Remember when the mixed tape was the norm for music sharing? Of course you do! If you are not yet 25 years old, the practice may be new to you, or something you vaguely remember your parents doing when you were a kid.
Like vinyl, the mixed tape is making a come back. Retro and all that shit. Retro? Was it really that long ago? But then, the people who rule the fashion roosts are in an age group where the collective temporal consciousness permits phrases like “back in the late 90s” to enter regular dialogue without the slightest intent of humour.
I still make the occasional mixed tape, but in the last few years I have moved on to mixed CD’s. Who knows, maybe one day I will even acquire one of them there MP3 players, a hyuck hyuck!
To bring back the mixed tape (albeit, in the form of the CD, as most people’s tape decks are now gathering dust on a shelf at their local Goodwill store), CBC TV’s The Hour (hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos) is now hosting a new campaign called Operation Disc Drop, where you produce a mixed CD and drop it off in a public space for some “lucky stranger” to find.
This is a social experiment that Strombo (everyone’s boyfriend) hopes will “spread a little good musical karma”.
STEP 1: Make a mixed CD of your favourite tunes. Somewhere on the disc write: DISC DROP – cbc.ca/thehour. Be sure to include a track-listing so people can track down more music by the artists on your disc.
STEP 2: Drop off your disc in a random public place.
STEP 3: Go to the I Dropped a Disc – What Now, click on the comments, and write down where you dropped off your disc and the track-listing. Check back later to find out who picked it up, and where it’s heading next.
If you find a disc, you can post your comments here.
I am the creator and site administrator at The Basement Rug. I have been collecting LP's and CD's for more than 30 years. I 
Why not take OPERATION DISC DROP a step further by making a mixed tape instead. This will force the continued use of old technology that is otherwise becoming garbage for our landfills. You don’t even need to buy a fresh blank tape (if you can even find one) – just grab an old tape and record over it, then punch the tabs to write protect it. Better still, why not save yourself some time and drop off an old mixed tape you no longer play – just remember to write “DISC DROP – cbc.ca/thehour” somewhere on the tape or the insert, and don’t forget to post details of your drop.
Here is the Basement Rug’s first DISC DROP:
1. Midnight Movies – Persimmon Tree 3:55
2. The Stairs – Mary Joanna 2:46
3. The Stairs – Squashed Tomato Stomp 2:22
4. Cibo Matto – Birthday Cake 3:38
5. The Lonesome Organist – Chasing the Wheelbarrel 2:03
6. The Lonesome Organist Theme 1:19
7. The Lonesome Organist – Ratt Advance on the Windsor Deluxe 2:11
8. The Dinner is Ruined – House of Defeat 2:28
9. The Uncas – Pass The Bottle 3:04
10. Jack Black – Monday Morning Tape 1:13
11. Tchort – Building A-Bomb For Tomorrow’s Today 4:37
12. Tchort – Clopus Clan 4:36
13. Scott Henderson – Hole Diggin 4:17
14. Mermen – Pulpin’ Line’ 3:55
15. Peppino D’agostino – Tarantula 2:45
16. Charlie Hunter – Darkly 6:54
17. Ralph Myers – Casino 4:18
18. Receiver – Mysterious 5:53
19. Beck – Asshole 2:23
20. Tom Wilson – Jesus Sings The Blues 4:09
I “filed” the CD under Jazz/Blues at the Cedarbrae branch of the Toronto Public Library. For whoever finds the disc, you can download the CD insert here, for everyone else, you can download the mix here.
Interesting. Intellectual property rights?
In the case of mixed tapes, I doubt any artist/label would mind, as for mixed CD’s – who knows? All of the recordings in my mix detailed above are either from defunct bands or albums that are out of print. They are also marginal releases, so if the artists/labels even find out, they will probably be happy about the promo. Strombo asked people participating to put more obscure music in these mixes – the stuff you don’t hear on the radio.
I think the interesting thing about OPERATION DISC DROP is that it is occurring in the physical world, and not as a file share. I wonder what the CBC lawyers had to say about this?
Hopefully this will continue without legal troubles. Most of the artists I have heard speak about music sharing are happy to see it happen, as they are NOT getting the kind of promo they would like from their music label, either because they have signed with a big label that only seriously promotes a few artists, or because they are on a smaller label that doesn’t have the budget for it. In the case of the smaller label, they usually want this kind of promo, as word of mouth is the main way they get noticed. I have several promo CD’s from smaller labels. These are often distributed free at smaller, independent record stores – the few that are left.
DISC DROP #2 was prepared by Blind Joe Death and was left at the southeast entrance (check one of the newspaper boxes) of the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus:
1. Rocket from the Crypt – Wrong and Important
2. Dead Kennedy’s – California Uber Alles
3. Spoon – I Summon You
4. Me First & The Gimme Gimmes – On the Road Again
5. Adam & the Ants – King of the Wild Frontier
6. Butthole Surfers – Who Was in My Room?
7. Demics – Talk is Cheap
8. Demics – New York City
9. Hater – Mona Bone Jakon
10. Iggy Pop – Mask
11. Spoon – The Underdog
12. Joey Ramone – What a Wonderful World
13. Replicants – Just What I Needed
14. The Headstones – Tweeter and the Monkey Man
15. Me First & The Gimme Gimmes – Ghost Riders in the Sky
16. The Replacements – Taking a Ride
17. Spoon – Back to the Life
18. RHCP – Havana Affair
19. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
20. Circle Jerks – Operation
21. Skandalous All-Stars – Lithium
22. Dead Kennedy’s – Police Truck
23. RHCP – Search and Destroy
24. Me First & The Gimme Gimmes – Jolene
25. The Horrors – Count in Fives
26. Spoon – The Way We Get By