Thursday, February 02, 2006

‘Leave It In!’ A mix tape by Eugene B. Sims

Today’s blog title is once again, the music that I’m listening to for the day. And since it’s one of my personal mix tapes, I thought that I would share the story behind it.

I worked for CEMA / EMD Distribution back in the 90’s. They distributed product around the globe for Capitol Records, EMI, Apple Records, Rhino Records, and Virgin Records. And lets not forget EMI Latin and the classical label, Angel Records.

While I had the pleasure and sometimes displeasure of working there, I met one of the funniest guys so far in my life. You’ve seen his mix tapes as my blog titles… Chip Kinney.

The last Friday of each month, Chip and I would trade our own handcrafted mix tapes. We filled them with songs and little drops from movies and television shows. They were a great little creative exercise and a distraction from the everyday pressures of life. We even branched out with another employee and even though his mixes were interesting, he didn’t stick around that long.

I really looked forward to the last Friday of every month. My ex-fiancée hated our mixes. She lacked the patience to see what other people see in things that didn’t interest her. I would grab a 12-pack, turn down the lights, and take that baby in when the day was done. Sometimes I couldn’t wait and I would slip the cassette into my car’s tape deck for the ride home.

Chip made some damn fine mixes. I’ve never counted the volumes that we made. Late in our years of monthly exchanges, I started making dubs of my own creations complete with a copy of the cover artwork. That’s right, we made covers for them and everything.

‘Leave It In!’ is a mix tape from 9-20-97 that I made for Chip. I got a cartoon from a Hustler Magazine depicting an elderly couple having doggie-style sex. The old man is wearing only eyeglasses and a bucket hat. He has propped himself up with the walking cane in his left hand.

The old woman is a little overweight with “old lady” glasses, her hair is in a bun on top, her breasts are large and sagging greatly, and she’s propping herself up on a walker. She’s saying, “Leave it in!” to the old man behind her.

It is pretty cute considering that it came from a Hustler Magazine.

Here’s the mix tape’s table of contents….

Side A
Heart Shaped Box - Nirvana
(Listen To) The Flower People *live version - Spinal Tap
Surfin’ Safari - The Beach Boys
Forever *live version - Y&T
Detroit Rock City * ‘Destroyer’ version - KISS
Lady Strange - Def Leppard
Way Cool Jr. – Ratt
Bonzo Goes To Bitburg - The Ramones
Highway To Hell - AC/DC
I’ll Be In Love - Sam Brown
Sit On My Face - Monty Python

Side B
Tons Of Hope - Blind Melon
So Good To See You - Cheap Trick
Since I Don’t Have You - Guns N’ Roses
Cruisin’ - Jefferson Starship
Got To Get You Into My Life *outtake - The Beatles
Piece Of My Heart - Big Brother & The Holding Company
Cough Syrup - Butthole Surfers
Beautiful Loser - Bob Seger
Wearing And Tearing - Led Zeppelin
Freefall - Spyro Gyra
Get Up & Get Down - The Dramatics

After listening to it while working out and typing up this bad boy, I see the little imperfections. But, it sounds organic and real. There are drops from ‘Twin Peaks’, ‘Dead Man Walking’, and even one from a newscast where I was the spokesperson for the Peaches record store where I worked before CEMA / EMD.

I’m thinking about committing it to CD for a few friends.

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:32 AM

    I always cry whenever the DJ plays Sit On My Face at wedding receptions. It's such a loverly composition.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous11:45 PM

    I enjoyed the playlist.

    And I'm thinking that you still owe me a bizarre Christmas songs CD. :)

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  3. bebo... You never sent me your address, baby.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous5:54 PM

    My address was on the Christmas card that I sent to you at the station! Please tell me that you got it -- it was tasteless. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi! I love your blog .Thank you for your share

    ReplyDelete