I just finished Joe Meno’s “Hairstyles of the Damned” which may not be the best written book in the world, but it is one of the few that I really want to read again. As an ex-hardcore kid, I can say that there isn’t much that the book made me miss about being a teenager, but I do miss 2 things: My Misfits “Walk among Us” tape (there were no CDs back then), and man, do I miss getting mix tapes from people.

Mix tapes introduced me to Judas Priest, Social Distortion, T.S.O.L., A.C., Murphy’s Law, The Dead Kennedys, and even Slayer. For me, getting a mix tape from someone was pretty damned cool because it was like having my own 90 minute radio station DJ’d just for me. Plus, even if the tape sucked, you had to appreciate how hard the thing was to put together. Making a mix tape required picking songs that were obscure enough to be cool, yet not so far out that the person wouldn’t like them. You had to worry about ordering, pacing and the common thread that would pull the whole thing together. And when complete, you had to cleverly title your mix tape, like “Mix tape for El Senior Douche Head.”

Because most teenage girls have no idea how to make a mix tape, I think most of the worst mix tapes I got were from chicks. They were always beyond ultra super gay, and usually indicated that the chick was going to break up with me at some point in the near future. The best one I ever got was from THE only truly punk kid that I ever knew. I can remember listening to the thing over and over not even knowing who all the bands on it were until years later. The tape was light years ahead of its time. I know that tape burned in a house fire, but sometimes I wonder what happened to that kid. He was pretty fucked up back then, and I always hope that he eventually got a little house, a little wife, and a bunch of neighbors that like him despite all the tattoos.

Then, soon after, I just hope he’s not dead.

Do you ever wonder how many people are thinking about you right now?

Posted in Books