Mix-ed Up. I’ve written about the quiet beauty of mix tapes before in Papercuts. In fact, an piece I wrote for Low Hug #5/6, entitled “Tapeheads”, was actually picked up by the Utne Reader back in 2001. (Actually, they really butchered it; if anyone wants to read the full length original article, just post a comment – if enough people respond, I’ll post it.)

Unfortunately, in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I haven’t made a mix tape in a long, long time. I haven’t had the resources – namely a working recordable tape deck – to do so. It’s been CD-Rs for quite a while now. Part of this is economics, as well. With CD-Rs going for around $8 for a spindle of 50, it just makes more financial sense. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss working on mix tapes. While all the details and intricacies involved in song selection, proper timing, sequencing still exist in making mix CD-Rs, it just lacks the heart. And, trust me, this is not nostalgia. I’m not saying mix tapes were “better” than CD-Rs, just… different. I still listen to mix tapes, mainly while driving, since I only have a barely-functioning tape deck. I just haven’t made any in a long time. I’m even thinking about buying a cheap tape deck/CD boombox just to be able to make some sloppy mix tapes. If only to remember what it feels like.

And I’m certainly not alone in my fondness for this genre on the demise. Thurson Moore of Sonic Youth has edited a book called Mix Tape: The Art of Cassette Culture, due out next month. Here is his essay “The Best 90 Minutes of My Life”. It will be interesting to check out the other entries and essays in the book, but it does seem kind of pricey ($25 for 96 pages). You can always check out the site The Art of the Mix, where people upload playlists from their mix tapes and CDs. Here’s a few of my mixes.  ¶ 6:51 PM