Gifting mix tapes has been a good music sharing idea.
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You pile a set of songs that testify your taste in music. You record it to a tape, a cassette tape that’s a rarity now, and give it away. This is a good way to know quality music beyond familiarity, and a way for your friend to know you more.
But like casette tapes, the activity of mix tape exchanges is extinct or nearly. Now, we just share a link from YouTube if we liked a song. There’s less interaction in discovering new songs since we just do it on our own. Many people like me will cruise through iTunes and rely on luck to track a new song I’ll add on favorites.
I’m also in the hunt of great stories. I’ve read and watched perks of being a wallflower – a wonderful work. It’s set in the 90’s and there’s a lot of mix tape handouts between the characters. They are friends because they like the same thing – good music!
Digital music is a hindrance to this comradely kind of music sharing. We just don’t share music anymore as much as in the 90s. It’s hard to go back in that era since this advancing technology is pushing us forward at a fast pace like everything in this generation.
I like music that my friends recommend me. Well not all of it, but if we clicked, there’s extra meaning to that song. The new MySpace has that initiative to incorporate music sharing in a social networking platform. Hell yes! They got that need and this may be a modern mix tape.
I listen to almost any music. The three exceptions are (a) the unduly sad songs that make me run away as far as I could from the slightest sound of it, (b) certain heavy metal because meaningful lyric is huge for me and (c) songs that I don’t understand, like K-pop.
On my mix tape, many will be from 80s to 90s. Today, almost every songs are either cheesy or club-like that sounds alike. There’s only few contemporaneous songs that impresses me. I’ll have Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run, Nada Surf’s Always Love, and The Beatle’s Let It Be.
What songs will be in your mix tape?
Moment Matters 
Bruce Hornsby-every little kiss. Cold Play-Symphony, The Verve-Bitter sweet symphony.
Prince- the beautiul ones, and anything by David Bowie.
I now do the same with CDs.
Use sofware to DJ mix the songs too.
I still make cd’s for friends…and base the song choices around their personality and current life situations.
So. Unduly sad songs. Does that mean you are running from Norah Jones’ latest album?
You took me back with this one. I haven’t made a mix tape in almost 15 years. Thanks for the throwback.
Check out the musical Mixtape; It portrays exactly what you’re saying in this article!
Yes I remember those days!! Nowadays I only get a load of new music or links from a very close musician friend! Otherwise I’m scouring the net for random musicians that I might per chance like.
Saying that you’d probably run a mile listening to half the stuff on my ipod. Some K-pop even:-) And worst of all for anyone who isn’t Cambodian is the thousands of super soppy tragic and sad love songs that they listen to here everywhere – and sing to. Karaoke is big all over asia. And some fabulous Thai soft rock as well as classical Thai love songs. This is just a tiny percentage of my listening habits but I definitely pick up music through travelling. Amazing what my ears and senses can get accustommed to and then grow to love over time!!!
Choosing just one song? Eh. I’d go with Def Leppard. Probably, “Armageddon it”
In my blood ❤ & soul!
Reblogged this on speaksinside.
I used to love making mix tapes of my favorite songs off the radio. Then I would listen to them over and over. I still have some of them, even though I don’t have a stereo to play them on. I’ve made mix CDs for people I liked with songs that meant something to us or something I wanted to say to that person. Music is a universal language, and I believe it’s meant to be shared. (Withstanding any rights or purchasing arguments at the moment, of course.)
On my mix tape? She-Green Day; Blackbird-The Beatles; Bleeding Love-Leona Lewis; Chopin; Bach; Come As You Are-Nirvana; Because of You and Breakaway-Kelly Clarkson; Hair of the Dog-Nazareth; We’re Not Gonna Take It-Twisted Sister; You Are Not Alone-Michael Jackson; Sister Christian-Night Ranger
You’ve made me nostalgic, in a happy way, today. Thanks!
Shared CDs are my favorite gift to give and get. Last year, when my daughter turned 25 I gave her a CD with a hit song from each year. Personally, I do not miss the years of recorded cassette music. The CDs are easier to put together and burn, and the cassette cannot hold a candle to them for quality. The internet makes it so easy to find music of a theme — such as the hit music. Nope. I prefer not to walk down that Memorex Lane.
“heavy metal because meaningful lyrics is huge for me”
First, that’s “meaningful lyrics are huge for me”. Second, if you honestly believe heavy metal doesn’t have meaningful lyrics, you need to change the band(s) you’re listening to.
I recommend Another Way to Die by Disturbed, Vicarious by Tool, Amerika by Rammstein, and Flying Whales by Gojira.
Casettes sound to me as much too modern stuff. I bought a grammophon lately and startet to collect schellacks 🙂 That sounds good 🙂
I still prefer cassette tapes, over cd’s; but since discovering interent radio, a few years ago. I find it hard to listen to anything else. There’s something for every taste. My fave is, Radio Moka. There are lots of channels out there, with or without ads.
This is a really nice way of reaching out.
Lovely post.
here’s our mix tape for leaving-NYC.
waving from soho.
_teamgloria x
I liked this very much. i recently encountered a box of all my old tunes on mixed tapes. i had all sorts of themes and my brothers and i would exchange them. no one really sits and listens to records anymore, or hides from the parents. in this world of everything’s online and everyone must know about it, it seems that sitting in a room alone with friends and listening to music might seem weird. too much “on the go” going on. the digitization has improved the quality and the delivery, but not the experience of listening to an album together with friends. do people still do that or are my brothers and i the only ones left?
What a great post! I was just telling my high school students how in the 1980s we made mixed tapes. I might as well have said that I also rode to school on a triceratops. It’s funny because being so into music is really timeless. It mainly the medium and modes that deliver music that change.
I can still hear certain songs from the 1980’s and remember exactly where I was with my friends at the time. Thanks for helping me remember — also thank you so much for following Travel Oops! 🙂 Steph
I had almost forgotten all the mixed tapes my youngest son used to make for me and our family trips when he was in elementary school. So sad he won’t have the opportunity to have his children return the favor. As for what would be on my mix tape, a little Styx, schools out and Only Women bleed by Alice Cooper, and probably some Hinder and Stone Sour.
I think it’s great that I can just send my friend an mp3 if I think he’ll like it. Thank you hotmail for expanding your attachment capacity.
Songs on my mixtape?
Oceansize – Silent/Transparent
Meshuggah – Break the bones whose sinews gave it motion
Tool – Pushit
Porcupine Tree – Arriving Somewhere but not here
Mogwai – Friend of the Night
There are many more, but I’ve got to do some work 🙂
What a coincidence, just last week I gave a close friend his birthday present – a Mix Disc. I think well thought out gifts are far better than store-bought ones. I a lot of classic and 90’s rock/grunge music on it.
I think that the digital world has made it even easier… with a cassette you paid a couple of bucks for the tape and spent a couple of hours making the mix tape…. with digitial formats I pay a couple of bucks for a 1 or 2 GB USB thrumb drive… you pull the songs into a folder on your player and all is done… press play, press shuffle… it’s all good.
Great post.
The real joy of the mix tape was you had to listen to every song that went on to the tape all the way through. The mix CD is literally drag and drop and move on.
I recently recreated a mix I did for my wife 22 years ago when we were separated by 6000 miles, I remember the original took days to get right, the recreation took maybe an hour as I had to remember the songs.
Anyway any mix tape should have Spiders by Wilco on there and Rain by the Beatles.
I miss me some mix tape action, although we used mostly CDs when we were in high school.
I’m also CD’s now. I remember the effort it took to prepare twice 45 minutes of music that flowed together. It’s a lot easier now.
Ooohhh, I miss making and sharing mix tapes! I still have all of mine:)
I miss the cassette days. I used to play parts of songs, or repeat choruses, and blend songs together. I even used to record myself singing (adlibbing) in the background along with the song. My own unique enjoyment. Can’t do that now. Have to play the whole song, unchanged, with silence in between songs. Not as fun.
Great post that brought back great memories! Putting my 7 singles on tape was great. Not only the right choice of songs, but making sure the vinyl is nice and clean, put the needle softly on the record and puasing the tape at the right moment! Off course there was also the risky business of giving a new girlfirend a mixed tape as any future romoance might have been determined by that!!
Some of my tape choices: I don’t like Mondays (Bob Geldof & Boomtown Rats), I want to break free (Queen), Take on Me (A-Ha), Song 2 (Blur), Common People (Blur), Pros and Cons of Hitch-hiking (Roger Waters), Scar Tissue (Red Hot Chillies)
also a huge fan of mixed tapes. thanks for the flashback.
Great post. I used to love getting mixed tapes back in the 80s and 90s…ahhhh so awesome. 🙂 Thanks for the movie and book reference too. I was interested in reading or watching the movie. It looked pretty good, but glad to know someone I know (virtually) gave it a thumbs up. 🙂