Join us today for a continuation of our discussion about the most beloved ancient relic that ultimately belonged to just one generation (hint: it was us): and that is the mixtape, a DIY medium exchanged between friends and lovers that was, on its surface, a way to share music but was actually a thinly veiled communication device intended to express our feelings to another person.

There is one very particular kind of mixtape that we couldn’t fit into last week’s discussion – and to shortchange it would’ve been to erase an entire generation’s yearning for something very specific…Today we are talking about the Make Out Mixtape. Because of the age we were when we were making mixtapes – whether you were in middle school, high school, or college – a lot of our mixtapes were intended to woo. Or inspire special feelings that encouraged us to get closer to another person. Possibly with our bodies. Because we were in the midst of our sexual awakening.

Even if you never got any action in high school, these tapes were aspirational. Maybe they were helping you fantasize about the things you would like to do if you were ever given the chance. Or maybe your tape was just step one in helping someone think about you in that way.

Today's episode will take you behind the curtain of both Carolyn's and Kristin's adolescent makeout sessions and the soundtracks that accompanied them. Get ready for the swoonworthy sounds of makeout masters like DeBarge, Phil Collins, Chicago, Anita Baker, Lionel Richie, and Feivel the mouse (not even kidding). Time travel with us and let's see if we can get that estrogen flowing again!

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In today's episode, we’ll be saving an art form that belongs almost solely to Gen Xers – the friendship bracelet of the 80s and 90s, the analog version of posting and sharing – we’re talking about the making and gifting of mixtapes. Born in the 1980s and peaking in the mid 1990s, the mixtape truly belongs to Gen Xers. Boomers were adults and Millennials were babies when mixtapes emerged as a DIY way – a very DIY, handmade, homemade way – to share music.There might be a few older Millennials who embraced the making of mixtapes but they wouldn’t have had them very long before their desktop computers started coming with CD drives. The mixtape was, of course, about music -- but it could also be intensely personal, created with a theme and a purpose to make a connection with another person. Join us as we share our own mixtapes from friends and lovers; their names, their stories and their songs. Who learned about The Time from a party mixtape? Who had a Winnie-the-Pooh-themed mixtape? And which PCPS tagline came directly from a mixtape created in 1991? Grab a Memorex tape and hold down the play and record buttons for this tribute to Gen X's most beloved music sharing platform.

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Support the PCPS by becoming a patron on Patreon. Check all the extra perks you get here.

Help the PCPS keep on truckin' by making a one-time donation here

Subscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" here

Send us an email at hello@poppreservationists.com

Join us for a trip down memory lane as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of some of our favorite tv shows of all time. From Little House on the Prairie to Hong Kong Phooey, 1974 provided some of the most iconic tv shows for Generation X. This episode is dedicated to exploring the cultural impact and enduring legacy of these shows as well as some fun rabbit hole facts. Learn what tv show made President Gerald Ford reschedule a press conference so he could watch it and what famous character became the voice of Garfield.

Follow the Pop Culture Preservation Society on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok

Support the PCPS by becoming a patron on Patreon. Check all the extra perks you get here.

Help the PCPS keep on truckin' by making a one-time donation here

Subscribe to the PCPS email newsletter, "The Weekly Reader" here

Send us an email at hello@poppreservationists.com