This was the first ever mix CD I ever made – 10 years ago this Thursday. iven to all of my female friends in Portland, along with a CD insert of a dozen pictures of roses/rose graphics from around the Rose City.

DOWNLOAD: (right-click and save as): First half
DOWNLOAD: Second half


Track listing:
Like Someone in Love - Bjork
Recipe for love – Harry Connick, Jr.
You Can’t Hurry Love – The Supremes
Se a Vida E – Pet Shop Boys
The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game – Massive Attack f. Tracey Thorn
Beautiful Love – Julian Cope
Amor/Amor Dub – Jah Wobble
Both Hands – Ani DiFranco
Everybody Needs Somebody – Primal Scream
Crash into me – Dave Matthews Band
Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye
Slave to Love – Bryan Ferry
No Ordinary Love – Sade
Son of a Preacher Man – Dusty Springfield
Someone to Watch Over Me – George Gershwin
Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off – Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong

NOTE: this was in the days before... mp3s, file-sharing and music blogs, when you actually had to go to the record store and search through crates to find the cool obscure indie-cred stuff. Which, I obviously didn’t do.

And I know the mix is cheesy as fuck, but I had no experience with mix CDs and was counting on the novelty to carry it through. In retrospect, I can’t imagine ever giving a mix cd where 7 of the 16 songs have the word love in the title or subtitle (se a vida e (I love you)). And you wouldn’t catch me putting a Dave Matthews Band on a mix these days except under duress (like say, water torture.)

But I still like the mix. And it was a hugely original gift at the time. I think I actually had to explain to one friend what a mix CD entailed (namely, that it didn’t need a special machine to play.)

After 10 years, I’m still proud of the mix, and the packaging (also done before the digital revolution turned the photo world upside down).

So, take a listen. And Happy Valentine’s Day from the City of Roses, 10 years later.
m