Old Friend Checking In...

Matt here. When I heard about the idea, I was immediately on board. The last mix I put together was over ten years ago. I gave it to my girlfriend when she went off to college. I don't quite remember, but it also may have included a bonus track of me doing a cover of Your Song (like I said, the details are fuzzy).

But music for me has always been about making connections with friends...

There's nothing better than discovering (and rediscovering) songs or artists to share with the friends you know are going to love them, or even better, finding songs that will push their tastes a little bit outside the lines. The music a man recommends says a lot about him. Everyone knows the guy who just memorizes lists of every underground band that's put out an album this month, so he can win the band naming game, but he's not the true player. Take the time, find the songs.

Beginnings

All this began with reminiscing on the past. Making mixtapes with a friend. Combining libraries and having a literal conversation with tunes. I was thinking that with email, it would be easy to start doing this again. No more messy rewinding and fast-forwarding the cassette deck. I decided my roommate Dave would be the perfect guinea pig. We have combined our music libraries thanks to the newest iTunes update, so we wouldn't even have to email tracks, just the track names.

I sent him the following email:

So I want to do a playlist by correspondence.... I'll hit u with a track, then you take some time and find the next track... If you've got a nice 1-2 punch, hit me with two tracks. Whatcha think?

G

He replied:

Honestly dude, sounds like something I'd be terrible at keeping up with...and maybe a little gay. We have all the same music, don't we?

Admittedly, Dave is a pretty busy guy, racking up Emmys, tirelessly chasing down stories in the sports broadcasting world. But I figured this was still a good idea. Screw Dave...

I emailed my old friend Matt, and he loved the idea. All I needed was the perfect song to start the mix....