Recorded 5/19/91, this was a mixtape created for my then girlfriend (now bride) who was in law school. One of the first workout tapes I made her, this one has stood the test of time, at least for us.

Meant to be a collection of upbeat songs to increase the heart rate, it starts off innocent enough with Prince and Duran Duran, then slowly devolves (evolves?) into an array of industrial music, post-punk, and new wave. Not sure why The The‘s “Infected” is on here twice but for the fact that she did love that tune. Matt Johnson’s line, “I’ve got too much energy to switch off my mind / But not enough to get myself organized” may resonate with law students and anyone overloaded with tasks, in general.

Our foray into industrial music also included Nitzer Ebb, Front 242, and KMFDM. Other wonderfulness came from Trashcan Sinatras, The Ocean Blue, Dead or Alive, Depeche Mode, and wrapping it up with Pete Shelley‘s solo hit “Homosapien” from 1981. Shelley was best known as lead singer of Buzzcocks.

The TGT (The Genetic Terrorists) song on Side 2 is currently absent from Spotify. So, here is the YouTube audio of “The Machine Gun.” The band does plenty of sampling from popular film. If you know Alien, you know Sigourney Weaver’s line, “Get away from her you bitch!”

Now, onto more reasons to make a playlist!

#mixtapesforlife