Do All Blokes Make Tapes?

hi fidelity. a whole novel about making tapes. very blokey.

I did get a tape made by a couple of girlfriends, and I can only remember now, one song off each tape, which are probably in a plastic bag in the box under the desk in the room I type on this keyboard. One one, was a King Crimson song, can't remember the title, but romantic, any crimson fans, please hazard a guess,save me rumuging in the humungous plastic bag. The other was an Aztec Camera song, which I think was called L.O.V.E. As a bloke I made tapes for significant others and it was about selling the idea of me, to them...........they didn't buy at the time.....but I'm sure they're regretting it now..........................

true man If I like a girl I always do a mix tape for them... I mix in things from talking books with different types of music then after I have completed this work of art I give it a name like ' walking down the road bassy mix.' or ' The future is a tripped out bass mix' or ' Taoist philosophy and deep bass mix' And I wonder why I don't have a girlfriend..hehe. Just haven't got the whatever it is that elusive sparkle. But I don't care I still continue to do my insane mixes and enjoy doing them. If a guy gives you a tape it means he likes you.

Well, we'd already sussed that I think, Seagull...

what happens if the tape is full of embarrassing nonsense that you really hate?

You bin it...

well yes ... but doesn't the contents of the tape say something about the tape's maker?

Who cares?

but andrea! ... if the tape is a tool of seduction ... and you quite fancy this person ... and they are offering these little twigs for your nest ... and you don't LIKE the twigs ... what do you do? say ... sorry mate ...???

Ah, but if there's no music in common, Fish, what's left?

nothing pal ...

*echoes that*

My friend, who is a pretty cool woman, was recently given a tape by her new boyfriend, who thought it would be her sort of thing. Dr Hook. He is, of course, an ex-boyfriend now. Depends fish if the tape is bad and dreary or just music that is not your cup of tea. Men, particularly earnest young men sometimes have odd taste in music - not bad, just obscure. If it is bad and dreary, do not pursue.

There was a guy once, so, soooo beautiful.....aloof, intelligent, abso- bloody-lutely gorgeous. Excellent dress sense...well read....thoughtful....gentle and kind. He was a Pink Floyd fan. I couldnt get over it, try as I might. Shallow as a puddle, I know....but it was just another brick in the wall for me n' him. *ducks in expectation of missile throwing pink floyd fans*

This tape thing is an interesting concept. Is this really commonplace in the U.K.? I've never heard of it before. I can't imagine this going over well in the U.S. An American woman would expect you to buy her a brand new CD so she wouldn't have to spend the money herself. My sense is that making a tape for an American woman would be greeted with disbelieve and probably outright laughter. Then again, if she actually liked the guy, maybe it would at least not be a negative thing.

your mission should you choose to accept it justyn ... is to make a tape for a woman ... take all the advice on creation from this thread ... and then report back ... a brand new craze could be sweeping the states ...

Yes...but to buy a cd is easy. And it doesnt tell the person as much about you (apart from you can chuck £'s / $'s at the person) as a comp tape / cd does. And anyway, I just recieved a tape compliled by a bloke (sorry missi) that I correspond with in America, so that can't be true of anyone? It's nice, because, more than anything, the idea that someone sits down for a couple of hours to put together a group of tracks from different bands that they think, or hope that you will like, from their own collection. I know what I'd prefer to recieve for a gift, given the choice. (as long as it wasn't pink floyd) I recently made a tape for a guy I know that lives in Prague. It's a copy of a cd l made myself, varied and mixed tracks, that I like to play whilst driving. He e-mailed me the other day to say how happy he was to receive it, and that he was playing it as he tootled around the city. Makes me happy.

Sorry. Subsitute "everyone" for "anyone" in my last post. Long day today.

yes liana ... it is a PERSONAL thing ... i don't appreciate a CD being bought for me as much as something that has had thought put into it ...

Last time I did this was 94/95, so lots of Portishead, Grenadine, Veruca Salt, the Breeders, Justin Warfield, Flute Loop by the Beastie Boys. "Razzamatazz"by Pulp. "This is a low" by Blur Particularly liked "I kicked a boy" by the Sundays, so that used to go on.

Oh, Liana! Sigh! There's no hope for us! Groan! How can you diss PF??? Dr Hook, eh? Yep, love him/them too... But then I'm just an old has-been, no?

I live in London so I don't know any American females anymore. This tape thing is an interesting idea though. I like it. I've given people CDs of other things, for example, I created a QuickTime video pastiche of myself as a little kid (using converted film my dad took of me circa 1950-1960) set to the Also Sprach Zarathustra music. I have given this to a few people, but so far only my cousin in New Orleans appreciated the truly extraordinary (he said with no modesty whatsoever) humor in it. The reaction ranges from "oh that's nice" to "hun dud?" Oh well, I like it. And, Pink Floyd is my favorite group of all time. Paranoia for the cold war era. I guess a little dated now, but otherwise classic stuff. "and if you take your girlfriend out tonight, you better park the car way out of sight, because if they catch you in the back seat trying to pick her lock, they'll send you home to momma in a cardboard box, you gotta run...."

Like that idea for the video pastiche..nice. Sorry Andrea and Justyn re. P.F.....it's just a personal thing. Though I will admit to having "Wish You Were Here" on a comp cd, and I actually do like that one. The rest of it doesnt do much for me though....my dad likes them though. Perhaps thats what does it?

Of course, the answer is no. Not all blokes make tapes. Probably ninety per cent of English men have never done it. But the ones who do are more like Robert than Phil Mitchell. In my view, it is a good thing that the other 10 per cent are out there somewhere.

I asm an inveterate, hopelessly adicted tape maker and always end side 1 with 'Hardcore/Ballad' by Teenage Fanclub. I agree a tape is like a love letter but it is also a blokey show off thing. 'understand me!' 'Define me!'

Actually, I'd be willing to bet fifty quid that Dom Joly has made a tape or two in his time. Apparently he'd have doubled his money on the Trigger Happy videos if he'd taken the music off. The soundtrack to that show is definitely something he's put on a tape for some girl, somewhere.

I'm beginning to worry about you Andrew!

a long long time ago ( i sound like don mclean) we used to borrow albums off one another and tape them, leaving out any crap tracks. but this was an economic measure. the only compilations I ever made up were for parties. last year I installed a cd burner into my pc specifically to copy the best of my old albums. now the bloody record deck has ceased to function. I have no idea if there is such a thing as a record deck repair man. you don't even see the things in the shops anymore. it was bloody good quality too. whinge whinge whinge

want to borrow my record deck storms?

is the pope catholic? I might need it for a long time though

it's ok i've got three ...

andrew, i don't know much about phil mitchell so i just asked a friend whether i am anything like him. when she'd calmed down a bit and stopped laughing she said well he's hard and mean and in all likeliness does not email his friends in a state of excitement cos he has just discovered a delicious range of sainsbury's savoury tartlets...so well done for being so astute. this then led on to another conversation about soaps, and in particular the dialogue used in them, and as [last time i looked] this is a writing site i thought it'd make a good thread topic. thing is i'm going to have to watch one before i start the thread cos happily i've not seen one for years...

Look at it this way - if a man has made a tape for a woman, it means he has been thinking about her for at least an hour (actually much more, the pause button is in action much more than the record, in order to select the next track correctly - I think it's bad form to do a track list before you start recording)... And your closing song for each side always runs out of tape just before the second chorus, so you have to go back and plan again. A man buying a present for a woman generally does it in ten minutes, gets the size wrong, wraps it as if it is a live lobster trying to wriggle free of the paper and loses the receipt so you can't change it. Tapes are better than presents.

... unless the music makes you squirm ... ... and what is in the tartlets robert?

andrew... as good a track as flute loops is, i dont know many girls that would be impressed by nasal shouting of "i get funky like diaper rash", but interestingly this song includes the sentiment "i feel like a winner when i make a mix tape" :O) and verucca salt? was it "cant fight the fever" perchance? essentials for me; "long life" by primal scream, anything swirly by my bloody valentine and something dubby like augustus pablo or king tubby. oh, and "at the speed of life" by bowie you don't give mix tapes to other guys, only whole albums. ive really wondered why this is. and cd burning takes the fun out of it. you know that some guy has manually pressed a whole TWO buttons to get the flipping operation moving, with the constant fear of the tape chewing five minutes after the start of play. the amount of tapes ive lost trying to record mercury rev albums make the mind boggle.

Er...what *are* presents from men?

Fat chance.

Richard - Goddess on a Highway by Mercury Rev would totally go on any mix-tape I (heaven forbid) had to do in the future (and probably Opus 40 too). I didn't tend to go out with girly-girls and my wife loves the Beastie Boys. What's on this tape Ivory ? - then we blokes can give it an assessment. No Jon Denver, I hope. Even if the tape is bad, the concept has had us all talking, so maybe he's worth a second chance.

.. i can't tell you andrew ... for one, the tape spent several months kicking round the floor of my polo with a toffee paper stuck to it ... and for two, one day when i was REALLY pissed off with him i unwound the entire tape (poetic moment it gathered round my fist like a boxing glove) ... whilst i was driving and flung it out of the window ... someone pointed out to me that a much more elegant solution would have been to select a house at random and post the tape through the letterbox ...

I've made loads of cd's for the woman who finally traded me in, almost all of them were 'listen to all these appeals on my behalf' things. None of 'em worked! She told me she liked the music though!!!

I always thought it was a bit arrogant to make a tape of 'your' favourite music to give to someone else. Like saying, I don't care what you like, here's what I like. Maybe I'm too practical and not romantic enough ? Having said that, I used to use 'background' music on the all too rare occasion I'd got a girl home to 'de-flower' her. Cat Stevens 'How Can I Tell You' got used the most. I wonder what others used ? I suppose Barry White is the evergreen smooch master. Any death metal ? Julie Andrews ?? Teletubbies ???

It's not supposed to be inflicting your taste on someone else - the idea is to put some of your songs on a tape that you think the other person would not be familiar with but would appreciate - you have to have their tastes in mind. Usually you know that they like so and so, and from that think that they might also like such and such. I have had, a few years ago now, dreams about making love with Maria Carey (very pretty, nice body) but then she puts on one of her own CDs - what an awful end to the dream...

Well, that's a blessin' Missus.

An interesting debate! As an occasional "compiler", perhaps I can shed some light on the psychology behind such behaviour: The tape/cd could be a substitute for something more creative/impressive such as an original poem, song or love letter. The intention being to give some personal token of apppreciation to the recipient accompanied by the hope that they would enjoy the gift. Same as cooking a meal for someone one appreciates. Not everyone has the talent to write good poetry etc, or create mouth-watering dishes, so this is a halfway house between creativity and mere shopping. Its disappointing to see such adverse reactions to such gestures, tastes may differ, but surely its the thought that counts. How would a writer feel if they wrote a novel or poem dedicated to another person and the recipient used it as bog-paper? Serves a purpose, but not the intended one........

if you give someone a tape and it is in their car when they pick you up it's definitely a come on, but if you are out together and they hum a tune from your tape RHINO HORN! what a turn on beddy byes

you are quite right albert ... *looks ashamed* ... one ought to be grateful for the thought WHATEVER is on it ... but another interesting point made ... i would rather have a tape with horrible songs on (*looks nervously at stormy*) ... than have a bad poem written for me ... ah ... the subtleties of ingratitude ...

Yes - but like foot massages in Pulp Fiction, a guy doesn't give his tapes to another guy. It is like the bower-bird that has to bring stuff for a nest to the female before he can get it on. If a man gives you a mix-tape, it means he likes you.

You mean the schmaltzy love compliation tape to ge things 'in the mood ?' Nope - never. Never been given one by a bloke either.

Yep, tapes and not much else... Latest offerings were...'It's A Beautiful Day' (by IABD, strangely enough), and 'Astral Weeks' by Van The Man. Delighted with the sounds, not so keen on the bloke. I wonder if there's a massage (oops) there, somewhere?

Is it OK for blokettes to make tapes? Are tapes themselves OK? Shouldn't we all have CD burners nowadays?