Mixology: Puttin' the Smack Down in '99

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.

Puttin' the Smack Down in '99 (3/2/99)

As far as last years of millenia go, 1999 was a pretty cool year. Sure, later in the year there was all that Y2K bullcrap that got everybody all worked up over nothing, but for me, it was a pivotal year. In March, I was still working at Opus Communications in Marblehead and enjoying it, but within a few months I'd start looking for a new job and by October, I was working at Webnoize. I was living with my buddies Mike and Roger in March, but I'd be engaged within a few months and Deb and I would have our own place across town in October.

I was just getting into running regularly. I had run my first 5k the previous fall and was doing a lot of 3-mile runs in addition to weightlifting and playing hockey. In June, I ran my first 10k with Deb, but I didn't work my way up to a half-marathon until the spring of 2001.

I went to a lot of Bruins games with my buddy Phil that spring, as well as the Beanpot. I also went to Myrtle Beach for a week of golf with my good pal Chris; he still organizes that trip every year, but I haven't gone since 2001.

For a feverish few weeks early in the year, I got my rock n' roll on with my longest stint in a band in my life. My buddy Bob and I had schemed about forming a band for a few years, but it didn't come together until he decided he wanted to have a band play a party at his house in February '99. So for a few weeks, Bob (bass and sax), me (vocals) and our friends Ric (guitar) and Marc (drums) feverishly worked up a set to play at the party as Bea Arthur's Revenge, a name that Bob and I had come up with probably a year earlier. We learned a bunch of songs and ended up playing five at the party; some of the set was caught on video and Ric later turned it into a CD and DVD set. It was about as much fun as I've ever had. We jammed a few times after that, but BAR kinda fizzled. The following year, Ric and I played a set at Bob's Halloween party as Cirrhosis, a pair of obnoxious British brothers based on the Gallaghers of Oasis. We played three or four Kinks covers and engaged in contentious banter with the audience; it was a blast. We opened up for Kumquat, a band that featured Bob and some other friends of ours. Unfortunately, that was the last "band" I've ever played in. Soon after, Deb and I had kids and it got tougher to find the time to regularly schlep the 45 minutes or so to jam with those guys. One of these days, though, I will find time to make a solo album. Mark my words...

This tape is a mostly alt-rock with some funk mixed in. I was still rocking a Sony Walkman at that time, so I listened to the cassette both in the car and at the gym. By this time the following year, I'd be listening to music on my first MP3 player, a Diamond Rio. That bad boy held a whopping 64 MB of music, or about eight songs, but at the time, it was pretty damn revolutionary. The iPod wouldn't come along until the fall of 2001, and I wouldn't get one until 2004.

Side A:
Lotus - R.E.M.
Baker Street - Foo Fighters
Flame - Sebadoh
The Big Lie - Gigolo Aunts
On the Horizon - Sloan
Carmalina - The Pursuit of Happiness
The Bends - Radiohead
Membership - The Tragically Hip
Pilate - Pearl Jam
Somethin' Hot - Afghan Whigs
My Song - Jerry Cantrell
The Ocean - WOW
I Need Peace - Frank Black and the Catholics

Side B:
Chocolate Salty Balls - Chef (South Park)
Live - Lenny Kravitz
Up for the Down Stroke - Parliament Funkadelic
Freddie's Dead - Curtis Mayfield
Delirious - Prince
Don't Believe the Hype - Public Enemy
Lovin' Machine - Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Twiggy Twiggy - Pizzicato Five
Tomboy - Bettie Serveert
The Devil Went Down to Newport (Totally Rocking) - Mono Puff
Bloodclot - Rancid
Unheard Music - Elastica and Stephen Malkmus
I'm Not LIke Everybody Else - Boss Hog
Run Kid Run - Rocket From the Crypt



The Bends:


Twiggy Twiggy: