The Magic of a Mix Tape

When we watch a movie, the score and the soundtrack elevate a conversation between the characters or the scenes on the screen to the cinematic experience we all love.??

In a similar way, we each have a soundtrack that animates our life.??A lyrical way to connect with each other and to enhance our day-to-day experiences.

A couple of weeks ago, I “had to” (or ”got to”) take my beloved daughter, Lucy, to summer camp.??“Had to” because taking her means we will miss her terribly for the month that she is gone.??“Got to” because it’s a true privilege to take her to her favorite place in the world to see her very best friends for a month of outdoor adventures and NO social media.

At a lunch last week, I described Lucy as both the magnet and the glue.??She draws people in, and she keeps them together. She makes most things better.??Naturally, she improved the three-and-a-half-hour trip from Atlanta to Asheville via her Spotify play list.??The ultimate mix tape on the road to Camp Highlander.?

She happily played the Taylor Swift song, “The Last Great American Dynasty”, repeating over and over again the section where the song goes from a third-party recounting of the infamous Rebekah Harkness to a first-person account of Taylor’s own life.??

“Who knows if I’d never shown up what could have been.??I had a marvelous time ruining everything.”?

Here’s hoping the meaning behind those lyrics sinks in for Lucy—live your life not worrying what other people think.??Thank you, Taylor.

Then, the playlist turned to Kate Bush, experiencing a resurgence thanks to a lead character on “Stranger Things” playing “Running Up That Hill” on her Walkman. When the broody tune came out originally, I was probably listening to Madonna and the Bangles—or some other mainstream pop.??Tragic. It took years for me to become acquainted with the alternative music scene, thanks to my friend Stacia and her creative mix tapes featuring The Cure, The Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Squeeze.

After reading about the song, I learned that Kate wrote it imploring men and women to put themselves in each others’ shoes to understand each other better.??Taking the gender nuance out of it, I love the message about trying to see things from another’s point of view.??Certainly an imperative for a mom and her teenage daughter navigating life.

After those songs, I was amazed/dismayed/stunned to hear a the next series of tunes, featuring Abba, Culture Club, and the Ramones.??Lucy would offer, “You might know this one.” My daughter is processing her teenage angst belting out the same songs I once did.

Mind blown.

So, as we drove North on I-85 and West on a series of smaller roadways, we sang the 80s tunes at the top of our lungs. Me, off key as per usual. Lucy’s voice much better, far easier to listen to, owing to an artistic talent that she inherited from someone other than me. She has a love of music and gift with poetry. Her father plays the piano, and she learns to play songs easily.??Special Lucy magic.

As we approached our hotel in Asheville, I suggested that after camp she might check out “True” by Spandau Ballet and Culture Club’s “Time”, two of my all-time favorites from the early 80s.?

Looking forward to singing those songs together when I pick her up in August.