This is the story of Mike Lenert and a 1983 mixtape titled “Orotund Muzak II” that he received from his brother Jak. This mixtape, along with hundreds of others that Jak made, had a profound influence on Mike’s passion for music, his relationship with religion, and his work as a musician and songwriter in bands including Caterpillar and Lettuce Prey.

Tracklisting:

Led Zeppelin – When the Levee Breaks
Brian Eno – Kurt’s Rejoinder
Descendents – I Like Food
X – The Have Nots
Descendents – Weinerschnitzel
Public Image Ltd. – Religion
The Birthday Party – King Ink
The Church – Into My Hands
Gang of Four – What We All Want
Echo and the Bunnymen – The Puppet (Live)
Steel Pulse – Ku Klux Klan
Bad Brains – I And I Survive
Green on Red – Deliverance
Au Pairs – Diet
No Trend – Teen Love

Related reading:

Jak Tapes – “Jak was my brother, he was 4 years older than me, and he passed on a few years ago. He was a huge influence on my musical life, and I am indebted to him for that. He made tons of cassettes back in the day and made lots of homemade covers. I have 214 of his tapes. This page has a sample of some of those covers. They range from funny, to political, to strikingly beautiful, to plain old dark, to whatever. I often wonder what the hell he was thinking when he made some of these. In the end, they’re a little piece of himself that he left behind.” – Mike Lenert