Like many other people in my generation, I express myself through musical compilations. You know: Playlists and such. Ten years ago, it was making a CD mix. Before that, it was making a mix tape.

I was a prolific mix-tape maker. They weren’t all good. In fact it wasn’t uncommon for me to record the tape and five minutes later completely discard it. There were some tapes that hit the bottom of the pile before they were even finished being made. But some were good. Really good, in fact. So good, I can still remember the song line up or the tape it was recorded on.

Making mix tapes was a passion of mine, just like making playlists is today. I still find a special kind of enjoyment in the making of a good mix. But making a mix tape was different, because there was no changing the mix on the fly. Once a tape was recorded, it was no longer a blank slate. It was a thought already shared.

Making a really good mix was a mixture of things, at least for me. First, it had to have a good genotype. It couldn’t just be 18 Nirvana songs or “My Own Personal Neil Young Greatest Hits.” It needed to have a composition that was a representation of divergent feelings or themes. While some very good mixes did have a singular theme (yes, I’m thinking of you mix tape I made the day I graduated high school; the flavor of the day was “kiss off”), most of my best work was a mixture of all the music I enjoyed. It was definitely not uncommon to find Scarface followed by Clannad.

Second, the tape needed to stand up to repeated listenings, which means the tape quality needed to be above average. It was hard to get good quality tapes in the town where I grew up, so I would frequently buy them when my family traveled. And I would buy them at something like 15 at a time. As I said, I made a lot of tapes.

These were the two most important things to me: A good genetic make-up and a quality tape to record on. Sometimes a good title added to the experience, but it wasn’t necessary.

So anyway, I made a lot of mix tapes. So many, in fact, that it became the way I prepared for anything that was important to me. Vacations, for example, got their very own mix tape — maybe two if it was a long trip. And then while we were at the vacation locale, I would probably make a tape for the return trip.

Which brings us to today and our new feature: “Rockford’s Mixtape Remix.” Over the course of an as yet undisclosed period of time (probably until I run out of tapes to write about), I will be going through my collection of mix tapes, sharing the set list and the story behind the tape (if I can remember it) and probably opening myself up to endless ridicule for some of the song selections.

Let’s get to it.

Name: Untitled
Year recorded: 1995, probably late summer based on the song mix
Tape: Sony Type II High Bias UX
Recording quality: Medium. Tape has some weak transitions and evidence of hitting the stop button too quickly during the recording process.
Duration: 90 minutes
Noise reduction: On
Highlight: “Down with Disease” by Phish from their 1994 album “Hoist.”
Lowlight: “Only Wanna Be With You” by Hootie and the Blowfish from their 1994 album “Cracked Rear View.”
Rockford’s Rating: B-

Side A

1. “Spirit in the Sky,” Norman Greenbaum
2. “Big Empty,” Stone Temple Pilots
3. “Best of What’s Around,” Dave Matthews Band
4. “Alive,” Pearl Jam
5. “What a Life,” Rockers HiFi
6. “Lump,” The Presidents of the United States of America
7. “Oh Me,” Nirvana
8. “Get Back,” The Beatles
9. “My Name is Mud,” Primus
10. “Down with Disease,” Phish
11. “Omaha,” Counting Crows

Side B

1. “Fantasic Voyage,” Coolio
2. “Leash,” Pearl Jam
3. “The Joker,” Steve Miller Band
4. “I Only Wanna Be With You,” Hootie and the Blowfish
5. “Beercan,” Beck
6. “I’m the Ocean,” Neil Young
7. “It’s Good to be King,” Tom Petty
8. “Interstate Love Song,” Stone Temple Pilots
9. “In Bloom,” Nirvana
10. “Start Me Up,” Rolling Stones
11. “Stayin’ Alive,” The Bee Gees
12. “Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin

The story behind the music
Talk about the power of marketing — the reason “Start me up” is on this tape is because it was the song used as part of the launch campaign for Windows 95. I didn’t care about Windows 95 at all, but I liked the song and decided I wanted it on my tape. So I got out my Stones Rewind LP and added it to the set list, thus making it the only vinyl-to-cassette transfer on this mix.

I was going through a pretty strong Pearl Jam phase in 1995, hence the selections from “Ten” and “Vs.” They are also the backing band on the Neil Young selection “I’m the Ocean” from Mirrorball, an underrated Neil album in my humble opinion. Primus, on the other hand, makes only a few appearances on my mix tapes, including one notable occurrence that we might discuss at a later date.

This mix saw its first action on a road trip down to Georgia with some friends; I think we were probably making a cheap gas border run. Or we were just out driving because there was nothing better to do.

And that’s the story behind the music.