80’s Flashback: The Make Out Tape

Like most children of the 80's, I tend to get nostalgic about the good ole days.  I'm proud to say I grew up in the last generation before cell phones.  Don't get me wrong, I love modern technology.  It's made our lives so much easier.  But for my money, a cassette tape will always be cooler than an MP3 player, especially if that cassette is blasting from a gigantic boom box.

Over the weekend, I had a conversation with a friend who recently turned 30.  She never experienced the thrill of the 80's make out tape.  It was the ideal companion to any bottle of Strawberry Hill Boone's Farm, that perfectly choreographed mix of romantic power ballads.  Every guy had a "go-to" make out tape.  If you were a classy gentleman, you created a separate make out mix for each different girl you dated.  Either way, it worked like a charm.  You'd find a secluded field to park in, crack open a few Zimas and crank up the tunes.  By the time your make out tape got to George Michael's "Father Figure", her tiny hands were putty in yours.

Which is why I'm on a one man mission to bring back the make out tape.  Sadly, I no longer own a boom box, or a cassette deck for that matter.  However, I do keep a mix of tender, tear jerking monster ballads.  You never know when you're gonna need it.  A good make out tape will slowly build in intensity, eventually reaching a passionate crescendo.  That's why I recommend mixing in late 80's hair rock anthems with early 80's pop standards.  As a rule of thumb, every make out tape should have at least 10 songs.  Better to have too many than not enough.

Here's my current make out mix:  Great White "Angel Song", Bryan Adams "Heaven", Night Ranger "Sister Christian", Poison "I Won't Forget You", Cheap Trick "The Flame", Cutting Crew "I Just Died In Your Arms", Skid Row "I Remember You", Foreigner "I Want to Know What Love Is", Warrant "Heaven", Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight", Bon Jovi "I'll Be There For You", Def Leppard "Love Bites" and Journey "Faithfully".  Feel free to add your own favorites and get ready to steam up those windows for old times sake.