And it cuts out halfway through the last tune

Vh1 Classic just averred, in the context of "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs," that "If the devil made a mixtape, he'd start it out with White Zombie's 'More Human Than Human.'"

Which is true. He'd also follow it with three more White Zombie songs and insist on playing it through your whole road trip. It's like, "Satan, I brought easily twenty different tapes to listen to and you just brought that?" "But this is my jam! I'm getting so pumped!" And then BAM, right back into the "Convoy" that he taped over while he drums on the dashboard.

Angel, Bounce, Constrobuz, 1, 2, 3

Angel Haze's Altered Ego mixtape. Spitting like a sprinkler, Haze is who you can listen to if Odd Future makes you feel liberal guilt.

Mad Decent's Bounce It! is three years old, but if you're just getting to Big Freedia, this mix is homework.

Constrobuz makes hazy oozy woozy beats.

ركلة ذلك! (Kick it!)

Enough Gaddafi's Khalas Mixtape Vol. 1 is explicitly political, anti-Mubarak rap. Shame I don't speak Arabic, right? But still pretty tight.

Oh, the internet

I was trying to remember a song that was on a mixtape my friend Chiann made for me years ago, by the band Flashing Lights. I was churning through google results and came on this:

jardine 01-14-2002 05:24 PM
A side
1. Future Bible Heroes -- I'm Lonely (and I Love It)
2. Sloan -- Chester the Molester
3. Of Montreal -- The Miniature Philosopher
4. Belle and Sebastian -- She's Losing It
5. Ashley Park -- Lucy and the Bourgeoisie
6. The Salteens -- Bubba Da
7. The Underdogs -- Punkrocker (live)
8. Eric's Trip -- Kiss Me on the Head
9. Lali Puna -- Together in Electric Dreams (Human League cover)
10. Mercury Rev -- Boys Peel Out
11. Modest Mouse -- Custom Concern
12. The Magnetic Fields -- In My Car
13. Pink Martini -- Que Sera Sera
14. Liquid Plumber -- Pants and Anti-Pants

B side
1. Milch -- Es gibt kein geregeltes Leben
2. Elevator To Hell -- Veins/Green
3. Hydroplane -- Wurlitzer Jukebox
4. The Get-Up Kids -- My Apology
5. Apples in Stereo -- What's the #?
6. They Go Boom!! -- Sunnyday-A-Go-Go
7. Momus -- The Most Important Man Alive
8. Shoestrings -- untitled demo
9. Tara S'Appart -- Beautiful Dreamer
10. The 6ths -- Puerto Rico Way
11. Rufus Wainwright -- Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk (reprise)
12. The Flashing Lights -- Elevature
13. Dabrye -- Hyped-up Plus Tax (rudely cut off)

This is the tape, and it is awesome. Apparently, Chiann posted the track list onto the Giant Robot forum back in 2002. Sometimes, I love the internet.

The Sharif Don't Like It

33-Year-Old Mixtape.

"So here's the story...
In 1976, when my wife Kat was one year old, her father made a cassette tape of music recorded from the radio in Iran, while there on business. That's the cassette in the picture up there. I like how it says Stereo Disco on the label and how the music on it is anything but.

Her father would always play this tape endlessly in the car, on family trips to Ocean City, Maryland – it was his all-time favorite mixtape and was also Kat's first exposure to music.

This cassette was, until now, broken for some time. His birthday is coming up, so we thought it would be nice to mend the tape and transfer it's contents onto a CD. That's all done now, thanks to my trusty splicer block.

We're hoping to be able to identify the tracks on this cassette – even my father in law doesn't know, he just likes the music. So please have a quick listen to the tracks below. There's an entry for every track, complete with MP3. If you know any of them, or have a clue as to who it could be, please leave a comment.

Good luck and thanks for helping us out!

Nick & Kat

Tape deck!

Just got the $2 tape deck up and running after my old one decided that everything needed to be pitch shifted down a step.

First mystery tape:

Side A:

The Clash—Jail Garage Doors

Not a bad start, and the totally muddy sound makes sense. The Clash sound a thousand times more punk rock coming from a degraded tape.

Cash Audio—Capitol City Blues
Gov't Mule—Monkey Hill

Both of these tracks were on an old CMJ sampler, and go well together (both about capitol cities). Cash Audio totally peaked too early for the grotty bluze duo wave that came after them.

Big Chief—Liquor Talkin'

I loved these guys as the biggest thing that ever came out of Ann Arbor in the modern era. Too bad that they aren't as good as I remembered and totally disappeared. I think even Sponge is more remembered.

DJ Food—Nocturn

These guys were Coldcut mates who put out a draggy, druggy trip-hop album that was actually pretty good (mostly because of the bass tone). Because of the tape's condition, about all that's coming through is the bass, and it's pretty nice.

Belle and Sebastian—Me and the Major

Oh, yeah, I loved these guys. Whatever happened to them? They put out a bunch of albums of dubious necessity and dabbled in smoov 70s easy listenin'? OK, sure.

Menthol—Ciphers

One of my favorite bands that never quite got it together. They put out an "electro" album when that was all flashy, except it sucked. Then they broke up and I forget what the main guy is up to now. La Scala? Maybe I should check them out.

Flying Saucer Attack—???

I can't tell what FSA track this is, but the muddy tape is perfect perfect perfect. I need to find them again.

Side B:

Blank? Ugh. I don't think I'll finish this one.