Soundtrack of your life

I love mixes, talking about dating, literary events at bars, laughing and cheap entertainment.  Cassette From My Ex at the Hideout was all of those, so I continued the solo tour at the little house in the middle of an industrial park.

Cassette is a book that compiles stories from people about love, heartache, relationships and music.  At the Hideout event, a panel talked about their mix experiences and reflections, and Arthur Jones, who tells fun stories illustrated by post-it note drawings, recounted losing his virginity (that’s him kissing the deflower-er’s ankle).

My favorite part was reliving the old days of making mixes, when you had to crouch by the radio all day, waiting for that one perfect song that’d complete your mix to come on, and then hurriedly press record, hoping you got the start and then cursing the DJs who’d start talking over the end of the song.  You’d handwrite the songs on the jacket and perhaps decorate it with drawings or pictures.  You’d write the name of the mix on the jacket spine.

It’s getting harder and harder to do the Solo Tour, as I keep running into people I know.  As I was de-jacketing, I noticed someone from improv class.  We talked until I explained I had to go away and be alone.  Then one of the panelists turned out to be someone I know from NPR (who showered me with cardboard boxes last time I moved, thank you!).  And one of the selections read from the book was from someone I met doing a film competition, and she was there, shouting out answers to the MC from the back of the room.