This has happened before, but the handmade mix is a majestic thing. This time, a party is going to be thrown where the price of admission is a mix CD for your friends. The theme is an acoustic thesis of yourself. Everyone must make a CD, then copy it for everyone else who is making CDs. Make a mix that sums yourself up in 19 tracks or so. I love these kinds of things, I used to be hopped up on writing about this subject, but now I find relying on the music I enjoyed a better exercise.GREAT STUFF!
On the first pass through my iTunes library I had 2:33 min of music. Waaaaay too much for a CD. Now I'm parsing down what I have and assembling it into a chronological order. From there I figure I'll reassemble it into mix cd form, breaking up congruent sounds and tracks. The hardest part is paring down the songs that mean something, to the songs that are absolutely essential. It's a great memory exercise.
But what I really want to emphasize is two points.
1) This exercise is fabulous like a scrapbook. I know that my music library has music ranging from junior high up to my current listening habits. I frequently have to delete old music to make room for the new music, but what has remained after three laptop upgrades is the good stuff. Therefore, this mix CD goes from 8th grade all the way up until today. Its fun to see where I was when I first listened to these songs, where I rediscovered them, the context of my listening to these songs, the people that influenced my listening habits etc. I really enjoy all the layered memories. It's like an onion, according to some ogre.
2) If I make a cd, invariably, people will recognize some of the songs. The great part, is when they recognize them, they immediately place them in their own personal context. Thus, my context and the listener's context are superimposed into a strange cocktail of memories. I LOVE the idea of sharing this audio scrapbook. Sharing these memories, which the listener won't have any idea aside from a few brief liner notes, of where I stand in regards to the selection aside from chonology. But when they listen, they will superimpose their own memories and experiences into the experience. "Oh I remember listening to that track back when I was...." Example, what are your memories for the song Everybody by the Backstreet Boys. If you're playing along, that song alone should bring up a plethora of memories and experiences. Let's combine those memories and experiences and you have a tapestry of human experience. I hope that my excitement is universal for really tapping into that kind of combined human living.
To leave you, a music video of another song that was a large moment for me personally. This song heralded my return to dance music after a loooong hiatus. Plus it's a pretty good music video. So enjoy, and perhaps keep an ear to the ground, if I get a chance, I might try to post my mix here if I can figure out the necessary sharing technology.
Cheers!
