jeffery druzba is dreamy » Archives » I Declare It The End Of An Era

I Declare It The End Of An Era

Seriously, what are you going to do with all of those mix tapes from days gone by? It’s not like you’re going to get a tape deck or cassette Walkman at some yard sale so you can listen to them again. So why are you keeping them?

And with that internal thought, I declare an official end to the cassette tape era. Oh, you thought the end of that era was 10 years ago? Nope, you were wrong. It was just now when I declared it.

Titles of mixes I threw out today with comments:

Mid-August, 11pm, 65 mph minimum, 9 to 16
A mix I made during the summer of 1995. I was working two jobs. One at Saratoga Race Track during the day and another at night at a mall. The title is lame as 65 is the speed limit. Maybe it was 55 back then on the highway and I thought I was a badass. Anyway, 73ish is a safe minimum around there now. The 9 to 16 refers to the exit numbers. I was listening to a lot of The Clash that summer so this probably has plenty of that and like Supertramp or something.

The Funky State Of New Jersey – Break ‘96
I made a lot of mixes for the vans we took to spring break for rowing in college. They each had their distinctive mood. This one was about making the girls sing along. N-Trance’s “Stayin’ Alive” cover features on here. Oh and probably Gina G with that “Ooh ahh just a little bit.” Oh man am I lame.

Summer of ‘92
Who doesn’t fondly remember the summer of ‘92? I don’t remember exactly what happened of consequence during the summer of ‘92 but I’m sure it was fantastic as I was compelled to memorialize it in TDK D90 Normal Bias form. I think there’s lots of Led Zeppelin, Beastie Boys, and Pearl Jam on here.

The Eggs At West Are Great…
This mix exists solely so that I could take some audio that I recorded off the radio and put it at the beginning and end of the mix. There was a call-in show on the college radio station that featured the director of dining services. I vaguely recall there being some campus controversy involving dining services. There’s always a meaningless scandal on any given college campus during any given month. I’ll tell you what: The people who work at a college must get tired of it. “Aieee. Here we go with the our-rights-are-being-overlooked” routine again!” Anyway, a few of us decided it would be funny if one of us called in to the show to tell the dining services guy that the eggs at this one particular dining hall, out of several facilities, were spectacular. Just the one. Not the others.

Sorry I Haven’t Written Mix
A mix from Amber dated 9-14-93. Almost thirteen years later, Amber, and I must tell you that I’ve been holding on to this grudge and it is only now that I can forgive you for not writing. Amber was apparently into some ’80’s and some classic rock around that time. Amber, I respect you for sticking to your guns on that lead-in doubleshot of Kansas on this mix. “Carry On My Wayward Son” followed by “Dust In The Wind.” I still wouldn’t pair ‘em up like that but you… you really liked Kansas just then and you really wanted to let me know.

Best of The IRDW Tapes – Fall ‘95
There were three original tapes, The Funky One, The Funkier One, and The Mellow One. This is a sampling of our favorites from all three. And really, the only two songs that mattered on that trip were “Medicine Show” (some Big Audio Dynamite) and “Six Months In A Leaky Boat.” What the hell is the IRDW? What is a road trip without an acronym? This was Ivy Rowing Discovery Weekend – a whirlwind tour of Ivy League rowing boathouses and their respective rivers where we dipped our antique oars. I still have mine in the garage.

Le High Mix – 1994
My friend Jules made this for me. I gave her a lot of heat over it for putting a song called “Knockin’ Da Boots” on there. I don’t think Jules would mind if I say that you don’t look at those lyrics and then look at a picture of Jules and think, “Yeah, that makes sense.” What’s more is the rest of the tape is like Cat Stevens and Debbie Gibson.

Canadian Getaway Ice / Hockey-Bacon Mix
Making things with graphics ripped from the Innanet was more impressive 10 years ago. I have included scans of these two case inserts below. I’ll give you a cookie if you can spot 5 obvious Canadian stereotypes between the two: