One surprising aspect from this weekend's highly entertaining hit Guardians of the Galaxy has been the buzz surrounding the film's soundtrack. Specifically, the 70s and 80s tunes found on the hero Peter Quill's "Awesome Mix Tape Vol. 1."
The compilation of songs has already catapulted to #1 on iTunes and is stuck in the heads of most 35+ Americans who saw the flick (many of them with their 12-year-old kids).
It made me (as a 35+ American) feel pretty sad for the generation now going through the awkward dating years without the benefit of being able to ceremoniously hand an "Awesome Mix Tap" over to the object of their pubescent affection.
If I may sound like my Dad for a second: What do kids of this generation do for romantic musical gifts these days?
Do they assemble an "Awesome Playlist" and gift it via email to their favorite squeeze? How sad. In many ways I envy today's generation of teens and young 20-somethings, but in this case, I had it better.
Putting together the mix tape for that special girl was a labor of love, but the pay-off was huge! Not only did you get that moment of gratitude when you handed over the precious Memorex, you also got the 90 minutes (45 each side) of romance when you popped that baby into the car's cassette player and went cruising (or parking.)
Sorry, an iTunes playlist just doesn't cut it, buddy.
And let's take a moment to applaud the creative forces behind Guardians for making a truly AWESOME mix tape for this vitally important element of the film. You see, for a mix tape to be truly awesome it must, by definition, be a MIX. And Starlord's mix tape is truly a mix.
Look at the different eras, genres, and musical styles represented by the treasure that still plays after all these years on an antique Sony Walkman:
The Runaways – ‘Cherry Bomb’
David Bowie – ‘Moonage Daydream’
Blue Swede – ‘Hooked on a Feeling’
Jackson 5 – ‘I Want You Back’
Norman Greenbaum – ‘Spirit in the Sky’
Redbone – ‘Come and Get Your Love’
The Five Stairsteps – O-o-h Child’
Rupert Holmes – ‘Escape (The Pina Colada Song)’
Elvin Bishop – ‘Fooled Around and Fell in Love’
Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell – ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’
Raspberries – ‘Go All the Way’
10cc – ‘I’m Not in Love’
Something for everyone, right? And that's the point. For a mix tape to be an AWESOME mix tape, it has to have a song that fits every mood, every taste, and every occasion. It's a MIX tape after all.
Face it, punk, I had a better youth than you because I made a mix tape full of REO Speedwagon and Styx for Shannon Malouf in 9th grade and you didn't!
Now listen to this and learn: