Mixology: Real Loud Choo-Choo Sounds

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.

Real Loud Choo-Choo Sounds (4/18/89)

Yes, I know, another wacky mix tape name. Hey, there's only so many phrases with "mix" in them.

This mix was made at a pivotal point in my life. It was about three weeks before I graduated from UNH. I had already landed a post-graduation job at the Peabody Times, thanks to the internship I did there the previous summer. The call came in early April, so that pressure to find gainful employment was already gone with about six weeks to go in my college career. Add that to the fact that I was only taking three courses, none of which had final exams, and I was only going to class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I was a pretty carefree guy. Much of those final six weeks was spent playing Wiffleball, drinking beer and...well, that was pretty much it. I don't regret one second of that extended leisure period because since June 5, 1989, I've been working non-stop.

There were plenty of things I didn't foresee in April 1989: The eventual decline of newspapers, the rise of the Internet, my becoming interested in running as a leisure activity, settling down in Beverly, Mass., the iPod, Baconnaise...the list goes on. But I'm glad I had the good sense to enjoy myself that last year of school. After my internship, I had amassed enough credits that I could have graduated in December '88, but I decided to spread out the three courses I needed to take over a full year. It was a fun year, that's for sure.

The mix features a combination of stuff I taped from my roommate Rob's CD collection (Beatles, Springsteen, Traveling Wilburys, Billy Joel) and from my own vinyl collection (everything else). I still didn't own a CD player, but my dad got me one as a graduation gift. The tape starts off pretty kickass, especially with the Zep and Aerosmith tunes (which were featured on a tape made by my friend Marc that he played in the newsroom of the school paper). "We're Gonna Groove" is actually a Ben E. King song, but Zeppelin recorded it in '69 and had originally planned to include it on Led Zeppelin II. It didn't make the cut and ended up on the B-sides collection Coda, but holy hell, they rock the shit out of it. I'm not sure why I went from the awesome peak of that song to the plunging depths of the Billy Joel tune, but it's a pretty weak ending. Anything from Glass Houses would have been preferable, but what's done is done.

Side A
Why Don't We Do It in the Road? - Beatles
Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie
Desperate People - Living Colour
We're Gonna Groove - Led Zeppelin
No More No More - Aerosmith
Division Street - Jon Butcher
See the Light - Jeff Healey Band
Looking for Girls - The Pursuit of Happiness
Manic Depression - Jimi Hendrix Experience
I've Had Enough - The Who
Keep It Dark - Genesis

Side B
Chewing Gum - Elvis Costello
Drop Dead Legs - Van Halen
Message of Love - Pretenders
Good Thing - Fine Young Cannibals
It's Different for Girls - Joe Jackson
Romeo and Juliet - Dire Straits
Candy's Room - Bruce Springsteen
End of the Line - Traveling Wilburys
Lady Madonna - Beatles
Walking on the Moon - The Police
The Night is Still Young - Billy Joel





We're Gonna Groove:


Message of Love: