A New Outreach For Introverts

so i got this idea that the internet wasn't going anywhere for a while, and i could take advantage of it to reach out to other like minded people who used the music compilation as a regular form of communication. i do not intend to supply the actual music as a download, but rather connect myself and others to the craft of music compiling.

when i was younger i made a few experimental mix tapes, and the magic of giving and receiving them was to marvel not only at the specially selected tracks, but at the knowledge of the time spent in physically recording from tapes and records onto one tape as a gift. it used to take a long time, and it involved doing math.

i don't mean to say that those days were better by any means. the tapes were short lived, got warped, and then lost, and i am still not any good at math. with personal computers and their music filing programs, you can make a compilation pretty quickly, and it most programs will do the math for you on how long the mix is so far, and how much time left you have to add to one disc. the program i use will examine songs you play often and with a click of the mouse, can arrange your favorite songs for you. you can create an instant mix by genre, by artist, by year, et cetera. so why are these still worth making?

i have collected and enjoyed many forms of music over the years, and hosted two radio shows, and spun music live in several venues in the pacific northwest. for me, my favorite thing about compiling music is that you get to be a dj for an audience of one, and that one will likely give a good portion of their attention at least once to what you have arranged. if they are a like minded mix enthusiast, they might dig a little to see if you have hidden a theme or message in there. if they are not, that one might just appreciate the gift and get exposed to some new music.

my favorite gift in the world, besides art supplies and home cooking, is a music compilation. i still call them mixtapes. but it's mostly CDs these days. even the compact disc is becoming less of a daily used media format for some, but it holds in there because you can put it in your computer and burn it to your hard drive. i hope that it hangs in there a while longer, because i enjoy making compilation CDs immensely, and making the packaging, artwork, and track lists quite a bit. for those who have traded mixes with me before, or known me for any length of time, the mixes i get from others are my primary source of discovery for music recorded after 1978. as i say, i don't want to live in the past, but i rely on others to help me enjoy the present.

so, here's this blog, and this facebook group. if you have facebook, you will likely get my attention sooner by sending me a message there, though i hope to give this bloggy thingy a fair shake. i start things a lot. i stick with fewer. but i have been making mixes for years, and i would like to widen my circle of friends who trade them. i will make a formal request soon for a participation deadline, and a theme recommendation. let the wild musical rumpus begin.