Mixology: More Songs to Mow the Lawn By...

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.

More Songs to Mow the Lawn By... (7/18/88)

The summer of 1988 was a busy one for me. I was interning at the Peabody Times, making the 45-minute commute from Kingston, NH to the Tanner City every day and working night crews at the Market Basket in Plaistow, NH on the weekends. In all, I was working about 60-70 hours a week. Part of the reason was the internship was huge for my future ambitions, but it didn't pay squat: After taxes, I was taking home $57 and change per week. Hence the night crews, which at least gave me some spending money for my upcoming final year of college.

Despite all the working for the weekend, I managed to have a good time. The day before this tape was made, my buddy Tat and I caught Iron Maiden at the Worcester Centrum and nine days later, we saw Judas Priest there. In June, there was an ill-fated trip to the Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine to see the Monsters of Rock tour with Van Halen, Scorpions, Dokken and Metallica. The traffic was brutal getting into the place and then a thunderstorm moved in right after we got there. We saw the very end of Metallica and some of Dokken's set before we couldn't take anymore; we were getting drenched and lightning was flashing all over the place. The show ended up being cancelled after we left.

The summer of '88 was also the summer Wayne Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the LA Kings. He had just led the Oilers to their fourth Stanley Cup in five years with a 4-0 sweep of the Bruins and was at the peak of his powers. He had just married actress Janet Jones and then the news came that he had been traded. I was shocked, as was all of Canada. I still have the issue of Sports Illustrated about the trade with Gretzky and Magic Johnson on the cover.

The summer wrapped up with a great party at the home of one of the reporters I worked with at the Peabody Times. He went to BU and lived in Allston with a couple of buddies, but had recently gotten engaged. As a result, they had a final bash at the place they called "The Rock House" before they all moved out. It was an epic party featuring three bands playing in the living room and kegs of Molson. I think one of the bands was called the Pit Bulls and had a singer who looked like Fred Flintstone. It was the first time I'd ever been to Allston. Even though I only knew two people there, I had a blast. While I drank like a fish at college, when I was home for the summer, I didn't drink a drop. I made sure to rectify that when I returned to UNH the following day.

The name of this mix actually has some bearing in reality. Our house in Kingston was on a 3-acre plot of land and mowing the lawn was an endeavor. We had grass in the front and on both sides and it took well over an hour to mow it all, so I would bring my Sony Walkman to break the monotony. This tape came in handy on a few of those mowing expeditions. I taped over a cassette of blues-rock dude Mason Ruffner; guess I wasn't listening to it much and really needed to make a mix. It's a good collection of the stuff I was digging during that time period.

Side A:
Begin the Begin - R.E.M.
The Only One - Jimmy Page (with Robert Plant)
Cult of Personality - Living Colour
Man for All Seasons - Billy Idol
Intruder - Peter Gabriel
Give Blood - Pete Townshend
Show Me Some Emotion - Jon Butcher
Helen of Troy - Robert Plant
Consider Me Gone (live) - Sting

Side B:
Lager and Ale - Kim Mitchell
Couldn't Stand the Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
Rain - The Cult
Shelter - The Alarm
Hell's Half Acre - Robbie Robertson
Over the Hills and Far Away - Gary Moore
One Slip - Pink Floyd
Silver and Gold - U2
Expresso Love (live) - Dire Straits




Give blood:


Lager and ale: