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Love & the Mix Tape
A compilation of local artists’ favorite love songs

by By Samantha Campos

February 09, 2006

Mix tapes tell your friends, relatives and that one guy you think is

cute in third period gym who you are and how you feel about them. Of

course, now we have CD’s, MP3’s, and iPOD playlists to satisfy our

romantic musical yearnings. But nothing can replace the heart and soul

we put into making a lo-fi mix tape. Anyway, here’s what some Maui

musicians would put on theirs.





“I’d Die Without You” by P.M. Dawn



Marty Dread, Reggae Ambassador:

There are so many memories associated with this one. Every time there’s

been a deep connection with me and someone, this song shows up in some

form—whether it’s at a bar or on TV. It’s that whole “without you,

there’s no me” sentiment. It’s a bit idealistic, romantic—and it’s the

song for me.





“Holding Back the Years” by Simply Red



Elan Rae, percussionist: [singing] “I’ll keeeeep hooolding on…” I’m

hopelessly, romantically depressed when I’m really in love. And I get

emotionally bundled up—I’d probably put this song on a mix tape and it

would have some misconstrued meaning but that’s just me. Anyway, this

song makes me feel mushy inside.





“For All We Know” by Donny Hathaway



Gene Argel, jazz vocalist/keyboardist:

This song is so beautiful. To say it’s “soulful” is not good enough.

The words are so touching. It’s about illusion and reality, or the idea

that love is real for the moment and everything else is an illusion. Or

I might pick a classical song, like [Samuel Barber’s] “Adagio for

Strings”—it’s so powerful, so emotional, it just makes you feel like

your heart is going to explode.





“Embraceable You” by Ella Fitzgerald



Angela Benoit, vocalist of Benoit Jazz Works:

So beautiful, so romantic. I made a tape with 11 love songs on it for

my husband Phil (eight years ago for our 11th wedding anniversary) and

that song was the first one I put on it. In fact, we recorded this song

on our latest CD, A Man and a Woman.







“My My My” by Johnny Gill



Kanoa, vocalist / guitarist / drummer / beatboxer of Gomega:

This song’s about appreciating the person you love. It makes me feel

blessed being a man loving women. It’s also about being intimate and

telling them what you want—women like that. They don’t always like

surprises, sometimes it’s sexier to tell them what you’re going to do,

like, “it’s all for you.”





“Hey” by The Pixies



Erin Smith, vocalist/guitarist:

It’s kinda creepy but also a very sexy, couple-y kind of song. It’s

dirty-sexy—Frank Black’s a bit esoteric and there’s this whole sort of

motif of people being chained together—but it’s also just… pretty.





“Put It In Your Mouth” by NWA



DJ Rainbow: I love the

words. It’s all about licking it, sucking it, dipping it, tasting

it—it’s hilarious. No, I haven’t put it on a mix tape yet but I’m gonna

for Valentine’s Day. You’ve inspired me!





“Start All Over” by Voodoo Suns



Anastasia Gilliam, vocalist of the Voodoo Suns:

Can I pick one of my own songs? This is about a couple deciding to

either give in to their differences or deciding to love each other and

start over again. It’s on our CD, Songs from the Haleakala Kitchen. MTW