Love is a mix tape

There's that stereotype of white, male twenty/thirty-something rock critics: they are assholes. Not meathead jock assholes, but the kind of persistent, high-pitched-annoying-guy-that-likes-to-tell-you-why-they-are-right asshole. Sometimes it can be squeezed into something charming, but this is usually in monthly magazine column format. An entire book can be trying. Music writing is so hard, I think, because it's so easy for it to sound too cool or too cheesy or too sloppy. But sometimes it's good because of those things. Rob Sheffield's Love Is A Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song At A Time is probably a bit sloppy at parts, and there are equal doses of cheesiness and coolness, but it is also sincere, which matters most. Maybe you've already read this book - apparently it was New York Times bestseller - but I picked it up for the first time this weekend. It's about the progression of Sheffield's relationship with his wife Renee Crist, from the first time they met to the afternoon she died suddenly of a pulmanory embollism after having been married for almost 6 years. Their relationship was studded with mix tapes, each chapter of the book starting off with a track listing. They fell in love to Big Star's "Thirteen", fell asleep to "Angel" by Aerosmith, got marriage tips from James Brown. There is a heart-breaking description of Sleater-Kinney's "One More Hour" after Renee's death that made me consider that perhaps it is the saddest SK song ever, and not "A Quarter to Three".

I read the book while in Toronto, in my childhood bedroom, surrounded by all my old tapes. Unlike Sheffield, the casette tape is my least favourite audio medium - I had too many tapes wear out from overplay or get chewed up in my tape player. But it's true that the making of a mix tape implies a certain level of commitment that doesn't exist with mix CDs. (The first mix Andrew ever made for me was on cassette, and I have it in a box somewhere, but no casette player to listen to it on. It was a good mix. I remember it had "Car" by Built to Spill, and R.E.M. singing "First We Take Manhattan", a gorgeous version of Kim Deal and Robert Pollard singing "Love Hurts" and the worst Red House Painters song, "Summer Dress", which is also the best Red House Painters song to put on a tape for a girl you have a crush on, so all was forgiven.)

And so maybe I'm just feeling nostalgic in general, but it's been ages since I've even made a mix CD for anyone. It almost seems unnecessary now that you can fit albums onto one CD in MP3 format, now that you can just download the songs you want for free or, if you're too lazy to look for it, for 99 cents on Itunes. But I miss thinking about song listings and coverwork and if anyone wants to do a real mix CD trade, i.e. one with thought put into it, please let me know. I also came home with a stack of 7"s, so it's back to the basics for me these days.

Anyway, no MP3s in this entry, but I do recommend the book.

A warning: parts of the book might make your face screw up all funny, and your significant other might look over at you and ask "what's wrong?" or maybe an even more delicate "what's your problem?" and you might do something like burst into tears and say "please don't die!!!" and they might think you're a little off your rocker, but it's okay, it's a normal reaction. Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything.

Some days last longer than others

Oops, I've been away. First I was in Mexico. Then I was back in Montreal celebrating my 28th birthday. For awhile I was lamenting the wintery weather. And then, finally, now, enjoying the summery weather. First meal on the balcony! First bottle of wine on the balcony! There is something about this blooming of spring, the shedding of winter layers, the melty piles of dirty snow in back alleys. It's palpable.

Feist "1 2 3 4"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8Z-DIAthbM
You've probably already watched this a million times, but watch it again.

Snailhouse "Salvation Army"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zAqAWY9oH8
Another beautiful, watery Super 8 video by Jon Claytor.

Rilo Kiley "With Arms Outstretched"
I listened to this song a lot in Mexico, shuttling in buses between cities. Most memorable was that afternoon we took the bus from Playa del Carmen to Tulum, and the bus was so full that Caroline, Lesley and I were stuffed at the front. Lesley and I curled ourselves into the ledge in the windshield, and Caroline stood in front of us, holding a bar. If the bus had gotten into an accident, we would've been the first to die, but we weren't too worried. I listened to Rilo Kiley and looked out the window and things were just good.