Inexplicable Book Review: Love Is A Mix Tape

If you would like to read a good book about music and falling in love, and the combination of the two, then Love Is A Mix Tape is a wonderful read. It’s non-fiction, and by the end of the first chapter, well, you know that Rob Sheffield’s wife Renee dies of a pulmonary embolism. However, it’s a book that’s much more about that whole journey of falling in love, via music, as opposed to obsessing over the death and the aftermath. 

Like a lot of things I really enjoyed reading, it's hard for me to accurately get across how much I liked it; I almost feel silly trying, in fact. So just go read it, it's good.

I was hoping that the Internet would provide a list of every song in Love Is A Mix Tape, but apparently that’s a bridge too far in terms of obsessiveness. The best I could find was this old Google cache partial list, kind of. I kept the book for an extra week though, just so I could pick and choose songs from Sheffield’s various lists. He has much better taste than I do, but then again, most do. I’ve always been more of a music vagabond – I like it lots, but it’s never been something I’ve defined my life by. Sheffield clearly does, so it’s an interesting read from that perspective as well.

That's Entertainment - Rolling Stone and other best of lists

I'll cop to something right here and now - I love lists, especially when it comes to music. There is something about them that makes me want to download and experience the music involved, whether they be super official or on my friend's blogs. In fact, if you're looking for some good indie music lists, I recommend checking out Cousin Brandon's Mr. Hipster Blog (he also loves to talk about LOST), or 500 Rad Records, run by my friends RM Cresser and Pat Aguiar.

My taste generally runs a lot simpler than theirs - I go for cheesy power chords, melodies and just flat out heavy noise. I also like a ton of bad music that would be banned by anyone with a modicum of taste, like Limp Bizkit, Ke$ha, Paramore and The All-American Rejects. As a result, I've always been a big fan of the various lists done by Rolling Stone, since they generally contour to the generally margins of my acceptable taste.

The only place I generally don't overlap with them tends to be the artists documented as Jann Wenner's pet favorites from the 1960s and 1970s. In fact, I think a lot of the music from that generation tends to be overrated and beloved because of the inebriated nature of the listeners.

Regardless, I took a spin with their list of the 500 greatest songs as of December 2004, and found plenty of gems I had never heard before. For example, the title of this entry and the video linked at the top is "That's Entertainment" by The Jam, a solid British band. Other songs I "discovered" or remembered to get my hands on included:

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by The Beatles
"Maggie May" by Rod Stewart
"I've Been Loving You Too Long" by Otis Redding
"Anarchy in the U.K." and "God Save The Queen" by The Sex Pistols
"Bring the Noise" by Public Enemy
"Higher and Higher" by Jackie Wilson
"Alison" by Elvis Costello
"Complete Control" by The Clash
"I'm Waiting For The Man" by The Velvet Underground