Are the 1980s the Big Bang of mix tapes? Here’s an artifact from that era:

I, like a lot of kids that grew up during the Reagan years, put a lot of thought and effort into the making of mix tapes.

Here is a playlist I found in a journal from 8th grade. Actually, the journal was given to me for 8th grade graduation, so I guess you could say I was a freshman. Even after all of these years, I can tell I was in the brainstorming phase for this mix tape; because I could give a damn about some of these songs, for instance the Chuck Berry tune. The theme was song titles that were girls’ names.

Been there (a couple of times), done that. Here’s what was on his track list:

• “Diane” by Husker Du
• “Cecilia” by Simon and Garfunkel
• “Maybelline” by Chuck Berry
• “Vicky Verky” by The Squeeze
• “Lola” by The Kinks
• “Athena” by The Who
• “Michelle” by The Beatles
• “Suzy Q” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
• “Delta Dawn” by the Ray Conniff Singers
• “Rosemary” by The Dickies
• “Roxanne” by The Police

Which reminds me: I need to get started on Major Babes 3.

Assignment: A lot of songs with “Good” in the title. Difficulty: No “Goodbye” or “Goodnight” tracks. Success: Reasonable. Besides, where else are you going to hear Tammy Wynette and the Knack on the same disc? Oh, and if you don’t recognize the cover, don’t blame Desenex.

Track listing for 111131-2:

1. James Brown: I Got You (I Feel Good)
2. 10cc: Good Morning Judge
3. Herman’s Hermits: I’m Into Something Good
4. Barbara Lynn: You’ll Lose a Good Thing
5. Billy Joel: Only the Good Die Young
6. Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys: Good Old Rock ‘N’ Roll
7. Rufus: Tell Me Something Good
8. Frank Sinatra: It Was a Very Good Year
9. The Beach Boys: Good Timin’
10. Linda Ronstadt: You’re No Good
11. The Knack: Good Girls Don’t
12. Stevie Wonder: Nothing’s Too Good for My Baby
13. Eric Burdon and the Animals: Good Times
14. Chic: Good Times
15. Bunny Sigler: Let the Good Times Roll/Feel So Good
16. The Cars: Good Times Roll
17. Fontella Bass and Bobby McClure: Don’t Mess Up a Good Thing
18. Sam Cooke: Good News
19. The Rascals: Good Lovin’
20. Crazy Elephant: Gimme Gimme Good Lovin’
21. Bobby Vee: Take Good Care of My Baby
22. Little Richard: Good Golly Miss Molly
23. The Beatles: Good Day Sunshine
24. Tammy Wynette: Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad
25. Paul Revere and the Raiders: Good Thing
26. Elvis Presley: Good Luck Charm
27. Chuck Berry: Johnny B. Goode