Remember mixtapes? I was listening to my cassettes — yes, cassettes — on an old boom box recently.

Before music apps, I was the one joyfully making the music flow.

It was a tedious, yet satisfying, process.

Putting the needle precisely down on the song on the album, hitting “record” and then “stop,” hoping for a smooth transition to the next song, not only in timing, without empty pauses, but making sure songs followed the vibe I was seeking.

Whether a mixtape was for myself or someone else, the song choices and order could make or break it.

I like to think I was a talented maker of mixtapes. Happy, bittersweet, emotional, silly, sing-a-longs, poignant. It had to make sense from beginning to end.

I started with simply “Mix Tape #1” as the title. Making so many, I began to use a random number in the hundreds or named them based on the sentiment.

My mixes ran the gamut from “OPT” (Official Party Tape from college) to “Upbeat,” “Mellow” and “Angry,” always a theme or feeling. My OPT leaves much to be desired 40 years later. I must’ve had some strange parties listening to Earth, Wind and Fire, The Doors, Yes and Alice Cooper together.

The poignant mixes brought me to a place, time and feeling. They were the most difficult, but treasured, ones.

My “Aargh” mix includes The Indigo Girls “Make It Easier,” “I’ve Had Enough” by The Who, “I’m Not Feeling it Anymore” by Van Morrison and the Grateful Dead’s “Turn on Your Love Light.” It seems like I tried to uplift myself by the end.

I enjoyed making “greatest hits” of my favorite artists. From Bruce Springsteen and the Dead to the Hooters, college era, and Zeppelin. My masterpieces.

Making a mixtape for someone was special. It could signify a friendship or the start of a relationship, as giving someone your homemade cassette was as serious as you could get. Then there were the “breakup” tapes, so sad.

James Taylor, Barenaked Ladies, Candlebox and Joan Armatrading are on my “Sappy, Spirited and Overplayed” tape. I knew I had uncovered a new talent in 1988 with The Barenaked Ladies “If I Had $100,000,000.”

As a music aficionado, turning someone on to new songs or musicians was exhilarating, as was sharing an obscure track off an album, even a B side of a 45, a song I had “discovered” and got to share.

A cassette was something tangible to give someone. Writing the name of every song and artist on the insert was as important as writing good liner notes.

Listening to mixtapes my late father made me fills my heart. I not only enjoy his choice of music, but I look at his handwritten song list, which sometimes include cute notes or facts.

The writing has worn off from many of my mixes. It’s a pleasant surprise when I listen.

Nowadays, it’s easy to make playlists on music apps. Once you start to make one, other songs are recommended, sometimes on target, other times not so much. And it takes less than an hour.

Making a cassette mix could take hours or days. Thinking, thinking, thinking, of just the right track to go next. It was a personal process.

Mixtapes were the soundtrack of your head and heart. Dig out your old tapes, sit back, listen, reminisce and enjoy!