love is a mix tape

Music has always been a big part of my life.  Not only do I continue to be interested in music, there is always music on in the background and something different in heavy rotation each week.  Music has always been a connection with people too. 

Fred and I definitely connected with music.  We made tons of mixed tapes for each other.  I remember that he had hitchhiked out to see the Dead at Red Rocks in Colorado and I made a special mixed tape for the journey.  When I lived in London, Fred sent me mixed tapes.  Each tape reflected the moment and had underlying meanings.  It was important to have the right fade in and good flow.  Each tape had a different title and generally were given the nod to either Wilson Productions or Solomon Productions. We would also interject stuff into the tapes that we recorded or said.  Unfortunately our car got broken into when we first moved into the city and a tremendous amount of our tapes were stolen.  Although we still have a bunch that we listen to at the beach every summer, I pine for the lot that was stolen.  The ones we have bring back a flood of memories. 

The book, love is a mix tape by Rob Sheffield definitely called out to me.  Not only is the book well written, it is funny and heartbreaking at the same time.  Each chapter starts with a mix tape that he made for that particular moment.  He met his wife at an early age.  She was as into the music as he was.  They worked radio and wrote for music mags.  Unfortunately their time together is brief.  One afternoon she dies from a brain aneurysm.  As Joan Didion wrote in The Year of Magical Thinking, in a moment, your life changes.  And for Rob, it did and way too young. 

The book is a celebration of music but also a friend who helps him grieve and continue through life.  He is music and music is him. 

For anyone who has music in their life, read this book.  It is about life and the road it sometimes takes but at the end of the day, it is all about the music.