Special Guest Blogger: The making of a great compilation tape

Remember when I said that anyone could be a special guest blogger, if they blogged about me? Well, we have our first taker. What you read below was written by my brother George, who, as you'll see below, is a very funny, smart, and swell all-around guy. George gets up every day to save the world, one troubled kid at a time. I'm really proud of him. And as you'll see below, he pretty much owes everything to me.

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Being inspired about the possibility of guest blogging (see Special Guest Blogger, 8/23/07), I sat down to write my very own blog about my sister. I put one of the three mix-CDs that Molly mailed to me recently (Super Fun Random Mix) and start to listen… (Molly was right, this IS random).

I’ve grown to enjoy my sister’s CD mixes and always look forward to receiving them in the mail. However, I must admit, there was a time that I dreaded hearing that Molly had made a mix. Molly always has an excuse for making a CD (some titles include: Molly goes to the Mall, Molly and her roommate get ready to go out, Molly’s going on a roadtrip). There were even times that I involuntarily had to listen to Molly’s mixes…

For two years, I was a passenger as my sister drove to and from school every day. She had an early 90s, unequipped, Mazda Protégé. The car had manual locks, AM/FM radio, a cassette player, no defrost that we could tell (guess who had to de-ice that every day while Molly got ready) and no passenger air-bags (I could go on about my fear regarding the lack of safety features on the car; however, I will not digress because I know Molly will not post this with information on her driving history…)

Due to an overwhelming hatred for morning talk radio and the low supply of tapes that my dad had (Jimmy Buffett, an Eagles tape, and maybe Mellencamp) Molly began making her own mixes. She entitled her first tape: Molly Music.

Over the course of the next two years, Molly developed probably over 8 Molly Musics and over a dozen other mixes. She put together compilations of bands/singer songwriters like: The Nields, Tori Amos, Sarah Mclachlan, and Lilith Fair. Molly kept the tapes in a fake-leather, hard-shell briefcase made specifically for tapes. The briefcase was stored on the passenger side floor board (invading my leg room in the already very “spacious” Mazda).

Some of you might not think that this situation does not seem that bad.

However, for a Freshman whose favorite bands at the time included The Deftones, Sublime, 311, RHCP, Tool, and Rage Against the Machine...this was a nightmare.

With a 30 minute round trip commute to and from school for two years, I listened to approximately 180 hours (7 and ½ straight days) of Molly Music. (I want to point out that these figures ONLY count school transportation and greatly diminishes any other time I spent being a passenger in the Mazda.)

I know that the figures above are accurate in regards to school transportation, because Molly NEVER LET ME BRING ANOTHER TAPE INTO HER CAR!! For those two years that my sister drove before she went to college I was subjected to a complete dictatorship in regards to the music I listened to (while being transported). Molly ruled the Mazda with an iron fist when it came to music.

When my friends needed a ride, I would have to explain to them who the fuck The Nields were (and how Ash Wednesday was a song about a teenager being pregnant (I think)).

I do want to give Molly credit. I was allowed to make one tape where I got to choose the songs (FROM PRE-APPROVED ARTISTS AND CDs) that was allowed to be played on every OTHER Friday ONE WAY. As much I enjoyed this, Molly really only followed through with this promise for about a month. (I don’t think I got a chance to listen to Side-B, which I’m sure really enhanced Side-A’s listening experience)

When Molly left for college, her High School Last Will and Testament included giving me the briefcase of tapes for me to listen to. I was fucking pissed.

As time has gone by, I have either mellowed out or have grown to appreciate (in small, voluntary doses) the above artists. I can also say that my favorite female artists, thanks to Molly, include: Dar Williams, Michelle Shocked, Fiona Apple, and Nanci Griffith. I even entertained the idea of seeing Nanci Griffith in concert. I also will always think of Molly when I hear Billy Joel’s Downeaster Alexa and her explaining to me about this sad, sad fisherman.

I seriously thank my sister for exposing me to music that I would have never listened to and think that it has really given me a better appreciation of music. That doesn’t mean I agree with her methods of teaching them to me. This would be the time that I would like to mention that Molly used to sit on me and read to me when I refused to be taught multiplication and division “for fun” when I was only 5.

The Mazda was later sold through the newspaper when Molly got my Dad’s Toyota Camry (see “that new car smell”, 8/19/07). I stored the briefcase of Molly Music’s in the basement. Unfortunately, it was ruined when our basement flooded. Strangely, I wish I still had the briefcase of tapes.

Of course, then I would have to buy a tape player.

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This is Molly again. I really don't have anything to say in my defense, except I would like to point out that I actually made 14 Molly Musics, and not 8 as George says above. I'm a little sad that George didn't find volumes 9-14 as thrilling as I did, but I'll get over it.

Just send me an e-mail if you would like to be Special Guest Blogger!