January 22, 2004
Mixing
Salon has a nice piece entitled "PCs Killed the Mix-Tape Star", about how the advent of mp3s, CD-Rs, and the iPod has changed the way people make mixes.
Mixes are something I make. I usually make them for specific moods or specific people, sometimes a combination of both. They generally mean something for me. Granted, mixes don't take me nearly as long to make as they did for Rob Fleming, but still, that doesn't mean they aren't significant. I put time and effort into the mixes I make. I am also prone to hitting random play on my entire 10k track collection and discovering things I've never heard before, but that doesn't preclude me to putting together a special mix for someone I care about.
(without reading the article)
I've found that its not so much that I prefer burning a cd-r to compiling a tape, or even that I'm unwilling to put in the extra amount of effort it takes to ensure that the songs you've selected fit well onto sides a and b, but that, if I make someone a mix tape, there's hardly anywhere that they can listen to.