Sorta Like a Mix Tape

I grew up in the height of the mix tape. I made mix tapes for my girlfriends when I was in middle school and high school, though I’m pretty sure it was all about the sound rather than the message (have you ever really listened to the words of some of those “love” songs?!).

These days we find ourselves largely making playlists on our preferred streaming services. For me, creating a mix tape was so much more personal than putting together a playlist. If you had the songs you were dubbing from cassette to cassette. If you didn’t you spent hours chasing down the right songs on the radio. Then there was the album art and the creative (or downright silly) names we gave the mixes.

When I create playlists, I like to imagine them as mix tapes. I’ll group the tracks into themes. Then I’ll sort them into the right order and keep the playing times to fit on a CD. I’d suppose it’s an exercise in keeping the spirit of the mix tape alive in my own way.

This set is a series I put together to as mix tapes full of mostly love songs from the 1980s. About those “love” songs I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of great sounding songs pleading forgiveness for doing something wrong that I don’t think fit the theme. As the saying goes, “your mileage may vary.”

Vol. 1 Be My Baby

1. “Walking Down Your Street” The Bangles
2. “Every Little Kiss” Bruce Hornsby & The Range
3. “Take Me Home Tonight (Be My Baby)” Eddie Money ft. Ronnie Spector
4. “Let My Love Open the Door” Pete Townshend
5. “Handle with Care” The Traveling Wilburys
6. “Amanda” Boston
7. “A Girl Like You” The Smithereens
8. “Photograph” Def Leppard
9. “Dancing in the Dark” Bruce Springsteen
10. “More Love” Kim Carnes
11. “Waiting for a Star to Fall” Boy Meets Girl
12. “I Don’t Want to Live Without You” Foreigner
13. “The Promise” When In Rome
14. “The Voice” The Moody Blues
15. “Romeo’s Tune” Steve Forbert
16. “The Lady in Red” Chris De Burgh
17. “Fall at Your Feet” Crowded House
18. “You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song)” Jeffrey Osborne

Vol. 2 Hearts on Fire

1. “Ain’t Even Done with the Night” John Mellencamp
2. “Tonight She Comes” The Cars
3. “In Your Room” The Bangles
4. “Abracadabra” Steve Miller
5. “Make Me Lose Control” Eric Carmen
6. “Self Control” Laura Branigan
7. “I’m on Fire” Bruce Springsteen
8. “Leather and Lace” Stevie Nicks ft. Don Henley
9. “Don’t You Know What the Night Can Do?” Steve Winwood
10. “I Wanna Be Your Lover” Prince
11. “Rock with You” Michael Jackson
12. “Slow Hand” Pointer Sisters
13. “Shake You Down” Gregory Abbott
14. “Baby, Come To Me” Patti Austin & James Ingram
15. “Sexual Healing” Marvin Gaye
16. “Do That to Me One More Time” Captain and Tennille
17. “Hearts on Fire” Randy Meisner
18. “Hungry Eyes” Eric Carmen
19. “Lay Your Hands on Me” Thompson Twins
20. “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” The Police
21. “Midnight Blue” Lou Gramm

Vol. 3 Rock You Tonight

1. “I Can’t Hold Back” Survivor
2. “Caught Up In You” .38 Special
3. “Need You Tonight” INXS
4. “Hungry Like the Wolf” Duran Duran
5. “Magic Man” Heart
6. “Start Me Up” The Rolling Stones
7. “Burning for You” Blue Öyster Cult
8. “Simply Irresistible” Robert Palmer
9. “Gimme All Your Lovin’” ZZ Top
10. “Rock You Like a Hurricane” Scorpions
11. “Talk Dirty to Me” Poison
12. “Kiss Me Deadly” Lita Ford
13. “Cradle of Love” Billy Idol
14. “Seduce Me Tonight” Cycle V
15. “Rockin’ Into the Night” Survivor
16. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” Def Leppard
17. “You Shook Me All Night Long” AC/DC
18. “Think About You” Guns ‘n’ Roses

Vol. 4 My Sweet Love

1. “Here Comes My Girl” Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
2. “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” Michael Jackson
3. “The Way You Do the Things You Do” UB40
4. “Always” Atlantic Starr
5. “Seven Wonders” Fleetwood Mac
6. “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” Starship
7. “Anything You Want (You Got It)” The Traveling Willburys
8. “Eternal Flame” The Bangles
9. “When I See You Smile” Bad English
10. “You Are” Lionel Richie (The Commodores)
11. “Angel Eyes” Jeff Healey Band
12. “Shining Star” The Manhattans
13. “Heaven” Warrant
14. “Never Tear Us Apart” INXS
15. “Sweet Child o’ Mine” Guns ‘n’ Roses
16. “Right Down the Line” Gerry Rafferty
17. “What You Get is What You See” Tina Turner
18. “As Long As You Follow” Fleetwood Mac
19. “You Are My Lady” Freddie Jackson

Vol. 5 High on You

1. “The Way You Make Me Feel” Michael Jackson
2. “Together Forever” Rick Astley
3. “Doing It All for My Baby” Huey Lewis & The News
4. “Hysteria” Def Leppard
5. “Almost Paradise” Ann Wilson & Mike Reno
6. “Love Song” The Cure
7. “High on You” Survivor
8. “Got a Hold on Me” Christine McVie
9. “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
10. “Magic” The Cars
11. “Finer Things” Steve Winwood”
12. “She’s Got a Way” Billy Joel
13. “When I’m with You” Sheriff
14. “True” Spandau Ballet
15. “My Destiny” Lionel Richie (The Commodores)
16. “Everywhere” Fleetwood Mac
17. “Love of a Lifetime” FireHouse
18. “My Destination” Boston

Vol. 6 What I Needed

1. “Do You Believe in Love” Huey Lewis & The News
2. ” Just What I Needed” The Cars
3. “Don’t Get Me Wrong” The Pretenders
4. “The Longest Time” Billy Joel
5. “Waiting for a Girl Like You” Foreigner
6. “Suddenly” Billy Ocean
7. “You Make My Dreams” Hall & Oates
8. “Never Gonna Give You Up” Rick Astley
9. “Lonely Ol’ Night” John Mellencamp
10. “Silly Love Songs” Paul McCartney
11. “This Time” Bryan Adams
12. “Let’s Stay Together” Tina Turner
13. “You Got It All” The Jets
14. “All the Man That I Need” Whitney Houston
15. “Cherish” Madonna
16. “Roll with It” Steve Winwood
17. “Love in Store” Fleetwood Mac
18. “Is This Love” Survivor
19. “I Melt with You” Modern English
20. “Bring It All Home” Gerry Rafferty