Take a trip down memory lane with a boombox and a treasure chest of rare and unreleased remixes.

I grew up in the ‘80s and my childhood was filled with toys, cartoons and music. Whenever I got into trouble, which happened regularly, my toys and TV privileges were taken away. The funny thing is that my parents never took away the small boombox I had in my room. I can’t remember who gave it to me but I remember it’s distinct grey, metallic shell and the shiny corners and edges. There was an AM/FM radio and a single cassette player with a record feature. Pretty cutting edge stuff. It required eight “C” batteries but also could be powered by a cable (which was annoying when your outlet options were limited.) It might’ve been a Panasonic but I honestly cannot remember.

What made this boombox special was that it opened up a new world of music to me. MTV had the same effect but, after a while, it’s repetitive nature bored the hell out of me. You could argue that the radio stations had the same repetitive nature but, unlike MTV, I could jump to another source for music whenever I wanted. This was, of course, in the days before VH-1 (which provided a wider variety of music but not as edgy as MTV), and The Box (which was pretty much a mashup of Spotify and Pay-Per-View.) No matter which one I was listening to, radio stations were always playing something new and interesting, fresh and funky, wild and crazy. There was an unpredictable nature to the whole thing that I loved. I wasn’t sure what would come blasting out of my speakers whenever I switched stations. There were times when I was positively stunned by what I heard and there were other times when I absolutely hated what was being played. Those were the moments I remember the most – the shock and awe of hearing a new kind of music for the first time.

A few years ago I stumbled upon a treasure chest of rare and unreleased remixes of songs primarily from the 1980s. Even better was that they were ripped and encoded straight from vinyl. While I had already heard a couple of them, hearing these remixes for the first time opened up a new world for me. I immediately began putting together a playlist of my favorite remixes and versions, and mixed a few that I already had. Over the course of two weeks I listened to this playlist repeatedly. I knew I had to put together my own blend so that I could share these new discoveries with everyone else.

Just like the DJs on the radio stations who shared their treasures with me via my little grey boombox.

TRACKLISTING:

1. Janet Jackson – When I Think Of You (Dance Remix)
2. Shannon – Let The Music Play (Dub Version)
3. Jody Watley – Don’t You Want Me
4. Pretty Poison – Catch Me (I’m Falling) (12″ Mix)
5. When In Rome – The Promise (Coliseum Mix)
6. Information Society – What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) (What’s On Your Dub Mix)
7. Pet Shop Boys – Heart (Dub Mix)
8. INXS – New Sensation (Extended Dance Mix)
9. Cutting Crew – Any Colour
10. Breakfast Club – Right On Track (Uptown Mix)
11. Madonna – Into The Groove
12. Michael Jackson – Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’
13. Deee-Lite – Groove Is In The Heart
14. Cathy Dennis – Touch Me (All Night Long) (All Night Long Mix)
15. New Order – Bizarre Love Triangle (Shep Pettibone Extended Dance Mix)
16. Breakfast Club – Never Be The Same (The Shep Pettibone Mix)
17. Bananarama – I Heard A Rumour (Horoscope Mix)
18. Pet Shop Boys – Heart
19. Kim Wilde – You Came (Jim Hopkins Hot Tracks Tape Edit)