Thursday, August 25, 2005

Long lost arts, and it's only been 10 years

In the long line of CD making, ipod list organizing, the mix tape has gone over many transformations. We are all DJ’s, and fill our auditory sense with our choices. No commercials, no breaks, just tunes. Since the cassette deck, people have had their own personal studios accessible to them. Of course, today there are computer-enhanced products that allow us to create our song lists. Not to steal too much from Nick Hornby, but those consist mostly of tracks of our favour. There is no cohesiveness, in a library of thousands of songs any two that happen to merge on a level beyond being favourites, or by the same artist, is simply a coincidence. Mix CD’s had their day in the sun, but somehow with the flash and burn technology, creating a song list required having the songs on computer or transferring them from cd/tape/vinyl onto computer for burning purposes. Somehow that takes too many middlemen for me. Keeping it simple is finding a song, pressing play and record. Hopefully it’s not too disjointed.
Which brings us to the artist de jour. When asked when he started making mix tapes, The artist formally known as DJ responded that he started at a very young age by copying songs off the radio. He would then label each tape “Greatest Hits Vol.” Apparently he got up to volume 4 before he ran out of tapes. So he has experience. And with that he brings us the latest in his collection of mix tapes. The ever so difficult ‘gift’ tape. Something that isn’t for his own listening, but something to give to another, requiring slightly more effort than the mp3 generation style of putting-songs-I-like on a tape. Something that has to make sense. Or something that passes as familiar. Constant search for reflection in the universe. This song is me.
Put'em up. Let loose. Dance, twirl. Chillax. Whatever works for you.

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