In the 2000 movie "High Fidelity," record store owner and all-around music snob Rob (John Cusack) notes, "A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem." This is because a mix-tape, or whatever else you might put a well thought-out playlist on, is like a soundtrack to a life-it can't be finished in five minutes, and it involves agonizing over an entire music library and then agonizing even more over an order to it.
I myself, as a wannabe music snob (my secret love of Vanessa Carlton and *NSYNC put an end to that ambition), have made many a mix-tape, usually with creative names like "Spring 2001." But as graduation looms, it's officially time to put together The Duke Mix-Tape. These are the songs that I listened to constantly, that defined certain semesters and that I only understood once I actually experienced them. You may agree with all of my picks, or just some. You might even hate my taste in music and think it pretentious, emo or just plain bad-take your pick.
But then again, who knows what I'd think about your mix-tapes?
Outkast: "Hey Ya"-There's no better way to start a mix-tape than with an upbeat, fast-paced song. And what better a candidate for that than "Hey Ya," which played incessantly throughout my freshman year. Add in a few sexually tinged lyrics and the request to "shake it like a Polaroid picture," and you've pretty much summed up every frat party I went to that year.
Green Day: "Basket Case"-Because we all get crazy sometimes.
Ben Folds: "Not The Same"-I started listening to Ben Folds sophomore year, at about the same time the Union, executing its best concert-related decision so far, booked him to play at Page (Jason Mraz, you've got a lot to live up to). This song in particular hooked me because of all its talk-both good and bad-about how people change. It was what first gave me the idea, "Look at me! I've changed, I'm an upperclassman now."
Unfortunately that didn't mean my freshman mistakes changed, too.
Relient K: "I So Hate Consequences"-Speaking of mistakes, this is the anthem for every one of those hungover Sundays where you think, "What just happened?" It also works for those Sundays when there are a midterm and two papers due the next day and you haven't started any of them.
Stars: "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"-All of us have had at least one painful experience with love. (Or like. Or lust. Whatever.) But the tricky part about a college with a smallish campus is that you still end bumping into the person over and over again. This song makes it just a little less painful.
Pennywise: "Land Down Under"-Like many Dukies, I decided to spend the fall semester of my junior year getting as far away from Durham as possible, i.e. spending five months by a beach in Australia. This is the ultimate Australian anthem but with a twist. Since it's a punk cover, it's a littler faster, a little dirtier-just like the experience itself.
Oasis: "Wonderwall"-For every time that you're a little tipsy, and that guy down the hall just happens to take out his acoustic guitar. Because this is the song that always gets played.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "(I've Got A) Date With The Night"-The I'm-going-out-to-get-trashed song.
Eve6: "Here's To The Night"-The obligatory graduation song. But what makes this unbeatable is actually its music video. In it, the lead singer tapes a farewell party, seeing it only through the lens of the camera. To him, the present is already the past-as is the case for many seniors, myself included, who began waxing nostalgic about Duke weeks and even months ago.
But don't expect me to start tearing up: As long as the music is cranked up, I'm ready for whatever may come.
Alex Frydman is a Trinity senior. She is content editor for recess.
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