Side A
Marilyn Manson-The Dope Show
Soundgarden-Spoonman
Lauryn Hill-Doo-Wop (That Thing)
Shawn Mullins-Lullaby
Beastie Boys-Sabotage
Al Green-Let's Stay Together
Divine-Lately
Smashing Pumpkins-Disarm
Aerosmith-I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
Sheryl Crow-A Change (Would Do You Good)
Red Hot Chili Peppers-Higher Ground
Dovetail Joint-Level On The Inside
Soundgarden-Pretty Noose
Side B
Sam & Dave-Hold On, I'm Comin'
Foo Fighters-I'll Stick Around
Xscape-Our Little Secret
snippet of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made To Love Her"
Natalia Imbruglia-Wishing I Was There
Foo Fighters-My Hero
Local H-All The Kids Are Right
Metallica-Fuel
Bush-Glycerine
R.E.M.-Man On The Moon
Garbage-I Think I'm Paranoid
snippet of En Vogue's "Hold On"
Pretty much each volume of The Collection is special to me in one way or another, but in hindsight, Vol. 8 represented that I had arrived when it came to making mixtapes. Two years prior, my tapes were often sloppy and ramshackle, but this volume was seamless for the most part with nary a trace of a DJ's voice. My attentive methods paid off and this was the first volume that I played for a bigger audience.
I performed in a production of A Raisin In The Sun at our school and during the wrap party on the night of our last show, we needed music to provide us entertainment. Our theatre group was very diverse, made up of different races and cultures, so for everyone to feel truly included and have a good time at the party, I knew the music played had to be just as diverse. In the dressing room before and after shows, music was always being played and I might have snuck in my mixtapes for a moment or two, but the wrap party was obviously a much bigger deal since the entire cast and crew was going to be there, along with family members. I had dreaded someone immediately showing their disapproval and snatching the cassette out after a few songs, thus further signaling my hermit-like approach to music, never to share in public again.
There was plenty of rock to satisfy a good deal of the kids, but I knew that the R&B songs interspersed throughout would satiate the fans of the genre and not let them feel totally left out. I can't remember exactly where it started, but it might have been around the Shawn Mullins song on Side A and the mixtape was allowed to play to the very end without an incident. Some songs got a more enthusiastic response than others (I specifically remember bonding with someone over Metallica's "Fuel"), but I think the kids were just happy to have some sound in the background and that it was contemporary. Vol. 8 was probably the best choice for such a varied group since there weren't any embarrassing selections (at least at the time they weren't embarrassing) that would have brought everything to a halt and it mixed old and new. Like I said before, it felt like I had arrived. I always kept my own personal taste in mind whenever I made a mixtape, but I had improved to the point where my craft could be acceptable for general audiences, whatever the intention. I haven't stopped sharing since then.
Sidenote: Okay, this is the third time that Foo Fighters' "My Hero" has made an appearance, but I swear I recorded it from the very beginning this time. Honest.
My absolute favorite song on this mixtape: Divine - Lately
What I loved about this song was how organic it sounded as opposed to a lot of the heavily produced stuff that was going on at the time. Its approach was easygoing, much like the summery, Southern vibe in the video. A lot of the guitar riffs used in R&B songs around this time were catchy, but felt very abrupt as its focus was to meld with the groove, which made "Lately" stand out to me even more because of the melodic phrasing used here.
First song that I can remember losing my mind over: Stevie Wonder - I Was Made To Love Her
I was about 11-years-old when I first heard this song and I just remember my eyes widening like crazy in amazement. I didn't know it at the time, but I had my first official freakout over a song. Let me explain: when I freakout over a song, I lose control over my impulses and I'm so overwhelmed in ecstasy that it's hard for me to even have a conversation. Some of the gestures that go along with this have included me slowly shaking my head from side to side, near tears, a hand over my mouth, dropping to my knees or just repeating "Oh my God" a bunch of times. I didn't quite have that same reaction as I recorded the song—my first encounter since that day— but I was still pleased to have it, even if it wasn't in its entirety.
Just another song from a one-hit wonder that I thought should have gotten more attention: Natalie Imbruglia - Wishing I Was There
It took me less time to warm up to this song than with "Torn", so of course I was pulling for it to be as big a hit. So much of the Alanis blueprint is all over this track, which is probably what endeared me to it so much. You've heard "Torn" enough to last an eternity. Listen to this instead!
Song that made me realize that there was much more to Chicago than Smashing Pumpkins, Liz Phair, Veruca Salt and Urge Overkill: Dovetail Joint - Level On The Inside
I used to have this horrible, horrible habit of believing that local music was inferior. There was so much music for me to listen to and now I have to make room for some mediocre band who doesn't even have a music video (oh to be young)? For some reason, I gave a pass for local music when it came to R&B and hip hop since those artists were more likely to make an appearance in my neighborhood or be the talk amongst my friends. I was still pretty sheltered to the rest of the city, so Q101 was my only exposure to the Chicago rock scene. If a song didn't catch my interest instantly, I immediately turned the station, which was the case with a lot of local stuff. "Level On The Inside" caught my ears because of how sparsely it started off and with the soft/loud dynamics that continued on, which of course I was a sucker for. The song definitely had a local flavor since it felt more thoughtful than a lot of the other hits that were in rotation, but for once I was starting to think that there was more to Chicago than what was on MTV. Yep. Gotta love the youth.
Oh wait! Chicago was probably more awesome than I remember: Local H - All The Kids Are Right
It's a shame that Local H is so underrated because they have nothing but jams upon jams. Sure their songs have a similar sound, which makes it easy to take them for granted, but then you look back and realize that this wasn't even their most popular song and you start to wish you had respected them more back in the day.
Song that made me feel like I was on drugs without ever trying them once: Marilyn Manson - The Dope Show
There was something about the croak in Manson's voice that made things feel very hazy. I could feel the inebriation coming through the speakers, and thus I felt inebriated myself. Sort of. Whatever it was, it made me sway my body slowly back and forth and it made my limbs go limp.
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