect them to be immediately converted - songs grow on people over time. And even if they don’t like some of the music, remember that it doesn’t mean that they now don’t like you.

Most importantly, take pleasure from the time that you spent making it and after that, a positive reaction will be the added bonus.