I miss tapes. Specifically I miss mix tapes and the tapes I used to make of songs off the radio, the latest of which I just found in my car. It's from 1996-7 and captures the end of my senior year in college and my first few months living in Toronto. On it I discovered "Spadina Bus" by the Shuffle Demons, which at first I fast-forwarded over because I didn't identify it from the instrumental intro but then later read the tape cover on which I had thoughtfully, for posterity, listed all of the songs. "Love Fool" is on the tape twice - you know, you couldn't remember if you had taped it, so you taped it again, or on the first take you're pretty sure that the dj talked over it. I can't wait to listen to the rest of it and discover, in 3 minute bits, what I was thinking about during that year, which was quite a big year, actually, leaving home and going abroad and meeting all new people and figuring out grad school and making lovely new friends.
The gift mix tape is of course the ultimate artifact of affection for or education of someone. Remember all of the timing that went into it? Will this all fit on one side? What should lead off the next side? Did I hit record and play at exactly the same time? Mix CDs are nice too but the effort just isn't the same.
