It started here

Every time I hear the song “Healthy Body Sick Mind” by Operation Ivy, I think of my sister. Same with “Castles Made of Sand” by Jimmy Hendrix. They’re both on a mix tape Laura made me for my 14th birthday. (I can't believe that was 12 years ago.) I still have it, although it doesn't play so well these days.

Like many younger siblings, I always tried to be like my older sister. I remember going into her room when she wasn’t home and listening to her music. That’s how I was introduced to Green Day’s “1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hour,” Teenage Fanclub’s “Bandwagonesque,” and Sugar’s “Copper Blue.” She used to hang CD long boxes on her wall. I copied her, but I must admit her Sugar Cubes, Peter Gabriel and Screeching Weasel were far superior to my Jesus Christ Superstar and Guns N’ Roses.

Laura was a master tape compilation maker. Her tapes never had too much from one genre. There’d always be something on there you wouldn’t expect. (For example, sandwiching Cypress Hill between the Grateful Dead and Jane’s Addiction.) Once again, I tried to copy her. I made her a mix tape when I was in junior high. I don’t remember all the songs, but I distinctly remember putting both a song from the Aladdin soundtrack on there as well as Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer.” Yeah, I needed some help. That’s when Laura taught me one of the cardinal rules of tape making: Never include radio hits.

On the front of the 14th-birthday tape, Laura pasted this picture:


Laura was 20 at the time. It was sort of her way of taking me under her wing, introducing me to the counter-culture and explaining why listening to Top 40 is not cool.

I’ve gotten lots of mix tapes and CDs from other people since then. Lots of mixes from friends, exes, roommates. Many are still in my regular rotation. Many had themes, like some of the ones I got from Dave such as the “AlphaVinyl” tape and the tape that has 127 songs on it. But Laura’s was one of the first. It was the tape by which all others were judged. Looking back it might seem a little dated now, but to my 14-year-old ears, it was a whole new world.

Sister - Lenny Kravitz
Castles Made of Sand - Jimmy Hendrix
One Way - Levellers
Jack of All Trades - Soul Asylum
Beach Party Vietnam - The Dead Milkmen
Science Fiction/Double Feature - Rocky Horror Picture Show
Skankin' To The Beat - Fishbone
Alsatia's Lullaby - Toys Soundtrack
When love Comes to Town - U2
Black Dog - Led Zeppelin
Cerulean - The Ocean Blue
Watermelon Song - Poi Dog Pondering
Blues Before Sunrise - John Lee Hooker
Happy Birthday to Me - Cracker
Change - Blind Melon
The Sniper Song - Naked Raygun
Summertime - Janis Joplin
I Was There - Green Day
Land of Competition - Bad Religion
You Win Again - Grateful Dead
Hand on the Glock - Cypress Hill
Down In It - Nine Inch Nails
I Would For You - Jane's Addiction
American Music - Violent Femmes
I Will Not Take These Things For Granted - Toad The Wet Sprocket
Thrift Store Girl - Screeching Weasel
Healthy Body Sick Mind - Operation Ivy
All That You Have Is Your Soul - Tracy Chapman