Power Passion Plays The Double Hand

Two cassettes (mix tapes, as it were) by my father from the years he spent in Florida.

New Wave - Masters of Rock'N'Roll Vol. V

Side A
1. My Best Friend's Girl - The Cars
2. Don't Stand So Close To Me - The Police
3. I'll Be With You Tonight - Cheap Trick
4. Do The Dark - Blondie
5. Skateaway - Dire Straits
6. Bye, Bye Love - The Cars
7. The Tide Is High - Blondie*
8. De Do Do Do - The Police
9. Voices - Cheap Trick
10. Rapture - Blondie

Side B
1. Dream Police - Cheap Trick
2. Good Times Roll - The Cars
3. Dreaming - Blondie
4. Little Paradise - Pat Benatar
5. The House Is Rockin' - Cheap Trick
6. Just What I Needed - The Cars
7. Union City Blue - Blondie
8. I Know What I Want - Cheap Trick
9. Atomic - Blondie
10. You're All I've Got Tonight - The Cars
11. Driven To Tears/When The World Is Running Down - The Police**

Future Legends Of Rock'N'Roll Vol I

Side A
1. Snortin' Whiskey - Pat Travers
2. Heartbreaker - Pat Benatar
3. The Stroke - Billy Squier*
4. Tom Sawyer - Rush
5. You Better Run - Pat Benatar
6. Sultans Of Swing - Dire Straits
7. I Need A Lover - Pat Benatar
8. Keep On Loving you - REO Speedwagon
9. In The Heat Of The Night - Pat Benatar
10. Is This Love? - Pat Travers
11. In The Air Tonight - Phil Collins

Side B
1. Tough Guys - REO Speedwagon
2. Treat Me Right - Pat Benatar
3. In The Dark - Billy Squier
4. I Missed Again - Phil Collins
5. Limelight - Rush
6. Take It On The Run - REO Speedwagon
7. Down To The Waterline - Dire Straits
8. You Know What I Like - Billy Squier
9. Don't Let Him Go - REO Speedwagon
10. Vital Signs - Rush
11. Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar
12. Crash & Burn - Pat Travers

* Two songs that I despise. 'The Tide Is High' has precisely two ingredients; Debbie Harry and a boxcar full of pure cane sugar, and 'The Stroke' is kind of a pointless hit. Squier did much better. I generally replace these with 'Walk Like Me' or 'T-Birds' for Blondie, and 'My Kinda Lover' for Billy Squier.

** These are really separate songs, but like 'Heartbreaker' and 'Living Loving Maid' by Led Zeppelin, there's not enough time to snatch the needle off the record between songs. Even so, I think they work better together (same for 'Heartbreaker' and 'Living Loving Maid').

These tapes were a large part of the soundtrack to my youth, and spent a good deal of time in the tape deck in my '98 Dodge Stratus that I wore out going back and forth to State College in, driving to watch trains, and to go hang out with my friends, whether at Primanti's or the shed. I was hoping to recreate these on my Zune (who else still has one, anyway?) but realized that I'm a few songs short at the moment.