The Art of the Mix

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Making mixes, for my friends and me, is very serious business. I have only made four and my medium is CDs. I have very strict rules that govern the material on the mix and how it is composed. Here are the ones I can think of:
(The mixes have no themes so the rules are not the same for themed mixes.)

1. No more than one track per artist. This includes artists' former bands.
2. Sixteen track limit, but sixteen is a real earful. There is no minimum, but a short one ought to have a reason for being short.
3. Beginning with tracks that open the album they come from is looked down upon. Same goes for ending with closing tracks.
4. Cover art is required (front and back).

Agree/Disagree? I was wondering if anyone else operates like this or has other rules.

― Adm Michel (adam michel), Thursday, 22 January 2004 01:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Anything that gets in the way of a good mix is a bad thing.

― Xii (Xii), Thursday, 22 January 2004 01:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Haha you would hate my mixes Adam. Here are my rules for making a mix.

1. Wait until I have downloaded enough new songs to fill a CD.
2. Burn them all to CD.

Occasionally if I can be arsed I separate songs by the same artist or split up genres a bit.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 22 January 2004 01:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Agree with the sentiment; don't agree with all the details.

#2 - I also feel that there are necessary minimums and maximums on mixes, and the latter should not be 80 minutes. I wouldn't strictly adhere to a "sixteen-track rule," though, especially for, say, my forthcoming Mountain Goats mix, which will likely have many more, considering the relative brevity of most of the Mountain Goats's songs.

#4 - I don't do this because I don't know how to, even though I bought some printing software for it.

#1 and 3 I'm in full agreement with.

― Kareem Estefan (Kareem Estefan), Thursday, 22 January 2004 01:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh I also totally frown upon printed/designed cover art. At a push I will draw a cartoon animal on a tape I make for my wife to play in the car though.

― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 22 January 2004 01:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Rules for mixes are insane.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 22 January 2004 02:00 (twenty-two years ago)

i got a really great mix tape from a girl last week, guys! she's great! the tape is really pretty too!!

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Thursday, 22 January 2004 02:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Aw. :-) What's on it?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 22 January 2004 02:16 (twenty-two years ago)

the only rule of my mix ritual is my increasingly quaint insistence on using cassettes.

― Al (sitcom), Thursday, 22 January 2004 02:22 (twenty-two years ago)

To defend myself:
I realise rules for mixes may indeed be insane, but I also think that a sloppy mix is such a waste. I don't mean to charge anyone of shoddy mix-making if they think differently (maybe a few friends).
Further, I think it's important to have a limit to the tracks because 18 or 19 songs by different artists is a lot to digest.

In response to #4 - I don't do this because I don't know how to, even though I bought some printing software for it.:
I didn't mean that cold and soulless computer stuff. It could be crayon on construction paper for all I care. I will say, however, that I used a computer to scan an image and print it onto a CD-shaped sticker to put on one mix.

― Adm Michel (adam michel), Thursday, 22 January 2004 22:19 (twenty-two years ago)

my only rules are that a mix cdhas to move through a lot of different music and that it has to flow.

― Former Supposed So Called Nihilist Teenage Drug Disco Addiction Counselor (mjt), Thursday, 22 January 2004 22:24 (twenty-two years ago)

More and more over time, I think that making packaging for mix cd-rs is for chumps. It's nice, but it's totally unnecessary. Focus on the tunes, buddy!

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Thursday, 22 January 2004 22:25 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm really into sequencing, but I don't have hard and fast rules about that stuff.

If I'm getting a cd from someone else, all I really ask is that they clearly label each song, supplying the name of the artist and title.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Thursday, 22 January 2004 22:27 (twenty-two years ago)

more than one track by more than one artist is a lot to digest.

― M Matos (M Matos), Thursday, 22 January 2004 22:27 (twenty-two years ago)

My only rule is that at lest on track must be by Aereogramme, simply because the more people who know how awesome Aereogramme are, the better.

― Stupid (Stupid), Thursday, 22 January 2004 22:30 (twenty-two years ago)

haha matos.
my mind is trying to get around the fact that some people sequence mp3 cdrs.

― mullygrubber (gaz), Thursday, 22 January 2004 22:31 (twenty-two years ago)

One track by more than one artist is not always a lot to digest.

― Adm Michel (adam michel), Thursday, 22 January 2004 22:48 (twenty-two years ago)

My latest mix, all painstakingly mixed together in Acid Pro over about 2 weeks.

1. West Street Mob - Break Dance Electric Boogie
2. Herbie Hancock - Rockit
3. Man Parrish - Hip Hop Be Bop (Don't Stop)
4. The Clash - The Magnificent Seven
5. Santa Esmerelda - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
6. New Order - Blue Monday (Hardfloor Mix)
7. Marmion - Schoneberg
8. Aphex Twin - On
9. Squarepusher - Red Hot Car
10. Outkast - Hey Ya
11. John Holt - Ali Baba
12. Johnny Osborne - Buda Bye
13. Kraftwerk - Autobahn
14. Autofire - Succotash Wish
15. Umek - Gatex
16. µ-ziq - Dance 2
17. Two Lone Swordsmen - Sticky
18. Radioactive Man - Trespasser
19. Knifehandchop - Bounty Killer Killer
20. Nordcore - 666
21. Venetian Snares - Befriend A Child Killer
22. Chosen Brothers - Dancing In The Rain
23. Remarc - Legalise
24. Venetian Snares - Dance Like Your Selling Nails
24. Bass X - Hardcore Disco
25. Usagi Chang - This Is A Quiz, Answers In A Minute
26. Sharky - Return To Toytown
27. Hellfish - Bring On The Hurricane Pain
28. Nasenbluten - Cunt Face

― dog latin (dog latin), Friday, 23 January 2004 02:26 (twenty-two years ago)

First impressions are lasting impressions. I try to add songs that get immediate attention after the last fade or whatever. Timing is crucial. It's not the artist so much as the way it leads you into something different. Take a chance with a mix. Play something totally unexpected. People will appreciate and certainly comment, or at the very least, notice it.

― jimwentworth (wench), Friday, 23 January 2004 04:59 (twenty-two years ago)

If a playlist or CD is for personal use, I try to keep it short - 45 minutes or less. When I first got a CD-R and was maxing every CD out, I never got around to the tail end of the disc (just like every album i own, I figure I haven't played 95% of them all the way through without skipping at one go).

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Friday, 23 January 2004 05:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Aw. :-) What's on it?

Oh, I'm sorry i didn't see your question Ned. there's paint on it, that's why it looks so pretty!

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Friday, 23 January 2004 05:10 (twenty-two years ago)

#1 Rule For Making Mix CDS: Only put on the very best songs, dumbass!

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Friday, 23 January 2004 12:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Dog latin that mix looks ace!

― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 23 January 2004 18:28 (twenty-two years ago)

#1 Rule For Making Mix CDS: Only put on the very best songs, dumbass!
I don't know if this is supposed to be condescending or just an honest contribution. Either way I totally agree that songs that go on mixes should be absolutely flawless. Or at least that's what I shoot for.

― Adm Mchel (adam michel), Friday, 23 January 2004 22:03 (twenty-two years ago)

anyone wants psych/noise mix tapes, e-mail me.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Friday, 23 January 2004 22:04 (twenty-two years ago)

two months pass...

He is not a dumbass .
(you're welcome)

― rebecca s, Wednesday, 21 April 2004 00:59 (twenty-two years ago)

#1 Rule For Making Mix CDS: Only put on the very best songs, dumbass!

-- Matthew Perpetua (fluxequalsra...), January 23rd, 2004.

bah! it depends on the context, say you were making a mix of obscure tracks from a single artist.. i find connect the dot mixes are fun.. especially if you make them on the fly and have to search through your vinyl while mixing..

― chris andrews (fraew), Wednesday, 21 April 2004 01:27 (twenty-two years ago)

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