I've been a mixtape artist since I was about 12. I've made hundreds, for myself and dozens of other folks. I've probably received about three. But that's ok. The joy is in the creation.
A lot of people don't understand, and therefore don't fully appreciate, the mixtape. I've been accused of being overly sensitive to people's reactions to my mixtapes, but that's because it is an art. I have spent hours and hours coming up with just the right mix of songs in just the right order. If you've ever received a mixtape from me, it truly is a piece of my heart. I always want the listener to be as moved by the music as I am. Will she like it? What will be his favorite song? Will I introduce her to something that she's never heard, but absolutely loves?
I do of course create mixtapes now on CD, which is much easier, but I definitely remember the days of true mixTAPES. I would sit in front of my dual tape deck in my bedroom for hours with all the songs I wanted laid out in front of me. I struggled to choose just the right order for flow and meaning, but also to get as many songs on a side as possible with very little room left at the end of the tape. Those were the days of 60-minute tapes, 30 on each side. I could usually fit 6-8 songs per side. You would not believe how happy I was when the 90-minute tape was introduced. I mean, 45 minutes per side -- could you ask for anything more?
I think the biggest pitfall was too long a pause between songs. That could completely ruin the flow of a mixtape; I've even had people listening to their mixtape, and during an unusually long pause between songs, ask me if that's the end. Oh ... dagger through the heart.
So I had to get rid of those pauses, either by finding a new song that was long enough to cover the old song as well as the extra seconds of empty space or, if I couldn't get it to work out, throwing the tape away. And those tapes were expensive for an allowance budget.
I often wonder if any of my mixtapes are still out there. They could be scattered via friends all across the US, as well as in Japan & Europe through various penpals. Were copies of my mixtapes made and given to other people, maybe passed off as someone else's mixtape? Is some girl in Japan listening to the B-52's Give Me Back My Man right now and trying to remember where in the hell that tape came from? Does she remember her old penpal who sent it to her? Is some guy in The Netherlands listening to the rare remix of Madonna's Causing a Commotion that he couldn't get in his country and remembering the guy from Mississippi who sent it to him?
I wonder ...
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