On mix tapes...
I was in a weird mood tonight. Maybe I still am. I don't know yet. Anyway, in and of itself, that doesn't mean much. But it's amazing how a weird mood can have a big impact on things you do.
I went out to pick up a few groceries. On my way, I realized there was a bookstore next door to Cub, and having just watched Capote today, I really had the urge to pick up a copy of In Cold Blood assuming it wasn't terribly expensive. So, I went into the bookstore and started looking around. I think this is where the weird mood came into play. I don't really know why, but I suddenly felt like I needed a good, kinda bittersweet book. Something I could walk away from with the same feeling that I get from reading stuff like this. So, with that in mind, I looked at a few things. And I noticed a book I had heard a few good reviews about and I had been meaning to check out. Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield. So, I picked it up on a whim.
I'm only like 25 pages into it so far. I could see myself just sitting and reading it for quite some time tonight if not for the fact that I still have homework from Friday that I need to finish. But, again, that's generally beside the point.
The point is more about what it's gotten me thinking about. I read it through the second chapter, which is basically about why we make mix tapes. And it got me thinking about a few things:
1) MP3 players are kinda ruining the idea of mix tapes as cultural artifacts. You know, the idea that "I made this mix, it has some significance to at least me, and presumably others as well, and if I hang on to it (and who doesn't hang on to mix tapes?) it can serve as a way of reminding myself of some part of my history." I feel like a lot of that gets lost with MP3 players and even with just the idea of music being available in digital formats.
Sure, you can still make mixes for people if you have an MP3 player. Lots of people do, I'm sure. But how many people still make party mix CDs? Not nearly as many as before. Does anyone still tape songs off the radio? I have a pile of old tapes I made off of the radio when I was like 12-14. Aside from being collections of generally mediocre music from a certain time in my life, they're also full of memories I have of making them or listening to them. I still remember the time I rushed to the radio to finally get "Push" by Matchbox Twenty on there. I can't even imagine how many more memories would come back to me if I listened to a few of them for a while. And it's tough to get that same effect from downloading MP3s.
2) It got me thinking about mixes I've made for people before. All things considered, there haven't been that many. I can think of 4 offhand. One I made for a couple friends as a kind of "hey, this is music you probably haven't heard" thing, one I sent Bryna sometime sophomore year, I think, one I made as a gift for a "secret santa" thing, and one I sent Andrea sometime last winter. December, it seems. Before we were "dating", assuming we ever technically were.
Anyway, I found all of them tonight. I listened to the one I made for Andrea already. I've listened to the one for Bryna recently as well. And I dare say, I think they're really fucking good. I'm planning to listen to the others later, and I'm willing to bet I'll feel the same about them, even if I did spend a little less time on them. Regardless, they're one of the things in my life I can look back on and think "Yeah, I did something pretty awesome then," which is never a bad thing.
I kinda miss making them. It's time consuming, as I think I can be a bit too much of a perfectionist sometimes when it comes to some parts of them. But it's always enjoyable. It's one of those things that I can just really get myself into and commit myself to actually doing something and having something to show for my efforts. And so, that kinda leads to...
3) I've never really made a mix for myself before. You know, the kind of thing I'd make just for the sake of making a statement about who I am or how I feel or something like that. I mean, I've put together compilations of songs before, but it was never as much a statement about me as it was a process driven by something external, in one way or another.
And so it got me to thinking, I should make a mix for me. Something to epitomize me in 80 minutes or so. Something that'll describe who I am or how I feel or something about me so that I can look back in 10 years and think "Yeah, that's who I was then."
So that's my goal. My new driving force. I have no idea how long it's gonna take, but it's the first thing in a while that makes me feel like the time I put in will be worth what I get out of it.
I'll let you know when I finish...
I went out to pick up a few groceries. On my way, I realized there was a bookstore next door to Cub, and having just watched Capote today, I really had the urge to pick up a copy of In Cold Blood assuming it wasn't terribly expensive. So, I went into the bookstore and started looking around. I think this is where the weird mood came into play. I don't really know why, but I suddenly felt like I needed a good, kinda bittersweet book. Something I could walk away from with the same feeling that I get from reading stuff like this. So, with that in mind, I looked at a few things. And I noticed a book I had heard a few good reviews about and I had been meaning to check out. Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield. So, I picked it up on a whim.
I'm only like 25 pages into it so far. I could see myself just sitting and reading it for quite some time tonight if not for the fact that I still have homework from Friday that I need to finish. But, again, that's generally beside the point.
The point is more about what it's gotten me thinking about. I read it through the second chapter, which is basically about why we make mix tapes. And it got me thinking about a few things:
1) MP3 players are kinda ruining the idea of mix tapes as cultural artifacts. You know, the idea that "I made this mix, it has some significance to at least me, and presumably others as well, and if I hang on to it (and who doesn't hang on to mix tapes?) it can serve as a way of reminding myself of some part of my history." I feel like a lot of that gets lost with MP3 players and even with just the idea of music being available in digital formats.
Sure, you can still make mixes for people if you have an MP3 player. Lots of people do, I'm sure. But how many people still make party mix CDs? Not nearly as many as before. Does anyone still tape songs off the radio? I have a pile of old tapes I made off of the radio when I was like 12-14. Aside from being collections of generally mediocre music from a certain time in my life, they're also full of memories I have of making them or listening to them. I still remember the time I rushed to the radio to finally get "Push" by Matchbox Twenty on there. I can't even imagine how many more memories would come back to me if I listened to a few of them for a while. And it's tough to get that same effect from downloading MP3s.
2) It got me thinking about mixes I've made for people before. All things considered, there haven't been that many. I can think of 4 offhand. One I made for a couple friends as a kind of "hey, this is music you probably haven't heard" thing, one I sent Bryna sometime sophomore year, I think, one I made as a gift for a "secret santa" thing, and one I sent Andrea sometime last winter. December, it seems. Before we were "dating", assuming we ever technically were.
Anyway, I found all of them tonight. I listened to the one I made for Andrea already. I've listened to the one for Bryna recently as well. And I dare say, I think they're really fucking good. I'm planning to listen to the others later, and I'm willing to bet I'll feel the same about them, even if I did spend a little less time on them. Regardless, they're one of the things in my life I can look back on and think "Yeah, I did something pretty awesome then," which is never a bad thing.
I kinda miss making them. It's time consuming, as I think I can be a bit too much of a perfectionist sometimes when it comes to some parts of them. But it's always enjoyable. It's one of those things that I can just really get myself into and commit myself to actually doing something and having something to show for my efforts. And so, that kinda leads to...
3) I've never really made a mix for myself before. You know, the kind of thing I'd make just for the sake of making a statement about who I am or how I feel or something like that. I mean, I've put together compilations of songs before, but it was never as much a statement about me as it was a process driven by something external, in one way or another.
And so it got me to thinking, I should make a mix for me. Something to epitomize me in 80 minutes or so. Something that'll describe who I am or how I feel or something about me so that I can look back in 10 years and think "Yeah, that's who I was then."
So that's my goal. My new driving force. I have no idea how long it's gonna take, but it's the first thing in a while that makes me feel like the time I put in will be worth what I get out of it.
I'll let you know when I finish...
Labels: mix tapes
posted by Mike at
10:23 PM
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