In 2010 two friends told me, in completely separate conversations, that they considered themselves to be “the best” at making mix tapes. These two people didn’t know each other, and the topic of mix tapes had come up without any prompting from me.
When each one heard about the other’s competing claim at mix tape prowess, they scoffed at the suggestion that anyone could be better at the ancient art of Maxell magic than they.
I put forward the idea of a competition. I would be the judge, assessing their entries using agreed-upon criteria, and the winner would enjoy eternal bragging rights. Being both a teacher and a nerd, I even made a rubric:
I was so psyched to listen to the results. This was right around the time that I launched this blog, so I was very much interested in the idea of curating songs for a specific audience. In 2010, the age of blank tapes was a good decade in the past, but the age of the Spotify playlist hadn’t yet arrived. I was so excited to have two mix tapes, made just for me, that I could load into my long-neglected tape deck.
Sadly, the competition was a wash; only one of the two participants submitted an entry. I don’t know if the other self-proclaimed mix tape guru got cold feet, or just got busy, but it was disappointing.
However, the default winner’s submission was spectacular right from the opening track, which was a helium-infused, frantically pulsing remix of a song called “Floating” by Jape. I had forgotten about the track until recently, when the mix tape in question showed up under my bed. I decided it was time to find out more about Jape.
The much calmer, original version of “Floating” was famously overheard by The Raconteurs’ lead singer as he walked past an Irish pub where Jape were performing. The Raconteurs have often covered the song in live shows, and Jape probably owes a few of their fans to that fact.
“Floating” and “Autumn Summer” come from opposite ends of Jape’s debut LP, The Monkeys at the Zoo Have More Fun Than Me. It’s a quirky record, and not particularly of its time; it was released in 2004, but sounds to me (and this is by no means a criticism) like it’s about ten years older. Many of the songs would be right at home on Beck’s Mellow Gold or an early demo by Self or The Beta Band. Even the album’s title sounds like something you’d see on a t-shirt at Lollapalooza in 1995.
While “Floating” is certainly catchier, “Autumn Summer” is a special song. If I ever make another real-life mix tape, I might end with this one.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. I’ve mentioned before (and before) that the augmented fourth of the Lydian mode really gets me. The main melody in the verse uses this mode, and provides a chilly, autumn-like mood.
2. About halfway through, the Lydian mode is abandoned in favour of a predominantly hopeful, summer-like major chord progression.
3. The sound isn’t exactly tinny, but it’s not very bassy either. It’s all about the mid-range frequencies; the ones that come across most clearly on your standard early-90s era tape deck.
Recommended listening activity:
Holding your phone on your shoulder like a tiny boom box.