As Long As You're Mine

Today's Twisted Mix Tape is... Cheating Songs.

I apologize for the lack of intro. I've been sick, so I'm a bit listless. Let's get into it, shall we?



Maybe the definitive cheating song. In case you're unfamiliar with the incestuous background of the Mamas and the Papas, here's a quick breakdown: the Papa who wrote this song abandoned his wife to run off with one of the Mamas. Then, once the band was together, the Mama in question started sleeping with the other Papa. So the Papa who was being cheated on wrote this... to make the cheaters sing it publicly, directly humiliating them night after night as the song became a huge hit and they performed it constantly.

Ouch.



This song and I have a long and complicated relationship. I know, picking songs from musicals is kind of cheating. It's so specific. That said, I'm not going with "Send in the Clowns" next. In this case, Elphaba and Fiyero have sort of secretly been in love with each other for years. On the day Fiyero got engaged to Glinda, he and Elphaba ran off together. This is them confessing their love to each other for the first time, completely aware of how wrong it is that they've betrayed their best friend, and at the same time that they're now both wanted by the law. I ADORE this song. And it's the opposite of most cheating songs- I can sum that up with one of their shared lines: "And though I may know, I don't care." Most cheating songs are from the perspective of somebody who's been cheated on, somebody who WANTS to cheat, or somebody who regrets cheating. This is kind of... different.



Case in point. I LOVE the psychology in this song. "I know I'm being used, that's okay man 'cause I like the abuse." Anybody who's ever been cheated on kind of gets this. The idea of losing a person who is actively hurting you is more painful than what they're actually doing to you. It's a fiction, it's fear based and it's WRONG, but it's the way a bad relationship feels. Another thing I love about this song is the lack of anger. It's all sadness, resignation, and frustration. But no sense of the rage that fills so many cheating songs. I have a huge affection for emotionally complicated songs. "The more you suffer, the more it shows you really care, right?" Dead. on.



As I was saying...emotionally complicated. Oh, how I miss the days of hidden tracks. How it felt like you were truly discovering something. That's something you just can't do with a playlist- everything on the list is right there for you to see. And what a hidden track this gem was. So sad. So beautiful.



How different this song is from the last one. Another song about the moment of discovery. Only instead of a heartfelt soliloquy, this song drops off at that moment. It's a shock to the system. Just like the information. What a great sense of humor this song has about such a depressing moment. Jill Scott is amazing.



I am so thrilled to have a chance to include one of these tracks in a Twisted Mix Tape. If you're not familiar with the Verve Remixed albums, go out and get all of them NOW. Verve got the original takes of some of the greatest classic blues and R&B tracks of all time and handed them out to their best DJs and producers. Oh. My. God. Wow. Really.



And we're going to end here because, let's face it. If you don't include this in a mix about cheating, you're kind of missing the point. Classic.