| Your mission was to put together a mix tape that could raise the furrowed eyebrows of even us jaded "sigh, nothing can surprise me" music geeks, and boy, did you all rise to the occasion. While nearly (again, "nearly") every single entry was outstanding, the three winners of this year’s Mix Tape Awards showed exceptionally creative efforts with three submissions to file under "keepers." Sincere thanks to everyone who participated – we’ll be watching for your entries next year.
In first place is Cleo Dawn Brown with her – omigosh – incredible Atari and Nintendo-inspired MIDI adventure entitled "Soundtrack to My 8 Bit Dreams." Yep, I said "MIDI." (Bleep-bloppin’ fun!) Extra points for brazen unconventionality. Arcade addicts of the ’80s, we have found our joystick soundtrack. Close to the beginning of Side A, there’s an all too familiar ditty from Colecovision’s Mouse Trap. Oh yeah – pass the cheese doodles. As for packaging, "8 Bit Dreams" was delivered in an incredible sewn and taped booklet. The cassette itself was duct-taped to look like the control panel on R2-D2… or, uh, something.
A good way to gauge the success of the upbeat version of a mix tape is figuring out if it would pass at a dream party. I know that I’d want to be at the beach or basement party starring our second place winner’s mix tape. Anna Patanao’s soulful and summery "Out All Night" mix (you should be a soundtrack co-ordinator for Hollywood, sister) is jazzy, sassy and everything a tape should be – it has tons of splashy attitude that leaps from the speakers. Very befitting of the ’60s Ocean’s 11 Rat Pack – it could leave anyone pining for the Las Vegas of old.
In third place is Mike Angus’s "Field Sample no. 001" – you could just about smell the country dirt road by listening to this mix. From the railroad on the cassette’s cover (and the sound effects of a distant, howling train) to the perfect mood-setting introductory track ("Alvin’s Theme" by Angelo Badalamenti), this mellow mix smacked of driving across the Canadian prairies. As Angus wrote in his submission, "(I)ts pace and concepts are best appreciated in your car, on a dirt road, late at night, chasing trains in the dark." Too true.
Congratulations to you all. I wish we could hand out CD players to everybody, but then what would you have to look forward to next year?
Here are the winning mixes:
FIRST PLACE
Cleo Dawn Brown’s "Soundtrack to My 8 Bit Dreams"
Side A:
· "Frogger Theme"
· Mirah - "1982 (Atari)"
· Kung Fu Master - "Stage One"
· Venture - "Goblin Room; Skeleton Room; Snake Room"
· Mouse Trap - "Second 2 Levels"
· The Capricorns - "Nintendo Song"
· Super Mario - "Star; Underground; Overworld"
· Adventure Island - "Level 2"
· Bubble Bobble - "Main; Level 100"
· Contra - "Stage One; Waterfall"
· Blaster Master - "Intro; Level 3"
· Legend of Zelda - "Title; Overworld"
· Final Fantasy - "Battle; Town"
· Mega Man - "Cut Man; Elec Man"
· Battle Toads - "Level 3"
· Mega Man 2 - "Quick Man"
· Star Tropics - "Underworld"
· Chip ’n’ Dale Rescue Rangers - "Zone A"
Side B:
· Mike Tyson’s Punch Out - "Piston Honda; Boxing Match"
· Star Wars - "Mos Eisley"
· Super Dodgeball - "Title; USA"
· Blaster Master - "Level 3"
· Super Mario 2 - "Level; Underworld"
· Super Mario 3 - "Field; Fortress; Boom Boom"
· Faxanadu - "Daybreak; First Town (2); Death"
· Little Nemo - "Stage 1; Stage 7"
· Gauntlet - "A"
· Kid Icarus - "Stage 1"
· Star Tropics - "Underworld"
· Chip ’n’ Dale Rescue Rangers - "Zone A"
· The Immortal - "Title; Image of Wizard Morda Mir"
· Shadowgate - "Theme; Subterranean Lake"
· Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - "Underworld; DAM"
· Digdug - "Theme"
SECOND PLACE
Anna Patanao’s "Out All Night"
Side A:
· Ramsey Lewis - "Wade In the Water"
· Lulu - "Stealing My Love From Me"
· Etta James and Sugar Pie Desanto - "In the Basement"
· Little Richard - "It Ain’t Watcha Do"
· Bobby Powell - "Funky Broadway ’69"
· Billy Stewart - "Summertime"
· The Mar-Keys - "Last Night"
· The Mohawks - "The Champ"
· Booker T. and the MGs - "Hip Hug-her"
· The Spencer Davis Group - "Trampoline"
· Dave "Baby" Cortez - "Searchin’"
· Sunny and the Sunliners - "Hip Huggin’ Mini"
· King Curtis - "Memphis Soul Stew"
· E. Rodney Jones - "R&B Time"
· Etta James - "Tell Mama"
· Tony Michaels - "I Love the Life I Live"
Side B:
· The Drifters - "At the Club"
· The Equals - "Hold Me Closer"
· Soul Brothers Six - "Some Kind of Wonderful"
· Tony Clarke - "The Entertainer"
· Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell - "California Soul"
· Rufus Thomas - "Walking the Dog"
· Mamie Galone - "It Ain’t Necessary"
· Rufus Lumley - "I’m Standing"
· Edwin Starr - "Agent Double O Soul"
· King Coleman - "Get on Board"
· The Spinners - "It’s a Shame"
· Wilson Pickett - "Get Me Back on Time"
· Richard "Groove" Holmes - "Groovin’ with Mr G"
· Trudi Pitts - "The Spanish Flea"
· Burt Bacharach - "Bond Street"
· Dave Cortez - "Yeh Yeh"
THIRD PLACE
Mike Angus’s "Field Sample no. 001"
Side A:
· Angelo Badalamenti - "Alvin’s Theme"
· Neil Young - "Sugar Mountain"
· Elliott Smith - "Between the Bars"
· Nick Drake - "Fly"
· Weakerthans - "Left and Leaving"
· Wilco - "Reservations (live)"
· Ron Sexsmith - "While You’re Waiting"
· Stompin’ Tom - "Sudbury Saturday Night"
Side B:
· Rheostatics - "Saskatchewan (live)"
· Robb Angus - "Neil Young"
· Old Reliable - "Tiny Rivers"
· Kathleen Edwards - "Failer"
· Turbinado - "Emily Carr"
· Gordon Downie - "Insomniacs" |
Copyright ©2003 FFWD. All rights reserved.