The Art of the Mix Tape

I guess I never really thought about making a mix tape as an art until a few days ago. In my mind, a mix tape was just a few songs that you liked and would listen to for your own pleasure. But I now see how a mix tape can transcend mere "listening to music for pleasure" and just background noise to have on a long trip.

My wife asked me to help her create a mix tape. Well, make a mix CD. I thought she would pull a few songs she kinda liked (usually Broadway and big band music) and throw them on a CD for her drive to here current work site. Instead what I witnessed was a personal musical journey that went beyond "these are songs I know I like." She insisted that she likes rock music more than I think she does. She was extremely thoughtful and weighed each song against the others. Now there were a few songs she insisted on like Kelly Clarkson's "Walk Away" and "Since You Been Gone". Then she would add on "Church" by Lyle Lovett with the comment "you just gotta have that!" Another interesting song choice was "Box Set" by the Barenaked Ladies. That song basically lays out everything the songwriter is about and that is exactly what she did before we got married. She sat me down and told me everything that was wrong with her. She then asked "Do you still want to marry me?" Well, Duh. Of course I married her. I bought the whole "Box Set".

My wife then proceeded to sit at my computer and add other songs carefully weighing it's "Rockin' ness". She would pick something and the conversation would go like this:

Her: What's that Shania Twain song I like?
Me: That's country.
Her: I know, but it rocks.
Me: Well, it was produced by Mutt Lange.
Her: Who?
Me: Mutt Lange. He produced Def Leppard's Pyromania album.
Her: Do I like them?
Me: I don't know. I though you were going to make a disk of show tunes.

So we proceeded to add "Man, I Feel Like a Woman" and "That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain. She always made it a point to listen to a couple of minutes of each song before it was added the "mix tape". I was impressed with some of the songs she did pick out like Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light". Apparently a boyfriend of hers in college gave her a recording of "Bat Out of Hell" that she wore out. She even liked some of the songs I picked out like Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity" and the Art of Noise/Tom Jones "Kiss" remake.

So after about an hour or so, we burned the "mix tape" and she listened to it on her drive. I suggested she might want to get an mp3 player. I told her she could put 10+ hours of music on it. She asked "When have I ever listened to 10 hours of music?" Apparently it's not about "how much music" but "this is the music I put the thought into."

I guess it's all in the art of the mix tape.