I used to be able to make really good mix CDs, but somewhere along the way I seem to have lost the ability. I mean back in the day, burning a CD for someone was almost a work of art- a way to work out some excess creativity and make something totally unique for someone to enjoy and listen too. But I lost my edge. Reviewing my recent mix CDs, a disturbing pattern of repetition appears to emerge- and one, uncomfortable truth has become very clear to me:
I got a thing for Sara Bareilles.
Yep. "Love Song" appears on virtually every mix CD I've made for the past year, if not more. It's horrifying- like a subliminal message in a Stephen King novel that will eventually infect my brain and end up with me hacking my way through a wall with a pick-axe and leering insanely and whatever's on the other side, just like Jack Nicholson in 'The Shining.'
I remember where I was when I first heard that song- it was on Highway 60 in southwestern Minnesota and Ali and I were on our way back from Worthington and heading home to Mankato. It was getting dark and we were almost to Lake Crystal and then that song dropped. I was surprised, because I could have sworn it was Fiona Apple. Like she found a bottle of prozac or something and decided not to be dark and twisty- just for a refreshing change of pace. But, it wasn't--- it was none other than Ms. Sara Bareilles and she's haunted my musical footsteps ever since.
Contemplating this- along with my wonderful new iPod, I was determined to make my way back to a deeper exploration of music. Part of this recent move on my part has been due to another birthday present- an excellent biography of Joe Strummer, the lead singer of The Clash. It's made me realize just how much I miss music and just how lazy I've gotten recently with my musical tastes. I used to be about discovering anything new when it came to music, but lately, it's just been whatever's on the radio that I groove too. I have no problem with the latter, but have come to deeply miss the former. And reading about the early days of punk- and just the concept of punk itself, something we don't normally hear a lot about here in the post-punk era is a treat in and of itself. My parents, bless 'em, despite actually being in the UK in the late1970s, were apparently almost completely oblivious to bands such as The Clash, The Jam or Joy Division or even the Sex Pistols- bands that I love. My Dad has a thing for Pink Floyd that continues to this day and my mother will still try to sell me on the concept that Elvis Costello was part of punk. I have yet to buy into that.
But, to bring the discussion back around to my original point- I did a lot of thinking about how to make the perfect mix CD- and it took awhile- hence, the delay between my last dispatch and this one- but I think I may have come up with some fairly loose rules that people could, potentially follow, if they seek to make a mix CD of some kind. The initial problem with this concept should be fairly obvious: mix CDs are totally subjective things. Your tastes in music are different from mine and your approach could be totally different than mine- and that's totally cool, which is the beauty of music as we know it, I think. So you can probably go ahead and ignore this if you really, really want too:
Something Old, Something New: I think balance in a good mix CD is important. Unless, of course, you're going for a theme of some kind that doesn't cut across genres. But that, to me, would make it more of a compilation than a true Mix CD. But balance means that you have good old stuff mixed with the new kick-ass stuff and stuff from various points between all rolled into one kick-ass CD.
Seven Minutes In Heaven: I also think a key component to any mix CD is a long-ass song. Rock n'Roll is replete with long ass songs, ranging from Derek and the Dominoes' version of 'Layla' to Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' to CSNY's 'Judy Blue Eyes' or the Allman Brothers' 'Jessica' there are plenty of length tunes you can jam out too. The question is which one to choose and how to choose one that won't seem like it's overwhelming the rest of the mix CD. Which is why I never put I.Ron Butterfly on my mix tapes.
Quirks: Everyone has their own. Mine are alphabetically. I cannot have two artists who begin with the same letter next to each other. At all. Britney Spears and Bob Dylan have to be separated, as to Juanes and Jamiroquai. But that's just me- everyone really does have their own personal quirks about stuff they do and don't like to do with mix CDs.
At the end of the day though, there are no hard and fast rules for what makes a good Mix CD. There are times when I think we all feel like there should be rules- but part of the fun of doing this is the fact that you get to make your own rules doing it. I lost my touch, so I think I'm going to make a resolution to more conservative and careful with my mixing. I don't just want a mix CD anymore- I was a good mix CD that can be played over and over again. And in the spirit of that sentiment, I carefully contemplated and came up with the following mix- a work in progress, as I have some issues with the back half or so of the order. But we'll see what it ends up looking like:
1. Jessica- The Allman Brothers
2. Police and Thieves- The Clash
3. Johnny Too Bad- UB40
4. Me Against The Music- Britney Spears
5. Lie In Our Graves- Dave Matthews Band
6. Black Thumbnail- Kings of Leon
7. One Step At A Time- Jordin Sparks
8. Come On Eileen- Dexy's Midnight Runners
9. Fireflies- Owl City
10. She's Lost Control- Joy Division
11. You Only Live Once- The Strokes
12. Clint Eastwood- Gorillaz
13. Scarlet Begonias- Sublime
14. Bad Days- The Flaming Lips
15. EMI- The Sex Pistols
16. Just Got Started Lovin' You- James Otto
17. All I Really Want- Alanis Morrisette
18. Ceremony- New Order
I test drove this a little last night on the IPod and generally speaking I'm pleased with it. I know there's a Britney song on there, but that comes back to the whole 'balance' thing we talked about earlier. You have a decent Britney song with a kick-ass beat that people can dance too and you balance it with pop tunes by Jordin Sparks and something totally new by Owl City. I think it's sort of the latter half of the mix that gets a bit shaky. The Strokes are totally kick ass, but Gorillaz and Subline are old throwback standbys- good in their proper place, but if you're going for a lack of repetition in your mix CDs, they might have to be voted off the island. But a large part of this CD works- and it works in a fresh way that helps people party better at the end of the day. And better mixes make for better parties- which I think we can all agree is a good thing. (Especially that, despite picking up some Studio Arts OT this morrning before my last night tonight--- and believe me tomorrrow, there's gonna be drinking.)
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