The Days and Nights of Gary & Flipper

As promised here is my first report from the archealogical dig that is my collection of cassettes. 

This mix tape was made for me by my good buddy CJB and its re-discovery could not be better timed since I am going to see the Afghan Whigs perform at Metro this Friday night. 

There are actually five Whigs tracks on the mix even though only four are listed.  The untitled track that ends Congregation comes directly after "Kiss The Floor" at the end of Side A.  

So I am going to say with five tracks off of that landmark Whigs album that it is likely that this mix tape was compiled sometime late 1992 or early 1993; this tape would have been a "correspondence tape" between two friends.  A way to close the miles apart and share what the current soundtrack to your days sounded like. 

This is a really solid, rocking tape and it holds up very well. The only tracks that feel off to me are the Big Star contributions which are a little too sparse and fragile in comparison to the more muscular sounds of their surroundings.

I like the limited palette of this mix which is surprising because often I consider that a faux pas or at least laziness.

Six of the 14 bands get two cuts or more with the Afghan Whigs being the clear winner.  (Gary?  Flipper?)

CJB did an undergrad stint at downstate University of Illinois.  This is significant because the three tracks attributed to H. are by a band called Honcho Overload that was pretty decent and deserved to make it beyond the local scene but didn't.  I am glad to have some audio record of them. 

 

I also really dig the having such a great example of CJB's precise handwriting.  While there isn't much to say in the way of cover art, you can tell he took his time to transmit the important information with care.  

The inside of the J-card has this quizzical thing on it:

This has to be an inside joke that has been obliterated from my memory bank. 

All in all, "The Days and Nights of Gary & Flipper" is a great mix that is evocative of the Grunge Boom (& its forebears) despite having just one band from Seattle present and accounted for. 

Nice one CJB!