When you finally clean a bunch of rooms in your home for the first time in nearly three decades, you discover many treasures, or what my wife calls crap. Of all the things hidden in various closets were a couple of my Eighties-era mixtapes, one marked Beta Sigma Psi Valentine’s Day Party 1983. Being the archivist that I am, I sat down to read through the playlist I had written on the label. Lo and behold, it was loaded with many gems of the era; I mean, what’s an early-Eighties party without the likes of Duran Duran, John Cougar Mellencamp and Prince. Yet, as I was wont to do, I recorded the tapes in my typical party mix order of three consecutive “fast” songs, followed by a slow song, then a mid-tempo, an “oldies” party anthem, a dance song, then two more slow songs. And I worked that 3-1-3-2 system throughout those college tapes, and it seemed to work well.
The other tape was labeled “Make Out Music.” From the looks of the track listing, it seems to be from my pre-wifey days of 1984. The tape had many of the standards of the day, such as “A Girl like You” by Foreigner, Culture Club’s “Time (Clock of My Heart)” and Stevie Wonder’s “That Girl.” Something that I did notice was I attempted to string along songs that seemed to share something of a particular groove, as if I were attempting to set some sort of mood. Well, of course I was! Who in the hell labels a mixtape “Make Out Music” and is NOT trying to set a mood. Setting aside obvious influence of an overabundance of testosterone floating around my body and brain, I was discovering just how powerful R&B and soul songs could be in these situations. I immediately noticed how I strung together Motown and early-Seventies soul songs into some sort of potential hormone-secreting suite.
So, that tape, along with the fact that it is Valentine’s Day tomorrow, I thought what kind of mixtape would the nearly 57-year-old me make today? Now, I have 40-plus years of musical experience, plus much more confidence in my ability to choose the correct songs for that special mood. So, the theme is do I still possess the ability, and wherewithal, to handle such an undertaking? Or, would my playlist, to use the current parlance, simply be an ode to an aging fart out of touch with his youthful idealism? Or, is it a little bit of both? Well, I will let you, my loyal reader, make the call.
Now, without any further adieu, here is my 2020 Romantic Valentine’s Day Mixtape Playlist, including the order I would place them in. Use at your own risk.
- Adele – “Rolling in the Deep” (2011)
- The Beatles – “Something” (1969)
- Talking Heads – “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” (1983)
- U2 – “One” (1991)
- The Style Council – “Long Hot Summer” (1983)
- The Pretenders – “I’ll Stand by You” (1994)
- Sade – “Smooth Operator” (1984)
- D’Angelo – “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” (2000)
- Bruce Springsteen – “Secret Garden” (1995)
- The Jeff Healey Band – “Angel Eyes” (1989)
- Rufus featuring Chaka Khan – “Sweet Thing” (1975)
- Mayer Hawthorne – “Cosmic Love” (2016)
- Earth, Wind & Fire – “Reasons” (1975)
- Tina Turner – “Let’s Stay Together” (1984)
- Elvis Costello & the Attractions – “Everyday I Write the Book” (1983)
- Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper – “Shallow” (2018)
- R.E.M. – “Nightswimming” (1992)
- Whitney Houston – “Saving All My Love for You” (1985)
- Elton John – “Your Song” (1970)
- Michael Jackson – “Rock with You” (1979)
- Marvin Gaye – “Let’s Get It On” (1973)
- Leon Bridges – “Beyond” (2018)
- Daryl Hall & John Oates – “One on One” (1982)
- The Cure – “Lovesong” (1989)
- Journey – “Faithfully” (1983)
- The Commodores – “Still” (1979)
- Spandau Ballet – “True” (1983)
- The Beach Boys – “God Only Knows” (1966)
- John Mayer – “Your Body Is a Wonderland” (2001)
- Paul McCartney & Wings – “Maybe I’m Amazed (live)” (1977)
If My Records Could Talk 