books: 4 down, 20 to go - love is a mix tape

Just in time for Valentine's Day, my most recent read was Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mix Tape. Written as a sort of eulogy for his wife Renee who died suddenly after only five years of marriage, Sheffield (writer for Rolling Stone) finds inspiration in a seemingly endless pile of mix tapes he and his wife made for each other. The book is funny, sweet, and at times very, very sad, but absolutely a worthwhile read.

To give you a taste, here's my favorite passage:

Every time I have a crush on a woman, I have the same fantasy: I imagine the two of us as a synth-pop duo. No matter who she is, or how we meet, the synth-pop duo fantasy has to work, or the crush fizzles out...the girl is up front, swishing her skirt, tossing her hair, a saucy little firecracker. I'm the boy in the back, hidden behind my Roland JP8000 keyboard. She has all the courage and star power I lack. She sings our hit because I would never dare to get up and sing it myself. She moves the crowd while I lurk in the shadows, lavishing all my computer-blue love on her, punching the buttons that shower her in disco bliss and bathe her in the spotlight. I make her a star...I always pictured Renee and me in our synth-pop duo. I never told her about this. In my dreams, she tossed her fake-red locks and stood tall in expensive platforms...It's odd that I've never pictured myself as a solo rock star. I've always dreamed of a new wave girl to stand up front and be shameless and lippy, to take the heat, teach me her tricks, teach me to be brave like her. I needed someone with a quicker wit than mine. The new wave girl was brazen and scarlet. She would take me under her wing and teach me to join the human race, the way Bananarama did with their "Shy Boy." She would pick me out and shake me up and turn me around, turn me into someone new. She would spin me right round, like a record.

Maybe it's just me, but I find that terribly romantic. But then again, I've always sort of wanted to be in a synth-pop duo myself.

And in the spirit of both the book and the holiday, I've made you a mix tape of sorts using finetune, a website recently brought to my attention via Carrie, via A Special Way of Being Afraid, via Pop Candy. (Whew.) I tried to make a love-themed mix, but I discovered that finding 45 love songs which aren't too sappy can be a bit of a challenge, so let's just say some exceptions were made. Nonetheless, let it bathe you in my blue, synth-pop love.