The Problems of a Well Made Mixtape

Mixtapes.

Here is the Wikipedia Definition of a Mixtape:

" generic name given to any compilation of songs recorded onto a Compact Cassette, Compact Disc, music file, or any other audio format. A mixtape, which usually reflects the musical tastes of its compiler, can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a theme or mood, to a highly personal statement tailored to the tape's intended recipient."

The first time I made a mixtape was in elementary school. Somehow I had acquired a whole pack of blank cassette tapes. Don't ask me how- it just happened. (We have already covered more than a few times that I was a weird kid). With these tapes, I had endless possibilities. Most kids at this time recorded songs off the radio and such. Not me. I decided to recorded bits of songs off of cds I already owned on to a cassette tape. Genius? - No, but I thought I was one. It was entitled none other than "Shelby's Hit Clip Mix".

The first mixtape I received was at another elementary school birthday party. My best friend, Whitney, burnt me a cd of all my favorite songs at the time. She had one of those nifty programs that you could even make labels with. My birthday mixtape (which is still in my possession) was decorated in a rainbow of crayola crowns. It was shiny and absolutely beautiful and extremely well made. Off the top of my head I can recall a few tracks:

• I've Never had a Dream Come True by 7 Club Seven
• From A.M. to P.M. by Christina Milian
• Roller coaster Ride by Jump 5

By the time high school rolled around, mixtapes became a way of life- it lacked the luster. My best friends and I literally made one for everything. Oh- we are going to taco bell tonight? NEW MIXTAPE. Oh- we are driving three blocks? NEW MIXTAPE. Oh, we are going to school? NEW MIXTAPE. I even received one from my high school cheer coach. She had each of us write down our favorite song at the time. Of course, my best friend Suzanne & I chose some weird alternative song that did not fit with the rest of the choices. I remember quite well that Suzanne's pick was "Lying is the Most fun a Girl can Have Without Taking off her Clothes" by Panic at the Disco. No one questioned our weird choices though because quite frankly we were us. The mixtape was obviously a flop. Telling 14 or so girls to choose their favorite song, then trying to make them coincide just doesn't really work when you do not have 14 stereotypical cheerleaders. To make matters even worse, the CD was entitled "Cheerlious" ....None of us had the heart to tell our coach it was spelled wrong.

The last mixtape I received is actually the backbone for tonight's blog (prepare yourselves).

I attend classes on Monday and Wednesday in a town thirty minutes away, so I spend a lot of the time alone in the car. While toiling with the fact that I am not going to be able to eat till noon or creating ideas to blog, I simply get lonely. When the loneliness is too much, I turn to the radio. Music can solve any situation and simply make the drive go by smoothly. The other day, the radio cut to one of those poorly-written, cheesy, morning talk shows. & so began the hunt for a good cd.

For those who don't know me, you think this might be a simple task- but no. I have a pile of about 40 some cds in my console. I have not gotten rid of a single mixtape made since elementary school. The crappy ones, the sad ones, the random ones- they are still there. Shiny, some sticky from a soda spill or two. While playing "Eenie Meenie" with the array of choices, I reached for a lovely gold one. It had a swirl design- it was not one I recalled off the top of my head. After a few seconds into the first song, I remembered why.

This wasn't just a mixtape given to me with no meaning. It wasn't meant for a drive to get myself a crunchy taco. This was a mixtape given to me by a boy (long gone), which is why it was buried so deep in the pile...To make matters worse, I loved every song on the cd, which is why things have become problematic. Listening to this cd, not knowing it's meaning, is a joyous occasion. I sing along. I rap a little bit. I pretend I'm Carried Underwood or Beyonce. I'm kind of the most talented car singer you will ever meet. Just saying. Then, five seconds later, I remember why I have this great cd. The memory of the great cd, brings back the memories of a boy long gone. Now, you may be wondering "why isn't she with said boy with awesome music tastes"? Well because frankly, it wasn't really much of a relationship (though it was Facebook official for like a month). This whole scenario is just a slippery slope like the book "If you give a mouse a cookie".

So here are the major problems I find with a well made mixtape:

1. You might never have one better than it: Reaching the ultimate combination of sweet tracks is not just an everyday achievement. You may have to wait years or decades before achieving a mixtape as great as the one of the past.
2. The songs on it remind you of said mixtape: Some of these songs might be your favorites. You might listen to them daily, then SPLAT! They are put on a fantastic mixtape and when listening to them, you always hope for it to be followed by the next track. You then face disappointment as you realize you weren't listening to said mixtape.
3. Questioning Judgements: If you are facing a similar scenario to myself, your friends might question your judgements. Most people do not get attached to cds. They simply see them as a disposal item. YOU CAN'T THROW AWAY THOUGHTS AND DREAMS. That's what music is to me. This songs take me to places I can't go to in my podunk town. Throwing away a great mixtape, is throwing away all the dreams you have while listening to it. As long as you can cope with the fact that at one point it had a different meaning, you are a-okay.
4. Lou, Lou, Skip to My Lou: The dreaded skip from a dreaded scratch. The moment when you are really into your favorite mixtape then all of a sudden it happens. You are singing a long to "Flagpole sitta" and the lyrics go from "I'm not sick but I'm not well" into complete jibberish. It's a cringe worth moment that I know all to well. 
5.  Songs get overplayed: When a mixtape is so good you don't want to switch it, your car companions and friends might begin to hate you. Most people can only listen to a song so many times before they stop enjoying it. I have never been one of these people, but I'm sure my friends are. I have worn out many a songs for them. 
6. With a damn good mixtape, comes damn good responsibility: When making mixtapes for others, if you make them a fantastic one, you are always living up to that standard. If you set the bar to high, you might become a constant failure in future endeavors of mixtape making.

As far as this mixtape in particular goes, it took me only a few moments to look past the original meaning. I listened to it in its entirety. It is now located back in the pile resting till the time again when it meets my cd player. 

& that's all folks.

Simply Shelby Sue

P.s. If you are making a mixtape, also beware of what songs you are putting on it when giving it to someone special. The less creepy, the better. Try not to look like me in this really messed up gif.

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

It's the most wonderful time of the year, with the teens all
fan girling, and everyone telling you "One Direction's here"
It's the most wonderful time of the year
It's the hap-happiest season of all. With those video greetings and celebrities meetings,. When stars come to brawl,
It's the hap- happiest season of all
There's a red carpet for toasting, Kevin Hart's hosting, And K-Stew's left out of the show. There'll be scary fashion choices, And tales of the glories of VMA's long, long ago.
It's the most wonderful time of the year .
There will be way too much tweeting,And our hearts will be beating, When our celebrity crushes are on our TV,
It's the most wonderful time of the year!

THE MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS!

Being a pop culture obsessed, young adult- I live for almost any award show. Award shows and me go together like a like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong . But the VMA's hold a special place in my heart. Everything about this award show is just great. From fan girling over-load to the insane and somewhat questionable fashion choices, every aspect is more than a little wonderful. Plus it honors the original purpose of MTV here. HELLO. "Music Television". Celebrating the music videos of the year, it honors celebrities for their work in the industry. It recaps all the catchy, overplayed songs that you cannot help, but love. Don't lie- after slinging down 6 shots last Friday night, you attempted to rap Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass" and failed quite terribly. And who hasn't been guilty of serenading themselves with a little One Direction?

SPOILER ALERT:

So for your blogging pleasure, here are my rants and raves from the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards:

• Pink's performance of "Blow Me One Last Kiss" : Pink is wonderful. She always has been and always will be. Her CD Missundaztood was my first explicit cd I owned; it was a gift from one of my best friends at my fourth grade birthday party. It is still on my list of best birthday presents ever. I cannot even think of one single track that I disliked. I had choreographed routine to the album titled track "Missundaztood"; I really want to attempt to remember it, but right now I'm quite comfortable on my couch. Back to her performance- she didn't over do it. She stood true to Pink. She did her thing and had a hell of a performance. Plus teasing us with "I'm coming out so you better get the party started" did not hurt in the least.
  
• Nicki Minaj's Outfit: No one looks good in black tight spandex, with red stripping. Plus adding the glitter.And does she not know yellow hair is associated with Lady Gaga?   Girl, you could do so much better. I prefer her 2011 VMA outfit. Overload of pink, bows, and all things fuzzy, it was much more her.
  
•  Andy Samberg and Rashinda Jones : I love them. Excellent partnering choice MTV. Enough said.
  
• One Direction: Don't get me wrong, I'm occasionally quite the Directioner, but this is a rant. Sure they looked adorable as ever, their hair was great, and then there is their accents. (Swoon). Here is my rant. Obviously, they have a huge fan base. Pinning them up against every other artist really is not fair. Losing an award, just won't happen or the die hard Directioners will hurt themselves. I just feel like in situations like these that there should be a limit on how many awards you are nominated for. Plus when they are pinning them up against some of my other loves, the pain kills me. I can only handle so much fan-girling emotions.
  
• Rebel Wilson: "Who Wants to be the chip in my dip?" ....still laughing. I love you Rebel. If you don't know who Rebel Wilson is by name, you should know her by movie. She play's Kristen Wig's weird roommate in "Bridesmaids". You know the one that get's a free tattoo from a guy in a van? Add her to the list of people that I want to be best friends with.
  
• Kevin Hart: By far, one of the best choices for host MTV could have made (much better than Russel Brand). He had the right sense of humor for this type of award show fan base. It was funny for young adults like myself and the pre-teens still laughed. He did an excellent job having a witty comment for any type of viewer. From the Drake & Chris Brown brawl to bringing in some basketball lingo, he couldn't have done better. Well, except for the fact that he sided with K-Stew (Team Rob all the way).
  
• Ke$ha: Rant and rave. For some reason, her outfit really bugged me. It just did not seem to fit her. She just looked too classy to be Ke$ha, which I should give her credit for. Being half naked and still looking classy must mean something. Outfit aside, she made my day when she announced her new album. It's about time. I can only get sleazy for so long before I question my morals.
  
• 2 Chainz: I did not know who he was until tonight. Just so you all know.
  
• Lil Wayne: Only Lil Wayne could pull off Donnie Thornberry styled shorts and still look badass. Even though most of his performance sounded like "bleeep. bleeep. bleeep. bleeep" on my television at home, I'm sure it was fantastic live.
  
• Green Day: For some reason, I had no idea Green Day was as old as they are. At least they have aged well. 40 years old and they are still rocking out like they are 20.  Their performance was what the VMA's are about. Simply playing music, not giving a damn, and doing what an artist does best. As Rebecca Black best said, "Partying Partying".
  
• Twilight Exclusive Clip: Much anticipated, frankly to see who was presenting. Thank the lord, no K-Stew in sight. Rob Pat, Taylor Lautner, Peter Facinelli, and Elizabeth Reaser presented the exclusive clip for the final movie. It's unbelievable that it has come to an end. "Breaking Dawn" was by far my favorite of the three books. The movie, part one, was very disappointing. From talking wolves to terribly dramatic scenes, it failed to impress me. I'm worried the third could possibly be the same. Just from the clip, seeing K-Stew attacking a mountain lion already made me giggle. Here's to hoping the movie is much better than the clip.
  
• The FAB 5: Public speaking obviously isn't their best subject. But they have a bunch of gold medals, so I will let it go. I would trade my speech skills just to have a bit of their gymnastic talents any day though. Plus Gabby Douglas totally made Alicia Key's performance tolerable.
  
• Rihanna & Katy Perry Hoe-Mance: I guess Hoe-mance is the proper term of a female Bromance; if it is not, well then I'm making it one. Watching the two whisper, giggle, and sing to each other the entire evening just made me miss my best friend.
  
• T-Swift's Performance: I loved it. I really like how she incorporated the theme of her music video into her stage performance. Her outfit was simple and not over done. Plus, I love this song. I shamelessly sang along when she asked the audience to. #SorryImNotSorry

Only 365 days till I get to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year again. Thank the lord MTV likes to replay the VMA's a lot of times for my viewing pleasure.

Simply Shelby Sue

P.s. Since the lack of blogging this past week, look for a new post in the next few days. You keep reading, I'll keep posting.

I've Always Fancied a Good Cup Of Joe.

I tend to gravitate towards things with the letter J.

• I really like jello and strawberry jam. I love Jalapeno flavored potato chips- especially the baked kind. I could sustain myself the rest of my life off of beef jerky. I always have a can of Jiff peanut butter in my possession. Jolly Time popcorn (butterlicious) >>>> anything else. Junior mints. Yes, I eat them outside the movie theater [gasp].Jolly ranchers will forever be delicious and rewarding. Then there is juice and who doesn't love juice? 
• "Juno" is a quality movie, of which I was obsessed with in high school. As a cheerleader, we had to dress up for Courtwarming Spirit days and stuff. I forget what the theme of the day was, but I came to school impersonating a pregnant Ellen page carrying around a thing of Sunny D. [I was cool].
• I have always wanted to own a jeep. 
• Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey was one of my favorite movies as a child, which I begged my mom to rent on VHS quite frequently. 
• The months of June and July are the best months of the Summer season.
• Jasmine is one of the coolest Disney princesses. She has a pet tiger for crying out loud
• I have laughed at one or more of the Jimmy Dean breakfast commercials. There is just something about a man in giant sun costume that carries just a tid-bit of humor.
• Two Words:Aunt Jemima.
• Journalism is pretty nifty. 
• I love Jazz music. 
• I can't juggle though.
• The Joker is my favorite batman villain  (Due to my best friend's obsession with Heath Ledger. She even named her first car after him).
• Jack-O-Lanterns come from the letter J and Halloween is the best holiday of the year. 

 Obviously, J is just a badass letter.

Jealousy is probably one of the few bad things that come out of the word J. Well that, and quite a few ex-boyfriends. Even in my "love" life, I tend to gravitate towards the letter J. 80% of the guys I have talked to, went on dates with, or courted have had a first name starting with a J. Maybe it's because I wanted to continue on my mother's family tradition of everyone having "J names"; since I couldn't do it by myself, I thought I'd marry one. Secretly I have a grudge against her for not naming me something starting with a J. Here are some cool "J names" I could have been called , with ways they would have been catchy:

• Jaxine ...."Jaxxxxinee, you don't have to put on the red light"
• Janet. I've one thing to say and that's Dammit, Janet I love you. (If you don't get that reference, watch "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" right now. Seriously. Do it).
• Jacaranda (I'm just simply Jacaranda Sue).

So maybe my mom saw how great of a person I was going to be and thought that Shelby was much more fit. I just think if I had a "J name" I would be more likely to date another letter of the alphabet. The problem with me gravitating towards "J names" is that there are only so many and eventually I'm going to run out. And after twenty years of life on this planet, I think I might have found the most popular J name out there. I have many personal experiences with it. Many of my favorite celebrities icons are named it. One survey says that there are over 2,000,000 in the United States alone. It's ranked number 9 or higher on multiple lists for "most common male names". What is the name you ask? Joseph.

The Many Josephs of My Life

• My Grandpa does not know if his real first name is Joseph or Eugene. The courthouse burnt down and with it burnt his birth certificate records. My great grandmother could not exactly remember if it was Joseph Eugene or Eugene Joseph (weird right?). He goes by Eugene Joseph, but who knows. His real legal name could be Joseph Eugene. 
• One of my best friends longest relationships was to a guy named Joseph. This story is hers to tell, but if I had a list entitled "people I really did not care for that I barely knew", he would be number one.
• One of my friends dated a guy named Joseph in the fifth grade. I sat next to him in our class. Since I like you all so much, I'll tell you an embarrassing story involving this particular Joseph. I have already informed you all that I was a very strange child (dreaming of riding llamas as my future career and such). Well, weird carried through with me in all aspects of life- Starting with breakfast. I can never remember eating a completely normal breakfast. From burritos to blocks of cheese, I ate what I felt like. Well on one morning in particular, I decided I wanted garlic toast. (You toasted the bread, buttered it, and then sprinkled garlic powder all over it). Not just one serving, but two were stuffed into my mouth. You'd think being the smart kid I was, I would have known that the smell of garlic stays with you all day (even after brushing your teeth). To save this long story from becoming a novel, this kid named Joseph was burdened of sitting next to me on this day. Garlic and all. My gum and mints could not save either of us. Luckily, it was the first day that bastard named Edward Cullen left me alone.
• My longest high school relationship was to a guy named Joseph. Our relationship started off at a volleyball game where my best friend and I called him some obnoxious name to get him to come over and talk with us. If flirting were an Olympic sport, I would be the water girl for the team.

Wikipedia lists these Joseph's as important people:

• Joe Camel: Cigarette Mascot
• Joey Chestnut: Competitive Eater
• Joe Pasquale: Won the 4th series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

But not only do Josephs seem to have a prevalence in my life history, Joseph is the name of many of my Hollywood friends. Okay, well they are not my real friends per se. But if they met me, we would like this [doing the whole finger cross gesture thing].

Celebrities associated with the name Joseph that are awesome and you know it:

• Joey Zimmerman: This kid, though his character is slightly annoying, is one Joseph that I am quite envious of.  He only is from one of my favorite Disney Channel Original movies, playing Marnie Piper's little brother Dylan. For those of you reading that aren't Disney Channel Original Movie fanatics, he was in "Halloweentown" (and all the sequels). He got to go to a magical town full of crazy creatures. Eventually, if my memory does not mistake me, he even gets to become a warlock. How cool is that? 
• Joseph Fatone: He only tore up up our hearts with the likes of Justin Timberlake, Jc Chasez, Lance Bass, and Chris Kirpatrick in a little band called 'N Sync. He's wonderful, as are the rest of his former band mates. He also had a big comeback by taking second place on Dancing with the Stars in 2007. He is a very big deal.
• Joey King: This Joey is actually female, but she deserves to be on the list. She's only 13 years old and has more street cred in Hollywood than I ever will. She gets to play the daughter of Steve Carell in "Crazy Stupid Love", which makes her a co-star of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. Enough said right there. Not only that, but she played Ramona in "Romana and Beezus" alongside Selena Gomez. She had a lead role in a adaptation of the classic Beverly Cleary novels. This kid knows what she is doing.
• Joey Ramone: (who's actually name is Jeffrey, but since he is known as Joey I am making him acceptable) He was only apart of a little band called the "Romanes". He only wrote a little song called "I wanna be sedated". That little song was only one of my older sisters and mine favorites of all time. It was only in a little movie called "Carpool", which is only one of my favorite films of all time. If this is not reason enough, Joey and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. 
• Joey Tribbiani: Let's face it, after this role Matt LeBlanc will never be called Matt again. Friends was on air for ten years. Ending when I was in the 6th grade, it took up a pretty big chunk of my adolescence. Joey and Phoebe were obviously my favorite characters. Joey as a child had an imaginary friend, that was a space cowboy by the name of Maurice (obviously Joey could be Carl and mines best friend too). & then with his catch phrase, "how you doing" , he was destined to be one of the coolest Josephs in history.

 & most importantly:

• Joseph Gordon Levitt: It's times like these that I wish I went to Hogwarts. I would make a magic potion, wave my wand, and create my own Joseph Gordon Levitt to love, and hug, and squeeze em to death. But sadly, my acceptance letter never came on my eleventh birthday so I just have to admire Joseph Gordon Levitt from the pages of the interweb. From "Angels in the Outfield" to "Ten Things I Hate About You", this love started at a young age. I remember sitting in the outfield of softball games wishing that if I flapped my arms, I would have the ability to see and talk to angels too. Instead of swooning over a young Heath Ledger, I thought the new, awkward, slightly nerdy Levitt was the bees knees. Bianca did not deserve him. Joseph won me over completely when accepting the role of Tom in "500 Days of Summer". Co-starring with Zooey Deschanel (who will eventually get a blog post all of her own), this movie is easily in my top 5 favorites. It for once tells the true story of life. It skips the candy coating, and let's us take a straight, sharp bite into reality. Oh, and he is kind of Robin in the third installment of the Batman trilogy "The Dark Knight Rises". Joseph (if you are reading this), I was Robin for Halloween once. It's just another reason you should like me.

Well, I'm all J'd out. But to end this post, here is one of my favorite quotes from the only Joseph Gordon Levitt (at least the interweb said he said it. who knows if that's true):

"A lot of boys and girls think their lives will have meaning if they find a partner who wants nothing else in life but them. That's not healthy. That's falling in love with the idea of a person, not the actual person"

Simply Shelby Sue

 

P.s. I know most of you are wondering why I did not mention the obvious Uncle Joey from the classic family sitcom, "Full House". Well he is creepy and I really don't like him. Sure, when I was little I thought doing his "cut , it, out" hand motions was pretty fantastic. Now that I'm older, I only see him as the creepy, voice impersonator friend of Bob Saget's living in a basement in a household of little girls (who resemble Uncle Joey, more than daddy Danny-just saying).