Something beautiful.

A friend of mine keeps the mixtape tradition alive, from time to time burning me a CD of various random tracks that she thinks I would (or at least should) like. Sometimes she gets it right, turning me on to something I've never heard before or reminding me of something I'd loved but forgotten. Sometimes she gets it terribly wrong, causing me to wonder if she chose to slip something horrible in to make sure I'm listening, but it doesn't matter; it's the friendship, the care the goes into the choosing, that makes each one a precious gift.

I still make "mixtapes"occasionally: for my special friends, or new friends, or for people who simply want to know me better. The pleasure of looking for the right song and putting it in the right order for the right person is itself a pleasure. I try to imagine their faces as they listen to it, wondering if they'll get the connections between the songs, or understand why I chose it, or even if they'll like what I've done.

My friend put the song below on a CD for me. I'm not a fan of the song, and had never heard of the singer, but I was spellbound, then moved almost to tears by the end of her rendition of it. The late Eva Cassidy, singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".



Rob Sheffield, a writer for Rolling Stone, recently published a book about his relationship with Renee, the woman who became his wife, and who died too soon, in a book titled Love Is A Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time. It's a poignant, sweet, and funny book. I highly recommend it.

And speaking of things I highly recommend and mixtapes, I can't not put in a word about one of the best musicians you've never heard of - Butch Walker - and his song "Mixtape" from his album, Letters. This is one of his ballads, but let me assure you, if you like the rock n' roll, you need to get you some Butch in your life (also look for recordings by Marvelous 3 and 1969, bands that he's been a part of).