Presents: The (Art of the) Mixtape

Ahh, the mixtape. What a wonderful, precarious tool. Wonderful because you are essentially using someone else’s words and music to express how you (potentially) feel about someone. Precarious because you are essentially using someone else’s words and music to express how you (probably) feel about someone. This is what makes the mixtape so touchy. Be careful with the mixtape.. and know your mixtapes.. don’t give the wrong one! Let’s examine the types:

1. The Music Sampler Mixtape

This is the most innocuous mixtape. This is simply given to someone with a smattering of songs on it that you enjoy, and you think they may enjoy as well. This is simply sharing music the “old fashioned” way. This type of mixtape has mostly been replaced with filesharing and iPod parties.

2. The Novelty Mixtape

This mixtape is the most fun to make. This could be an entire tape with songs about dogs, or an entire tape full of songs that talk about human feces. It could be a Side A/Side B compilation, with covers on one side and the originals on the other. This is my favorite type of mixtape, and they should be made and traded often.

3. The Unspoken Intentions Mixtape

This is the most dangerous mixtape. What you include in this could spark an amazing bond between you and the receiver of such tape. But, if you screw it up, they just think you have bad taste in music.. which means you probably shouldn’t hang out in the first place. This mixtape is usually carefully planned, and even though CDs have replaced the traditional tape format, you can still usually use a combination of A and B, giving each “side” a different theme. USE CAUTION! Treat this mixtape like it is a magical tale of wonderful discovery.. where the listener will hear new favorites from old bands, or new stuff all together! Stay away from standards, and never put anything on you don’t feel 100% behind!

I bring up mixtapes, dear reader, because I am in the process of making a mixtape. I have made many mixtapes over many years. This one has been EXTRA difficult, for the following reasons. First off, I didn’t act fast enough to give the first mixtape, which makes the mixtape I’m making the reciprocating mixtape. As an extra added difficulty, the mixtape I received is the best mixtape ever.. in the universe.. at this time… ever. I feel humbled at the awesomeness of this mixtape, and now feel like I need to work extra hard to come up to the level of this mixtape. Secondly.. this isn’t a mixtape! It’s a mix CD! And I have to work within the limitations of my CD collection, rather than use my records which have some great tracks on them.

Lo, it will be a difficult journey, but I feel like I’m really going to grow on this mixtape! Start out strong (Bryan Ferry’s “In Crowd”), but don’t be afraid to take it down a notch a few songs later (Devandra Banhart’s “Some People Ride the Wave”). Create a bookend of awesomeness with two songs from the same band (Wire’s “Map Ref” and “In Vivo”) and always include an obscure cover. We’ll see how it is received!

P.S. – Welcome back to my blog! Thanks for reading, friends!