Musical Mondays: Love is a Mixtape

"When we die, we will turn into songs, and we will hear each other and remember each other." — Rob Sheffield (Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time)

I know, I know...for the few who may care... it has been a few weeks since I've posted a Musical Monday entry. It's certainly not for lack of finding great new music to listen to. I've actually been bombarded by new artists lately, which I'm sure will weasel their way into future entries. For this MM, I've decided to join my two favorite things- books & music. (I bet you didn't know that about me, did you? HA!)

A couple years ago, I stumbled across a book so delicious (yes, books can be delicious...at least they are in my world), so perfect, so absolutely me that it just confirmed my theory that books, and songs, always find you when you most need them. "Love is a Mix Tape" came to me at a time when I needed that affirmation that love is always worth the ache, that music can heal, and that there are others like me out there who make mix tapes for almost every occasion. I've stolen the words of an anonymous book reviewer on the web to provide you with a brief synoposis of the book:

"It was also when a shy music geek named Rob Sheffield met a hell-raising Appalachian punk-rock girl named Renee, who was way too cool for him but fell in love with him anyway. He was tall. She was short. He was shy. She was a social butterfly. She was the only one who laughed at his jokes when they were so bad, and they were always bad. They had nothing in common except that they both loved music. Music brought them together and kept them together. And it was music that would help Rob through a sudden, unfathomable loss.In Love Is a Mix Tape, Rob, now a writer for Rolling Stone, uses the songs on fifteen mix tapes to tell the story of his brief time with Renee."

Today I made a mix tape for my husband. Granted, it wasn't on a cheap, plastic cassette tape like I used to use. And I didn't sit by the radio waiting to record that one perfect song on the Top 40 countdown. I used a CD this time (although it does make me feel really old to admit that the first mix I ever made for Darrell was on cassette. And yes, it included "I Wanna Sex You Up." ARGH! The shame!!). I leaned towards the country tunes this time, since they seemed to really have the message I was searching to say. I call it the "Love Isn't Always Easy" mix.

I'm notorious for making mixes for random occassions. Most recently I compiled the "Mraz Road Trip Mix". I put together a mix for our wedding last summer to play while the guests were arriving... and nothing will ever erase the memory of "Lucky" by Jason Mraz playing in the background as my Dad fixed my veil before we walked down the aisle. A mixtape has that uncanny ability to always take you right back to where you were when you made it and who you were when you made it. That is the power of music. And in this case, the power of a book as well.

"It's always that one song that gets to you. You can hide, but the song comes to find you." — Rob Sheffield (Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time)