The Big Green House

Tuesday, April 29, 2003

 

Release the bats

I�ve started making a mix tape for my eventually-to-be mother-in-law, AKA Science Mom. This is a very new experience for me, and not a little bit daunting. After all, this is the woman who, in 1983, turned her daughter on to The Birthday Party by blasting them through Science Girl�s bedroom door in an attempt to wake her up. SG says it became a happy morning routine & something of a mother/daughter bonding ritual.

Ma Markey, bless her heart, has never heard of Nick Cave, and would probably think herself lucky on that count. Mind you, when I played The Ramones for Mom, back in the day, she liked �em � said they reminded her of Little Richard. (I don�t see it myself, but then again music is a subjective experience.) If the shoe were on the other foot, so to speak, and I were to make a tape for my folks, I�d be at a complete loss. Mom listens to bagpipe music now, and Dad�s gone polka-crazy. (No, I�m not making that up.) Science Mom, on the other hand, gave me a Syd Barrett CD for Xmas this year and knows who he is.

I�ve got side A of the tape just about sketched out, but I must admit that it�s a bit of a challenge. What do you put on such a tape that will A) appeal to the target audience, yet B) won�t leave my future Mum-in-law with a scary impression of her only daughter�s beau? By request, it must also have been released within the last ten years.(That's the one that's really throwing me for a loop, as I like to mix in a few older things here and there for variety's sake.) It�ll be a good test of my compilation skills, such as they are.

Update 4/30/03: Last night I dreamt that Science Girl was pregnant and about to give birth. All well and good, except for the fact that her OB/GYN was Nick Cave. That creeped me out on so many levels that I lost count.

bmarkey 4/29/2003 10:49:00 PM