There are only a select few who have the talent to express
themselves through their own songs. For everyone else, there is the
mix CD. Here is a guide to making the best out of others’
music.

To be quite forthcoming, I hate mix CDs. They degrade from the
album as a expressive medium, raping and pillaging from a complete
thought in order to get a hodge-podge of scattered inklings and
notions. If someone were to give me a mix CD, I would just as soon
burn it in effigy than actually listen to it. It is rather ironic,
then, that I am incessantly making mixes for friends and
acquaintances. The difference is that, in knowing the pitfalls and
common mistakes in making mixes, I have found sure-fire mixes that
people really seem to like. Hopefully, these tips will help those
who feel like expressing themselves through others’ songs.

Come up with a theme, and run with it

One of the big mistakes when people make mixes is that the songs
they choose are too random and disjointed. Whether it is the
ubiquitous “party mix” or a mix designed around a single person,
having a theme for the mix focuses the mix and helps with the mix’s
continuity. If it is a subject theme, then the songs ought to match
the subject. If it is a “study” mix, then it is best to shy away
from heavy rocker songs that can act to distract more than aide in
the study process–perhaps some Nick Drake or early R.E.M. in this
situation.

If the theme is built around a person, the selection must be
more focused than with a topic theme. Do some research, find out
what the person generally likes or dislikes and don’t assume
anything. As much as a girl might look like a typical Nickelback
fan, she could be a closet Cure fan that would be tickled pink to
find “Inbetween Days” buried in track five. At the same time, the
mix should not be all the person’s favorite bands and songs, there
must be some kind of stretch involved. This brings me to my next
tip:

Don’t be afraid to be a little obscure

The point of a mix is more than just to make something greating
listening; it should also open the listener up to new music and
artists. What is the point of making a mix when the listener can
get the same experience from listening to the radio? If it is a
popular artist, shy away from the singles and dig deep into the
album cuts. If a big act like U2 must be used, try something
pre-Joshua Tree, like “A Sort of Homecoming” or “Like a Song”; make
the listener wonder if that really is U2. Also, don’t be afraid to
throw in an obscure artist. Nothing gets people into a mix more
than discovering a song they had never heard before and absolutely
loving it. However, the mix should not be a collection of rare
Stone Roses b-sides; discovery must be tempered by accessibility,
and vice versa.

Pacing is paramount

This is the area that people pay the least attention to, and it
comes back to bite them in the ass. Mix CDs, like albums, must have
a flow to them to keep the listener’s attention. Too many fast
songs or too many slow songs in a row become boring after a while,
and the expressive effect of the mix is lost. Not to be too
scientific, but the mix should be sinusoidal in nature. Fast songs
should bleed into mid-paced songs which go into slow, then back
into fast-paced. There should not be more than two or three songs
of similar tempo put in succession at any one point.

The key to this is finding the perfect transition songs. These
are songs that act to either build up or slow down the pace within
the song so that the transition from slow to fast or fast to slow
is not abrupt. Mix tapes succeed and fail by the effectiveness of
these transition songs. Take heart–transition songs can be found
in most great albums, usually around the middle of the tracks when
the artists try to move from the singles into the more artsy album
cuts.

As much as the pacing is important, it should not undermine the
theme of the mix. Even in mixes that are meant to be quiet, the
pace should pick up a little bit, but so much that it is not longer
quiet; it should all be relative. The same could be said for mixes
meant to keep the pace up, like workout mixes to pre-game pump-up
mixes.

Keep in mind the size of the mix

It seems as though the amount that can be stored on a CD-R is
growing by the year, allowing people to make mixes of epic
proportions. The problem with this mindset is that people can only
listen to a single CD for only so long before it gets boring and
monotonous. I have found, through extensive research, that the best
albums keep within the 40-50 minute range, leaning more towards 50
minutes. With mix CDs, this range can be slightly extended since
the use of multiple artists delays the boredom factor. Still, the
longest any mix should be is around 60-65 minutes, depending once
again on the theme of the mix. In terms of songs, 14-16 songs will
make a good compilation without being too arduous to survive.

Song length is also an important factor. Placing too many long
songs next to each other can be just as disastrous as placing too
many songs of the same tempo; the listener will ultimately lose
interest. If the song goes over the five-minute mark, try to
surround it with some three-minute songs before diving into another
long song. Keep this in mind for short songs–songs that are
shorter than two minutes, thirty seconds–as well.

Too many short songs placed together acts to distract listeners,
as there is not time to gain a comfort level with the song. The
bulk of the mix should have songs between these two extremes.

Using these easy tips, almost anyone can make a mix that will
astound peers and impress others. It may seem like these tips are
confining, but actually they work to focus the energy in order to
make something organized out of something chaotic. In fact, it
makes plowing through all the different possible song selections
and patterns far easier than doing so randomly. My last tip for
those making mixes is that they not take these tips and make mixes
upon mixes; mix CDs should be precious jewels, not pebbles on the
beach. In other words, mix in moderation.