Mixology: Yuletide Yodeling, Vol. 12

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.

Yuletide Yodeling, Vol. 12 (12/20/95)

Yeah, I know it's not Christmas, but despite the title, this isn't really a Christmas mix. Sure, it was made in December and there's three Christmas songs on it, but it's really just another mix that rocks most steadfastly.

Things were rolling along for me quite nicely at this point, although that was about to change. I was three months into a complete career shift, from the world of newspaper reporting to something altogether different, the world of business-to-business publishing. It was a big adjustment, getting used to regular hours and sitting at a desk all day, not to mention learning about the intricacies of healthcare credentialing. At this point, I was just starting to really understand what I was writing about.

The apartment I was living in had some roommate turnover; I went from having three female roommates in '94 to having two male roomies by the end of '95 (the women all got married). I was friends with the guys, but I was starting to think about getting my own place. I also had a girlfriend who I'd been dating for about five months. I thought it was going well, but when she got back from spending the holidays with her family a week later, she unceremoniously dumped my ass. I didn't see it coming and it hit me pretty hard because I really dug her. Christ, I even sat through a Natalie Merchant concert for her (shudder). It wasn't until a year later that she told me her mom was behind the breakup; she was religious and I wasn't, so that was that. It was good to know the real reason, but still small consolation. And really, who wants to date someone who takes orders like that from their parents? Yeesh. Think for yourself.

I didn't have too much time to dwell on the whole thing because right after the new year, my dad got really sick. He was already in rough shape thanks to a nasty combination of diabetes, alcoholism and stupidity, and now it was catching up to him. He was suffering from a seizure disorder that had left him disoriented and forgetful. He was in and out of the hospital for a few months before he finally died at the end of March '96. Not fun times.

But at least at the time I made this tape, everything was hunky dory. Just about every song on this mix with a couple of exceptions was recently released. It was a good time for alt-rock; while there were still a lot of Nirvana and Pearl Jam knockoffs, it was before the advent of so-called nu-metal like Korn and Limp Bizkit. My buddy Bob and I had pulled off a cool concert doubleshot just five days earlier, catching The Amps (Kim Deal's non-Breeders side project) at the Paradise and then zipping over to the Middle East to see the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Good stuff.

Probably the best thing this tape does is remind me of how one minute you can be having a blast and the next, you can turn a corner and have a piano fall on your head. Valuable life lessons.

Side A: Yuletide
Natural One - Folk Implosion
Stupid Girl - Garbage
On a Rope - Rocket from the Crypt
Jellybelly - Smashing Pumpkins
Roots Radicals - Rancid
Brain Stew - Green Day
Fireman - Jawbreaker
You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch - Thurl Ravenscroft
I Got Id - Pearl Jam
Aeroplane - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Heaven Beside You - Alice in Chains
Winn Coma - Boss Hog

Side B: Yodelay-hee-ho
Electra Made Me Blind - Everclear
Cobbler - Meat Puppets
Becuz - Sonic Youth
Tipp City - The Amps
It's Christmastime - James Brown
Tangerine - Buffalo Tom
I'm Not Cool - Smackmelon
Max the Silent - Paw
X-French Tee Shirt - Shudder to Think
Cachita - Esquivel
Search and Destroy - Iggy and the Stooges
Heater Hands - Rocket from the Crypt
Zero - Smashing Pumpkins
Welcome Christmas (Grinch soundtrack)



Fireman:


Tipp City: