Jason Bitner: “Music to Soak Your Toe To:”
I’ve always had bad feet. They sweat too much and carry all of the symptoms and downsides of the condition. Doubly cursed in high school, I also had a series of ingrown toenails. Painful, yes, but they did allow me a few days out of gym class over the years. Not for the sports I enjoyed, but for the ones that blow, like wrestling.
I met my first real girlfriend, Kate, through some sort of after-school activity. I might be making this part up, though; I’m better imagining how things were than being certain of the reality. I kept no journals back then, nor were there email trails and google desktop histories keeping things straight. But I’m pretty sure that I met Kate through Amnesty International meetings over at Serena’s house, or through ECO club, which as a senior I headed up as president. I was a good kid.
Kate was thirteen months older than I, and seventeen years more cosmopolitan. I remember when Lucas was filming at my high school, she shared sandwiches on the lawn with some actress who we later discovered to be Winona Ryder (she was the band geek, you’ll remember), but Kate was too cool to name drop even as a sophomore.
My high school rock bands, Weehawken and Dismantlope, spent time practicing Royal Crescent Mob, Naked Raygun and Precious Wax Drippings, but Kate’s taste stretched far beyond. This was confirmed when she presented me with this tape you see here. According to her notes, side A was taped on January 2, 1991 and side B five days later (we used to take two sittings to complete a mix?). She had Mozart and Cab Calloway? Dang. And some well-chosen novelty tunes tossed in? Was impressed.
Kate was sweet enough to present me with this cassette after I had one-third of my toenail removed. The growth cells were cauterized so there’d be no future growth, but this also meant hours in front of the TV with my feet soaking in epsom salts. Her dedication, too, was kind and considered: “Music to Soak Your Toe To:”
Regarding your listening experience, there’s a couple things to note. First, there’s the hiss. Even with a borrowed “studio-quality” cassette deck, there’s a considerable amount of “cassette-quality” noise here. Also, the levels are all over the place. Back in the day, those record-volume sliders were for the audiophiles. Good mix tapes– the ones made out of lust– are about song selection, not volume optimization. Consider this to be charming as you listen (and keep your volume knob close by).
Skating : Vince Guaraldi Trio |
What’s It All About : Stone Roses / Run DMC |
Jason Bitner is the co-creator of FOUND Magazine, and editor of DIRTY FOUND and the FOUND Polaroid Book. Also, check out his neat photo book about LaPorte, Indiana out now on Princeton Architectural Press.
They were into you, so they made you a tape. Today you don't have a cassette player, but you still can't toss that mix. We share the stories and the soundtrack to your earliest loves.
Oh it rocks it rocks! I have some stuff to send in too. You always make the cool new changes on Mondays, my day off. YAY!
Neat project. I listened to your whole tape. You don’t have Kermit listed on your Side B.
I’m in love with your ex-girlfriend, based solely on this tape.
This is a great idea! I’ve got many of these mixes, but unfortunately none given to me by an ex. Dang. Lots of cool ones though. Here are some of the theme/titles: Skiing Two. Magical. Tears, Time & Changes. Cows, Earth and Heaven. Regeneration. On the Road to San Luis. (for example)
i’m dig-loving this!
can you make the rss feed accessible through livejournal too?
I still have many mix tapes from Jr. High and high school- used to sit around listening to the radio, waiting for the good songs to come on, and record them (so most of those “good songs” were missing the first seven seconds). Loverboy, Eddie Money, April Wine, and .38 Special spring immediately to mind… I also used to record Dr. Demento every Sunday night- still have a few of those tapes lurking about somewhere.
Alas, no (now) ex ever made me a mix tape. Perhaps I’ll see one I made someone else on here someday.
oh by the way, that’s an awesome picture of you, Jason.
Well, thank you very much, Chrome! My friend Hope Gangloff took that a little while back. I should really put some photo credits on here, eh?
And Silverstein, I’ll see what I can do about getting a better rss feed going…
Terrie, you’re right! I think Kermit’s song is called “Lydia the Tattooed Lady.” There’s a great line in there saying something like “When her muscles start relaxin, up the hill goes Andrew Jackson.”
I am so surprised people listen to Michelle Shocked. Each time I come across her name I am in awe. I have loved her forever and really think I am the only one. Apparently not…
Yo Vitner.
I was just listening to a weehawken cd I found buried in the bedroom, searched your name and the band and found this beauty of a page.
Let me say to everyone that easily the greatest mix tape I’ve ever gotten was from one Jason Bitner after he went off to college. I’d never heard of 90% of the bands on it. The thing blew my mind and musical tastes wide open.
And confidential to Bitner: I really never did smooch Kate.
tl
Kate always did impress me and this tape indeed seals it…. And how about those toes anyway?
What a sweet reminder of those days…
OK, I love your ex girlfriend too. Sweet mix.
Great idea, probably a better idea than my tape blog.
http://dalstonoxfamshop.blogspot.com
All my praise has already been heaped on you by others, but I would like to add that I love that the posts are all so eloquently written, in beautiful style, and really evoke that teenager-in-love-feeling and the goosebumps that came with the first listen to a mixtape from someone special.
You were a “good kid”…what happened?
Ohhhhhhhh………
All I know is that you were blasting Meat Puppets and talking vegetables, and I do not remember the toe thing.
I couldn’t be happier this exists.
What strikes me about these wonderful windows on the past is that they are so clearly dependent upon access to particular music sources. Whereas people are now inundated with massive volumes of digital music troves, these tapes were made when one had to piece them together from the sources at hand: one’s own burgeoning music collection, parents’ record and tape collections., and - for the ambitous - taping off the radio.
I was in love with the love between you and Kate. I’d see you walking by, sohappytogether, as I went to the Good-Bye Ranch for a couple of dinosaur eggs for the walk home. LOVE THIS SITE!
This is a happy one! Kate was probably cooler than me since she wasn’t the type to name-drop, but I remember always throwing in some classical piece or a funny hidden accordion track or spoken thing to mixtapes for the purpose of amping up my cool-factor (cool in the 90s=eclectic).
What’s It All About…sweet! I think you could make any song Stone Rosesish by using that tambourine loop, no?
I’m so glad that my shameful love for the Nerve personals allowed me to stumble across this gem. I have made so many mixed tapes in my time and clearly want to rush home and make one now…no DeLorean necessary I can still do it.
I didn’t realize how much I missed the questionable sound quality until I heard it. Thank you ten times over.