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Prologue

Season Zero: Episode Zero

Ryan introduces Let’s Make A Mixtape and provides background on the concept of the show and how it came to be.

[Pictured Above: Ryan & The Broccolis in Mexico City, 2018]

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Prologue Playlist

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Transcript

Welcome to Let’s Make A Mixtape, a music conversation podcast.

This first conversation might be a little one-sided because I want to take the opportunity to introduce myself and invite you to join me on this journey where I delve deep into the profound impact that a single song can have on someone. Music is so much more than just soundwaves. It’s moving and transformative, a mirror into our subconscious. 

Hi, my name is Ryan Sweeney. I’ll start with a reflection into my own mind. We’ll begin with my on-screen hero, Anthony Bourdain. One of many things I love about his work is the use of food as a medium for connection. Sharing a meal has a way of knocking down borders and building relationships. It opens the gates to get to know someone and what drives them.

Over the years, I’ve found that music can do the same thing. Food and music are two universal languages. You can really get to understand who people are, where they’ve come from, and where they’re going. Both food and music have the amazing ability to influence their surroundings, forming a cultural DNA. While there are many nuanced differences across the world, food and music have a social bonding element because there is something that feels so familiar about them no matter where you are.  

In this vein, I’ve picked “Roadrunner” as my first song in this mini-prologue playlist. It’s the opening track to the classic self-titled record by The Modern Lovers. Jonathan Richman wrote that endearing song about being in love with his own loneliness, driving around industrial parks in his dad’s car. It’s also the song Anthony Bourdain’s documentary was named after. The documentary which I’ll get around to watching one day, when I need a good cathartic cry. I’ll link to the playlist in the show notes so you can listen along. 

As you’ve probably experienced yourself, music is emotional. It helps us get through the hard times and celebrate the good times. Listening to a certain song can trigger a specific memory or emotion. It’s why we create soundtracks to our lives. Music is a mood and memory bookmark and time capsule. 

One music memory I like to look back on with great fondness is a live show in Mexico City 2018. I host a radio show called “Global Garage,” which airs on WHUP, a community radio station based in Hillsborough, North Carolina. During this show, I play rock-tangential music from all around the world with a couple of my friends. Before traveling to Mexico City, I wanted to see if there were any live music shows to check out while I was visiting. I found a show featuring The Broccolis, a now defunct garage band, and Cascabel, a psych rock band. I reached out to both bands in advance and asked if they wanted to record an interview for Global Garage. We had a great conversation and they put on a fantastic show afterwards. But that’s not what has stuck with me over the years. Hanging around between sets and chatting with other people who came out to the show left me feeling like I was at a show in my hometown music scene. 

Even though I was a random dude from North Carolina who just showed up to a rock show, everyone welcomed me in as if I was a scene regular. It was beautiful and life-affirming. I hope that everyone has that feeling of community through music. In honor of that show I’ve included “The Veggie Man” by The Broccolis and “De Cabeza” by Cascabel on the mini-prelude playlist. 

Like many during the pandemic, I felt disconnected from my community. As a way to cope with the inability to travel and partially due to the general mindfuck that is isolation, I started reaching out to some of my Global Garage contacts to share curated playlists for the show. Instead of a traditional interview for radio, I asked guests to put together a playlist and, in between blocks of songs, we would chat about their selections, about the projects they were working on, and about their hometown scene. It was a great way to follow up and check on friends I had made through Global Garage. It also became my preferred go-to interview style. 

Now that  you know a little bit more about me and the evolution of my musical journey that led to this project, let’s talk about what you can expect from this podcast going forward. This podcast will consist of seasons centered around a  song prompt. Guests won’t just be musicians, but people for whom music means something profoundly special. It could be a musician, it could be a comedian, a chef, an author, an activist, or hell, even just one of my close personal friends who has an interesting story to tell. 

During each episode, I’ll introduce the guest and chat with them about why they chose the song they did, following wherever the conversation takes us. To avoid angering the copyright gods, I won’t include clips from the selected song. But, I will curate a playlist that I’ll maintain on Spotify and YouTube each week so you can listen along as we make a mixtape. Some seasons might lean towards one genre more than others just by nature of who my guests are and my own default musical preferences, but as a rule, other than offering the prompt I’m not putting any genre restrictions on the song choices.

As for this first season, I felt it only appropriate to ask my guests to share their favorite first track on an album. I’m very excited about this first season of guests, which includes several musicians from as close as my neighborhood to as far away as Greece. You’ll also hear from a multi-disciplinary artist, an influencer in the music TikTok community, a producer, a podcaster, and a comedian.  

During the following twelve weeks, shows will be uploaded every Tuesday. Be sure to subscribe to both the podcast AND the playlist to stay updated with each new episode. If you want to see the show transcript and check out any of the references discussed in a given episode, visit letsmixtape.com. Thanks for tagging along with me on this sonic journey, and tune in next Tuesday for the start of Season One: Opening Tracks with my first guest, Karl Agell. We’ll talk about his opening track selection, coming up in the hardcore scene, playing the legendary New York venue CBGBs during his time with Corrosion of Conformity, growing up in Hong Kong, his current band Lie Heavy, and more. 

I want to thank the people who had a hand in this podcast, whether directly or indirectly. My partner Brittany, for both encouraging and editing me. Bryan, for helping me brainstorm the idea as well as Paul and Chris from Global Garage, for providing the inspiration. Big thanks to Scotty Sandwich for writing and recording the show’s theme music.


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