Here’s another new monthly mixtape made from a sealed, pre-recorded cassette I got for 99 cents. I taped over the cassette’s protection tabs and then I taped over the music and then I taped over the artwork. (Faith Hill’s Breathe.)

This one is kind of a sequel to “The October Country,” except I wanted it to kind of capture the misery of October in Texas — a dusty, hot October Country of torture, where you watch everyone else enjoy Autumn while Summer continues to rage.

I also wanted it to be just a little bit spooky and in the minor key, since it’s spooky season and all.

SIDE A
— The Stooges, “No Fun”
— The Kinks, “Nothin’ in This World Can Stop Me Worrying About That Girl”
— Althea & Donna, “Uptown Top Ranking”
— Joy Division, “Isolation”
— Suicie, “Ghost Rider”
— Frank Ocean, “Ivy”
— Mazzy Star, “Fade Into You”
— The Castaways, “Liar, Liar”

SIDE B
— The Make-Up, “Grey Motorcycle”
— Desmond Dekker, “Fu Manchu”
— Marty Robbins, “They’re Hanging Me Tonight”
— Outkast, “SpottieOttieDopaliscious”
— The Slits, “I Heard it Through The Grapevine”
— The Pixies, “Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)”
— The xx, “Infinity”

Side A of the actual mixtape ends with a line from Ian McKellen reading The Odyssey:

…the recklessness of their own ways destroyed them all,
the blind fools, they devoured the cattle of the Sun
and the Sungod wiped from sight the day of their return.
Launch out on his story, Muse, daughter of Zeus,
start from where you will—sing for our time too.

And Side B ends with the first lines of Giamatti’s ode to baseball, “The Green Fields of the Mind”:

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart.

You can listen to the playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube.

Filed under: mixtapes