Mixology: Homey Don't Play That

Mixology is a recurring feature in which I take a look at one of the many mix tapes I made over the years. Some are better than others, but all of them are fun to revisit.

Homey Don't Play That (2/21/93)

The early '90s were a wondrous time. Crazy-ass Day-Glo colors were in vogue. My wardrobe included several items that were purple, mustard yellow or teal. I wasn't wearing an 8-ball leather jacket like Puddy on "Seinfeld," but I might as well have been. At least I wasn't alone.

By the time I made this tape, I was still living here on Roosevelt Ave. with my girlfriend, but within a few months, we had split up and I was renting a room in Middleton. I was the City Hall reporter at the Peabody Times, but was about to move over to the Beverly Times. I was going to cover the corruption trial of Congressman Nick Mavroules, which would have been a great career move for me and would have garnered some high-exposure clips (not to mention some OT pay). But alas, he ended up agreeing to a plea deal before the trial ever began, so I did some regional coverage before moving onto the copy desk as a layout editor. It was a move I didn't really want to make, but my editor-in-chief asked me to do it and I didn't want to seem unambitious. All of these things culminated in a pretty miserable stretch for me, but at the time of this mix, I was still in a good place.

On the rock side of things, I started listening to harder-edged alternative stuff that's reflected on this mix: Sonic Youth, Rage Against the Machine, Mudhoney, Dinosaur Jr. There was a lot of great music out at that time; it was a great time to be a rock fan. I also started noticing that kids were getting into so-called alternative music at a way younger age than ever before. I would be at Newbury Comics browsing through the same punk CDs as 8-year-olds. That was due to the whole Nirvana-led "rock revolution" that swept over the music scene in the early '90s. Eventually, boy bands and prefab pop regained its footing in the latter part of the decade. MTV was still pretty cool at this point, playing a lot of good videos but also premiering non-music content that I enjoyed, like "The Real World" and a new show called "Beavis and Butt-Head."

Side A: Hey Homestead!
Fully Completely - The Tragically Hip
Waiting for the Sun - The Jayhawks
Seen the Doctor - Michael Penn
Dizz Knee Land - Dada
Teen Angst - Cracker
Somebody to Shove - Soul Asylum
I Wonder - Blind Melon
Taillights Fade - Buffalo Tom
Bone China - Mother Love Bone
Angry Chair - Alice in Chains
100% - Sonic Youth
Racked - Gruntruck
Drawing Flies - Soundgarden

Side B: Don't Play That!
Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine
Unsung - Helmet
Tearing - Rollins Band
Body Farm - Gruntruck
Mind Riot - Soundgarden
God Smack - Alice in Chains
Sugar Kane - Sonic Youth
When in Rome - Mudhoney
Come Bite the Apple - Mother Love Bone
A Small Victory - Faith No More
Velvet Roof - Buffalo Tom

The title of this mix came from Homey D. Clown, a character played by Damon Wayans on "In Living Color," a good sketch comedy show airing on Fox on Sunday nights at the time:





Taillights Fade:


Sugar Kane: