JG: James Gagliardi

Random Variables

13: Mixed Tape

The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules. - Rob (Jon Cusack), High Fidelity (2000)

My eclectic music tastes goes back to days of eight track and vinyl. I remember listening to Billy Joel and Kenny Rogers on eight track but my favorite was a Best of 1983 compilation that included Electric Avenue and Mr Roboto. My first record I remember was Mary Poppins (what can I say I was probably five) but my personal collection in the years following included The Police and Motley Crue. My first cassette was The Dukes of Hazzard soundtrack (which I lost a week later), and went on to grow my collection to include Beastie Boys and Run DMC. My first CD was Two In A Room (with their one-hit "Wiggle It"), my second CD was Led Zeppelin.

Since the days of cassette, when I first got my first duel cassette player, I began making mixed tapes. Prior to recordable CDs, one of my favorite gadget purchases, was the Sony MiniDisc player recorder, which was perfect for making mixed albums. Today, we can easily make playlists using software like iTunes. But with the likes of Pandora and other music sites, for the most part, it's a lost art.

So when I saw the music assortment from a friend from school in her iTunes library, I offered to expand her music collection -- with a handcrafted mixed playlist of music I've been listening to lately. And a great assignment for one of my 52 projects.

Since it was a handcrafted playlist intended for one person, I'll just the artists it included:

• Aimee Allen
• Alexa Ray Joel
• Carlos Bertonatti
• Dave Barnes
• Donovan Frankenreiter
• Eric Hutchinson
• G. Love and Special Sauce
• Ingrid Michaelson
• Matt White
• One EskimO
• Sean Fournier
• Tristan Prettyman
• Zac Brown Band

Another favorite part is coming up with a name for the album. A key topic in one of the courses I am taking is related to decision making, and in particular Random Variables, which has become the name of my mix.

One of the best parts of a mixed album is it is a snapshot in time and captures the mode and thoughts of the day. I still enjoy dusting off and listening to the mixed CDs from years ago (which has since been moved to my MP3 collection).

Post Script: I had the opportunity to be involved in the Cities Sampler volumes 8-10, a yearly compilation CD release by the Twin Cities radio station Cities 97.  I was also the model used on the cover of the Cities 97 Cities Sampler Vol. 9. (As they say, I have a face for radio. And apparently the feet of a model.)

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