All Mixed Up

I decided to take a brief hiatus from the Kerouac Project (barely off the ground but still underway) in order to read a book that's been on my TBR list for a few months, Joe Meno's Hairstyles of the Damned.  I knew after reading the first few pages at the bookstore that it might be just the light reading that I needed during these days of stress and sickness, and the book didn't disappoint.  If anything, the book was too light, a series of cliched events involving often overly one-dimensional characters, but in many ways that seemed to be the point.  The book's narrator, Brian Oswald, is a teenager with a chip on his shoulder, a heavy-metal kid turned punk surrounded by a rotating cast of outcasts, a guy that claims to hate almost everything all the while striving to find something and someone to love. 

There's nothing in this book that hasn't been covered in countless other coming-of-age tales, but one plot device that I found of particular interest was Meno's use of the mixtape.  At one point, Brian is convinced that the perfect compilation will win over the girl.  Unable to verbalize his feelings, he turns to the medium that can best express his wishes and devotes weeks to coming up with the songs.

The book reminded me of the hours I spent as a teen in front of my clunky dual-cassette recorder, both index fingers poised over the pause buttons as I cued up the next song.  Every compilation was a work of art with a well-planned plot, a climax, an appropriate ending.  I had to be aware of time, of the flow of songs, of theme.  Placing a Cult song too close to a Bauhaus song could ruin the mood.  Back in those days before CD burners, I had to consider the sides of the cassette: would they be thematically unified or would I use Side A to set the mood and Side B to deliver the message.  And then there was the cover design with the cutouts from magazines enhanced by rough artwork done by colored pencils or magic markers.  Once finished, the cassette would be delivered and I would hold my breath, never knowing for sure if I got it right, always hoping that I had made the one mix that would convince her that I was the one.

Ah, music and memories...

+ NewPages review of Hairstyles of the Damned.
+ NPR talks to Meno

Comments

[bookdwarf]

My favorite part was coming up with a name for a mix. The first guy I dated in college gave me a mixtape that included Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries' from the Apocolypse Now soundtrack. It included the chopper noise and gunfire.

[tito]

going to coachella? bauhaus in the, uh, house.

[Jeff]

Yep, titles were big also. Without a good title, the comp was doomed.

Tito, can't take festivals. Especially ones in the desert where they won't let you bring in your own water and charge you a king's ransom for the stuff. It would be cool to see Bauhaus and several others, but I'll pass, or my agorophobia will pass for me. If you have any dates on either side of the show, you should come down to SD. I'll buy you a cup of coffee.