Rewinding my old tape collection [Unscripted column]

My wife and I moved recently and that means I've become intimately reacquainted with all my stupid stuff — I mean, treasured possessions.

Among my things was a box of cassettes. Although I didn't own a cassette player, I couldn't bring myself to throw them away.

So instead of getting rid of stuff, I bought a cheap tape player from Amazon. Soon, I was listening to music I hadn't heard in a long time while I packed up my CDs and records. (I still have players for both of those.)

It's not like I couldn't just cue all this music up on one of the 5 million available streaming services — even the bootleg live Phish concert tapes I have are all available online — but I guess I just like the nostalgia of listening to music on cassettes.

I had a few "greatest hits"-style tapes: Bob Dylan, Mott the Hoople and Tchaikovsky. I listened to them each once. I prefer Bob Dylan's more obscure songs and even his later music to most of what was on his "greatest hits" tape. Somebody must've accidentally taped over Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes" because there's, like, a four-minute blank space where the song should be. And I even cranked Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major one night.

Like any kid growing up in the '90s, my collection also included Nirvana's "MTV Unplugged in New York" album, (which is still incredible) and a single of Notorious B.I.G.'s "Mo Money Mo Problems" which, like most people who were teens in the '90s, I can still rap all the lyrics to. Randomly, I also had the comedian Steven Wright's absurd but still hilarious "I Have a Pony" album. (Wright's quip "You can't have everything, where would you put it?" definitely hit me as I was packing boxes and boxes of stuff.)

Most of these tapes got just a single play on my recent cassette resurgence, but I've been playing a few of them pretty frequently. And pressing rewind on a couple choice cuts.

Here are my current favorites:

"Great Big Boy" – Leo Kottke

I know about Leo Kottke the same way I know about 90% of the music I listen to: because of Phish. Kottke has toured and recorded with Phish bassist Mike Gordon on numerous occasions. He's an incredible guitar player, a quirky lyricist and he sings — or grumbles. I like his voice actually. But the quality I most like about Kottke's music is his "breezy" almost Caribbean vibe he infuses in his playing. My favorite song on Kottke's 1991 album "Great Big Boy" is the first song, "Running up the Stairs." It's got that breezy quality to it, great for relaxing outside on a summer day. And his song "Summer's Growing Old" will surely be a bit more poignant in a couple of months.

"House Music All Night Long: Best of House Music Vol. 3" – various artists

I found this tape in an antique store in Amish Country, which seems to me like a fairly unlikely place for a tape of early '90s house music bangers. House Music Vol. 3 kept my wife and I energized as we packed — and unpacked our stuff. And my wife particularly likes singing the line "You in my hut now" from the song "I'll House You" by Richie Rich and the Jungle Brothers. I'll probably wear out Side Two before Side One. The entire side is pretty great but my favorite has to be "Voodoo Ray" by A Guy Called Gerald. It sounds as fresh in 2024 as it did in 1990.

"Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" – Bela Fleck and the Flecktones

Banjos, Celtic music and a dorky rap song? Yes, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones truly have it all. Actually this album is full of spacey, funky, jazzy grooves — and the aforementioned dorky rap song. But it's quickly becoming a patio hall-of-famer, especially late at night. Fleck's side two opener "Interlude (Return of the Ancient Ones)" will transport you to another dimension for a few minutes. And, yes, I know about Bela Fleck because of Phish.

"Phish Live at Walnut Creek Amphitheater, July 22, 1997"

OK, I'm just going to get this one out of the way. I have quite a few live Phish tapes, mostly from one of my cousin's collections. This one is a pretty famous concert from one of Phish's most beloved years. A torrential thunderstorm broke out during the concert and an audible crack of thunder appears during "Taste," adding to the intensity of the set.

"In Flight" – George Benson

Benson's 1977 album has perfect summer vibes. Another "breezy" jazz guitar player with lots of funk to add some depth. I've nearly worn out the rewind button on "The World is a Ghetto."

Mike's June 2024 Mixtape

This one is pretty rare. Only one copy exists. I discovered a record function on my tape player and resurrected one of my favorite teenage pastimes: making mixtapes. This one includes "August Again" by Kiefer; "The Free Design" by Stereolab; "Ummh" by Bobby Hutcherson and Harold Land; "That Summer Feeling" by Jonathan Richman; "Garden Party" by Ricky Nelson (which I know about because Phish covered it in during a Madison Square Garden concert); "Loose Fit" by the Happy Mondays; "adoreu" by Knxledge; "What Would I Want? Sky" by Animal Collective; "Ship of Fools" by the Grateful Dead and, potentially the greatest rap song about the Chicago Bears, brats, Stanley Tools, Tom Berringer and Brian Dennehy ever recorded: "Dennehy" by Serengeti.

Mike Andrelczyk is a staff writer for LNP | LancasterOnline. "Unscripted" is a weekly entertainment column produced by a rotating team of writers.