Streaming Killed the Mixtape Star
Introducing: Playlists whimsically curated by mood (and me).
Ahhh, the anachronous mixtape. The sweeping sonic gesture that cemented a thousand friendships and courtships in the latter part of the 20th century has gone by the wayside with disposable cameras and being unreachable. My dad claims to have created the first (glossing right over that), so I like to think of mixtape curation as a birthright, “in my blood” kind of thing. Music sticks in our brains like cognitive cotton candy (man I’m on an alliteration kick today). I don’t remember swaths of my life, but whenever “Devil Went Down to Georgia” plays on the radio and isn’t followed by “Glory Days”, I die a little inside.
If you miss the power of the mixtape, fear not! I will channel all of my angst and sillininess into playlists that specifically cater to different situations and moods. I was originally going to call this new segment Mixtape Mondays, but I can hardly eek out a regular post once a month, forget weekly subthemes. In honor of my college friend Lauren, who interned at the company famous for Frankensteining songs into “Monster” compilations such as Monster Ballads, Monster ‘80s, and ‘80s Monster Ballads, I hereby christen this new Raveled segment “Monster Mixtapes.” Isn’t it everyone’s dream to have a random Substack segment named for them? On a completely different note, I welcome sponsorships.
I’m paying homage to the man who dresses by mood and calling my first mixtape1 “Morning Mist.” If you get it, you get it. Please give me a shout if you have a mood or theme you’d like me to tackle. Unlike the DJ at your niece’s Bat Mitzvah, I take requests.
I am aware that these are technically playlists and not mixtapes, but they are created in the spirit of the mixtape.