I'm not your - Critic

MUsiC
By Ally Embleton
Have you ever made a mixtape? Like, a
real one? Maybe you sat eagerly by
the stereo, waiting for your song to
play, winding the take-up reel on the cassette
by hand so you could get that perfect transition
timing. Or sat in a locked bedroom with your
friends playing a “borrowed” tape/CD from a
sibling on one recorder (eyes watering with
the effort required to resist making fart noises)
as you recorded your favourite tracks to share
on another? Maybe someone made you one?
Could you have compiled an eight-track pack
of your favorite lusty songs for a secret crush?
Even if these activities didn't occur during your
childhood, you could hardly have lived through
the ’90s/00s without encountering the NOW!
Mixes, movie soundtracks, or more recently, the
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MIXeD MessAges
compilation albums sent out by record labels
featuring mixes from all the bands they're promoting.
There's even a pretty decent website
called 8track where anyone can upload their
mixes. Mixtapes (albeit in various forms) are
all around you. You can't avoid them, so get
amongst it.
Don't be frightened. There seems to be a lot
of snobbery surrounding mixtapes. I find this a
little curious given that they're usually made
for a very small audience, so opportunities for
judgment will be pretty limited. Surely you can
make a tape of whatever YOU want, right? Not
everyone enjoys seeking out obscure bands or
spending hours getting the transition between
songs just right (I do, but I also like fashioning
small armies of critters out of discarded breadbag
ties, so what the hell do I know?).
I grew up with mixtapes. A friend of my
Music editor | Isaac McFarlane | music@critic.co.nz
dad's routinely sent him hilarious compilations
on cassettes. They were always pretty botched
jobs: the songs would cut out 20 seconds early,
or there would be inexplicable interludes of
random songs in the middle of others, or he
would mumble to himself in the middle of the
recordings. BUT they were always incredible
mixes. Aside from the entertainment factor,
exposure to the art of mixtaping from a young
age instilled in me a life-long love for the craft,
and with that devotion came a little knowledge.
I'm certainly no authority, but I like to think that
there are a few rules one should consider:
Don't be put off including tracks because the
band/song has a stupid name. In fact, you could
gift a mixtape sans track listings. Try withholding
the names until after the first listen in order
to shield your recipient from the unavoidable
human reflex of judgment.
Try not to make the tape too long. Traditionally cassettes had room
for eight tracks, so that's always a good starting point.
Don't just throw it together like some kind of audio Rorschach test –
that’s plain bad manners. Think about it a little. Nobody wants to listen to
the theme from Star Wars right after T-Pain's “Church”... that's just stressful!
However, don't fall into the trap of playing lots of songs that sound
the same either. Everyone loves a theme, but you've got to keep things
interesting.
You can find ways to make the tape more interactive. I once made a
compilation for someone's 21st birthday, and wrote a story incorporating
all the song titles (I wouldn't recommend that too highly though, it took
FOREVER). Or you can line up tracks to play as you follow a recipe – a
mixtape cake, if you will. “Cream butter and sugar for as long as it takes
John Lennon to Twist and Shout” – you get the idea.
But sometimes the best way is to be a maverick and do whatever
the hell you want. I'm sure someone will want to listen to your two-hour
compilation of Alvin and the Chipmunks singing Muddy Waters covers.
So, here is my mixtape for you today. It's compiled of songs that came
to mind (God knows why) as I listened to the one before. My starting point
was Dead and Lovely – Tom Waits:
1.Winter – The Dodos, 2. Steak Knives – Man Man, 3. Riot Rhythm –
Sleigh Bells, 4. Are You Pretty Enough – The Murderchord, 5. There There
– Radiohead, 6. See America Right – The Mountain Goats, 7. Gamma Ray
– Beck, 8. There Are Birds – The Ruby Suns. Check it out.
So go on, make a tape. Send one to whoever has had some kind of
musical influence on your life. Slip one under your flatmate's door, drop
it in a stranger’s mailbox, whatever. Just make one – because it's fun.