Best Of The Sixties

A small group of us meet two or three times a year for a mixed CD swap. We have yet to come up with an official name. The new one that just sprung to mind is "The Mixed Tape Society." Regardless, I prefer the term "mixed tape" over "mixed CD" or even "playlist," due to my twenty-plus year history as part of the mixed tape subculture (to me, a mixed tape will always be closer to my heart than a mixed CD-R or even an iPod playlist. The term "mixed tape" also rolls off the tongue much better than either of the other two possible examples).

The rules of the club are simple. Each mixed tape has a theme and contains a standard ten songs. We are also discouraged from using a band or artist on more than one comp. In doing this, it helps each member to not rely too heavily on a particular artist or sound. These rules do not necessarily apply to our annual year-end comps, where members often feel the liberty of tacking on an extra few songs (or an extra mix, for that matter) and, of course, use bands or artists from previous mixes. The whole thing gets very technical, obsessive and, yes, nerd-like.

This weekend's theme, "Best Of The Sixties," wrapped-up our four-part "Decade" series which took just over a year to complete. We had originally planned on having a trilogy because, well, trilogies are cool. After the well-received success of August 2005's "Best Of The Seventies," we decided to add the decade before it to the mix. The series is out of sequence in that we felt the need to get "Eighties" and "Nineties" out of the way first, as planned.

There are only four members of the group: Jeff, Bailey, Ramsey and myself. We often times allow outsiders to sit-in on the sessions and, occasionally, bring in their own mix. But, officially, the four of us are the members. Of course, our wives and girlfriends, who are always present for the meetings, often times bring their own mixes and are always encouraged to do so (the two mixes that Lisa developed for "Eighties" and "Nineties" were not only well-received, but considered, by most, to be the best compilation at each gathering).

Of course, each compilation is a secret until we all sit down to listen. Here's my latest mix. Of course, the other three members are more than welcome to list theirs here as well.

01. Combination Of The Two / Big Brother & The Holding Company
02. Mr. Tambourine Man / The Byrds
03. A Hazy Shade Of Winter / Simon & Garfunkel
04. California Dreamin' / The Mamas & The Papas
05. Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head / BJ Thomas
06. Ain't That Peculiar / Marvin Gaye
07. I Fought The Law And The Law Won / The Bobby Fuller Four
08. Sunday Morning / The Velvet Underground
09. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall / Bob Dylan
10. Eve Of Destruction / The Turtles

Next up is "The Best Of 06," which will be available in early 2007. The final mixes, of course, will be posted here.