June 1, 1996

038 Mastering the Fine Art of Compromise

In an effort to record mix tapes that my girlfriend and I could both enjoy, I leaned away from big white guy classic rock; specifically "No Springsteen, No Joel, No McCartney!!!" and ended up with one of my first excellent mix tapes. Only a few missteps - I should have left out The Who at their most obnoxious, and "The Devil You Know", a very loud Jesus Jones song. Also notable as the first appearance of Radiohead on a mix tape!
90 minute Sony cassette

Side A

  1. "Laid" James
  2. "Dead End Streets" Jon Svetkey
  3. "Knockin On Mine" Paul Westerberg
  4. "The Person You Are" John Wesley Harding
  5. "Baby, Now That I've Found You" Alison Krauss
  6. "King Of Birds" R.E.M.
  7. "I Can't Make You Love Me" Bonnie Raitt
  8. "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" The Pretenders
  9. "Fortress Around Your Heart" When it comes to artists whose music I listened to the most in the 20th century, that I now listen to the least, Sting might be the biggest change. I listened to Sting and The Police a lot from 1984 to 2000, and now hardly ever.
  10. "Gold Dust Woman" Fleetwood Mac
  11. "Solisbury Hill" Peter Gabriel

Side B

  1. "Rough Boys" I read once that the other members of The Who resented that Pete Townshend saved his best new compositions for his 1980 solo album Empty Glass - songs The Who could easily have recorded.  I can understand their frustration - Empty Glass features three songs I love: this one, "Jools & Jim", and most of all, one of Pete's triumphs, "Let My Love Open The Door". The subsequent Who record, Face Dances, came out 11 months later and sorely needed material like this.
  2. "High and Dry" You can't say I wasn't in on Radiohead from the beginning. I liked "Creep" and "Stop Whispering" from Pablo Honey, and I loved The Bends from jump street.
  3. "Nothing Man" Pearl Jam
  4. "Deadbeat Club" The B-52's
  5. "Wild Night" Van Morrison
  6. "The Fly" U2
  7. "You Better You Bet" The Who
  8. "The Devil You Know" Jesus Jones
  9. "Birdhouse In Your Soul" They Might Be Giants
  10. "Stay Up Late" Talking Heads
  11. "Steppin' Out" Joe Jackson
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