I came across this tape at an estate sale and thought the art would be fun for a mixtape. The owner gave it to me for free, as I imagine he was surprised anyone wanted it in the first place. After popping it in my cassette deck and hearing a narration vocal for a guided tour of Washington DC, I decided to digitize the audio to use as transitions and narration for a mixtape, then record over the tape. This is TapeWalks.

Usually when I make a tape, there is some theme or limiting factor to prevent me from spiraling about which songs should go on it. I thought about limiting this mix to songs that came out pre-1987 (the date the cassette was made), I thought about using walking music as a theme, I thought about only including artists from DC. Ultimately, I decided a clean slate would be the most fun, letting the narration guide which songs were chosen. Having a speaking transition between songs allowed me to have some drastic shifts in tone or genre from song to song without them feeling too jarring. I tried to include a diverse set.

Some songs came to me as soon as the idea crossed my mind and some took some digging to get right. For some reason, the first song that I knew I wanted to include was the perfectly cheeseball, final song, Last Train Home (57:20 to end) that released in 1987. A few of my other favorite bits include the encouragement to turn off the tape and explore during the pensive instrumental One Day You’ll Lie Here But Everything Will (at 15:54) and the needledrop feeling of Gun (at 4:03), a quintessential 70’s funky soul vibe, albeit released in 1981, from Gil Scott-Heron who spent a lot of time in DC in the 70s. When deciding which live song to include in the live performance segment, I was stoked to come across DC band, Fugazi’s first ever performance from September 1987. Lastly, when trying to figure out a transition into a truncated version of My Life In Art (45:00-48:07), I plugged in my walkman just to include some radio static. A random interview happened to be on that was literally perfect for the theme of the section.

See below for the full list of songs used:

Side 1

  • The first 25 seconds of Accompanied by a Blazing Solo by Cities Aviv (2020)

  • 104 Degrees by Slaughter Beach, Dog (2017)

  • Snippet of 1969 by Boards of Canada (2002)

  • Gun by Gil Scott-Heron (1981)

  • LEAVING HELL by R.A.P. Ferreira (2020)

  • SHE SUBMITS WITH SO MUCH DOMINANCE by _BY.ALEXANDER (2024)

  • Não quero mais by Don Beto (1978)

  • One Day You’ll Lie Here But Everything Will by Gwenifer Raymond (2025)

  • My New House by The Fall (1985)

  • Nous ne pourrons plus dormir by Brigitte Fontaine & Areski Belkacem (1975)

  • Cold Paris Vague by mark william lewis (2022)

  • Snippet of Millyrock by Standing On The Corner from Side X (20:39-21:00) (2017)

  • This Old House by Against All Logic (2018)

Side 2

  • The Long Bright Dark by Patrick Shiroishi (2021)

  • ゴーゴースチーム by betcover!! (2025)

  • Love On The Rocks by Lama (1983)

  • Carry Me Home by ZekeUltra (2019)

  • Song to Keep You Company - Live at the BBC by Bridget St John (1969)

  • Edit and outro of My Life in Art by Mojave 3 (2000)

  • Announcement - Live by Townes Van Zandt (1977)

  • Merchandise - Washington DC 09/03/87_FLS0001 - Live by Fugazi (1987)

  • Haunted House on Zillow by The Garden (2022)

  • Bride of Africa by The Scorpions, Saif Abu Bakr, Osman Zeeto (1980)

  • Eggshells by Dehd (2022)

  • Last Train Home by Pat Methany Group (1987)