on mixtapes: last week, i was putting together a mixtape and i was asked why. to avoid getting to in-depth into things, as i felt such a response was unwarranted, i merely said, "because i like to have a collection of my favorite current songs on one tape." which is true, but it's also only the half of it.

thanks to nylpm, i've come across a couple of sites about mixtapes. while the idea of a site on mixtapes is intriguing, both, however, proved to be lacking: the first only gave a tracklisting of each person's tape, and the second had awful indie rules about mixtapes (no elton john on mixtapes? PLEASE!). i think tom and i had discussed doing things right with mixtapes, he moves at a sloth's pace, so the burden falls on my shoulders, AS ALWAYS.

when making a mixtape, there are two, and only two, different sets of guidelines -- it all depends on whether or not you're making a tape for yourself or for someone else. the basics are simple: you determine what sort of tape you're making (a theme, if you will); myself, i've made tapes on subjects ranging from anguish to love to wintry-sounding songs to night songs, etc., but the most popular is the collection of my favorite current songs, those songs that are currently in my head playing 24/7. next, you commit the songs to tape and, finally,you listen to them.

how you do this exactly, however, is quite variable. i am a traditionalist, and that means i like fast songs on side "a" and slow songs on side "b," with everything being perfectly segued, and the side lengths optimized to their limits. someone like tom, for instance, is not a fan of the segue and tries to juxtapose songs in the most jarring ways imaginable (e.g., morrissey's "interlude" and wildchild's "renegade master"). i perhaps wander from tradition in the way i throw as many genres as possible onto one tape. that's just how i am; i find that listening to the same type of song for 90 minutes or so really defeats the dynamic purpose of the mixtape (this is another reason i found the above indie mixtape sight insufficient).

when i'm making mixtapes for others, song selection is performed in one of two ways: either i put together a tape of songs unknown to the intended audience in order to share my love for those songs with them, or i take requests and then mix it together in my own way. the rules i stated in the last paragraph about assembling the mixtape remain constant.

there is another constant, i find, that occurs in the process of making the mixtape itself. i always find it an unadulterated joy to put them together (sometimes the actual production of the tape is even better than the final product), whether it be for my own consumption or for others -- in fact, many times i find the latter to be even more enjoyable; i love music, and there are no two ways about it, so spreading my love of music to people that i know are like-minded is a real pleasure. producing a mixtape, to me, is one of life's simplest pleasures. when i survey my collection in order to choose songs that'll make the cut, i feel like the possibilities are infinite and endless.

if you're not as big of a music fan as i am, i'm sure that you'll find this all a bit...disturbing, perhaps. believe me, re-reading that last paragraph, the thought crossed my mind, as well. however, if you're as fond of making such tapes as i am, i hope that this little essay will remind you of some favorite tapes that you've made and that it reminds you that some of the cheapest and simplest acts in life are also some of its most rewarding.
-fred solinger | steal this link! | discuss

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