Monday, January 26, 2004
but I love my CD burner!
Is the mix tape really dead?
Maybe the mix tape is, but I don't think it's as apocalyptic as the Salon article makes it sound. The only mix tapes I ever made involved hitting "record" on a tape deck while Z104 played their Best of the Year show.
The fact that it's so easy to make a mix CD is exactly why it appeals to me; it's not as intimidating, and I don't have to worry about hovering over the "pause" button for half an hour. I don't believe that a mix CD necessarily means a lower-quality mix, either. I made my first thought-through mix for a CD swap last November. I spent hours playing with a playlist in my head, moving songs around, getting it all put together just the way I wanted it. I thought about it during the long drive home, I thought about it while I fixed dinner, I thought about it while I sorted laundry. So this whole thing with the "it's so easy no one ever thinks just drags and drops boohoo" and the whining is bullshit. I will concede that sometimes it's just a matter of drag and drop*, but how is that any different than a mix tape filled with a radio station's idea of the Best Music of 1998?
*this was the case this weekend: I got myself involved in an alt.country/classic country swap, and I've only just now become interested in that genre, so my pickings were kind of slim, and I haven't listened to the songs enough to put together THE PERFECT MIX. So I picked ones I liked and, well, dragged and dropped. Also, I broke the (apparently known by all but me) rule about having no more than one song by each artist, but somehow I think Earth will continue rotating. Anyway, that's the exception to the rule.
Maybe the mix tape is, but I don't think it's as apocalyptic as the Salon article makes it sound. The only mix tapes I ever made involved hitting "record" on a tape deck while Z104 played their Best of the Year show.
The fact that it's so easy to make a mix CD is exactly why it appeals to me; it's not as intimidating, and I don't have to worry about hovering over the "pause" button for half an hour. I don't believe that a mix CD necessarily means a lower-quality mix, either. I made my first thought-through mix for a CD swap last November. I spent hours playing with a playlist in my head, moving songs around, getting it all put together just the way I wanted it. I thought about it during the long drive home, I thought about it while I fixed dinner, I thought about it while I sorted laundry. So this whole thing with the "it's so easy no one ever thinks just drags and drops boohoo" and the whining is bullshit. I will concede that sometimes it's just a matter of drag and drop*, but how is that any different than a mix tape filled with a radio station's idea of the Best Music of 1998?
*this was the case this weekend: I got myself involved in an alt.country/classic country swap, and I've only just now become interested in that genre, so my pickings were kind of slim, and I haven't listened to the songs enough to put together THE PERFECT MIX. So I picked ones I liked and, well, dragged and dropped. Also, I broke the (apparently known by all but me) rule about having no more than one song by each artist, but somehow I think Earth will continue rotating. Anyway, that's the exception to the rule.
