This is the mix tape item. Talk about the favorite mix tapes you have given or recieved.52 responses total.
Funny this should come up. Just today I found the last mix tape I made about 18 months ago. Side 1 alternates British Isles folk-rock tracks with an assortment of classic rock tracks; Side two continues with the folk-rock stuff but alternates with one-track obscure wonders. I really would like to do more tapes, but they usually take me about four hours each.
One summer vacation I managed to cram my favorite songs from my CD collection onto one tape. (just try doing that with my current collection!) I listened to that tape so much that I became used to the song order on that. To this day I can't listen to Blues Travellers' "Stand" without expecting to hear King Crimson's "Lark Tongues in Aspic II" afterwards...
I have a constantly running mix of singles theat aI get that I don't usually listen to because they aren't albums, it's pretty cool.
(do I sense a soundgarden fan? or soundgarden ex-fan, or ex-soundgarden fan or whatever it would be now...never mind...)
I always get confused-- are the 'mix tapes' you're talking about called 'sample tapes,' too? In the industry, when you release a selected single from a group's album, you often have a number of alternate 'mixes,' other than the one that was featured on the album. So mix here refers to the arrangement of the vocal and instrumental tracks. Some DJs and mix masters take a particular song, re-arrange the vocals and instrumentals, or strip it down to vocals, adding new instrumentals (which usually contain several samples or distortions of the old ones-- well, in other words, they heavily tweak with the instrumentals), or whatever. There's usually room to overdub samples of the vocals or some other audio source, but then the recording is usually called a dub. Ok-- if I now understand you right, I don't think I remember any one great sample tape. My fave right now is a tape I'm making of various 80's synthpop tunes (with the exception of George Michael's "Fastlove"). Most I get from a retro hour on our Top 40 radio station. I don't make as many mix tapes as I used to-- too easy to lose sound quality in the recording-- but a friend of mine and I used to do it a bit to try to justify a little piracy in our minds. These days I try to avoid it if I can.
The circles I run in usually use the term synonymously :) Yes, I am a Soundgarden fan, though I just used this name because I liked it :)
It's been one I made a long time ago but each time I give a
copy away it gets cloned at least one more time:
KCUF - FM 96 - a mix tape of variuos songs with dirty lyrics and/or
sexual inuendo. One person said something on the order of that he
was not only surprised I found so many for one tape, but I had good
stero copies of them.
When we where reviving 80's about a year ago, I got out my
tapes I made of popular 80's. Quite a wide variety.
Mr. Ryan, you and I must talk. I am in dire needof a really good Eightes mix tape. *I am also looking for a copy of _Take Kown Leap_ and one of _Hot Frogs on the Loose_.
An underground band called The Levitz put out an album entitled SEX, which altered the lyrics to popular songs to make them overtly sexual. High (low?)lights include a version of Hold My hand by Hootie, go by pearl jam, and others which I don't recall. Being underground, the don't worry too much about copyrights, so they have a slightly modified version of Closer by NIN on there too. modified in instrumentals, otherwise unchanged.
Before I got to the last sentence (fragment) I was thinking, "They had to modify 'Closer' to make it overtly sexual??" Glad you cleared that up.. }-)
I love mix, aka sample, tapes. I've made a bunch over the years, although the last time I made one was January 1993. I have a couple of new ones planned out on index cards. One will concentrate on acappella singing (mostly pop and folk, no classical choral music), and one will concentrate on favorite rock album tracks from the last 5 years or so. I frequently find myself only liking one or two tracks from many recent rock or pop albums, and playing those particular tracks repeatedly. It's nice to collect them and then play the tape over and over again in the car.
On the other hand, often I will think I only like one or two tracks, and then the others will grow on me. Some things don't hit you immediately, but when they do they really hit you. Mix tapes or radio--anything selective--means not hearing that sort of thing. I love mix tapes, but I do find it better to get a wide spread.
haven't made a mix tape in a while...the one I made in high school, I made one side of happy music and one side olf music that makes me nostalgic. . .
I totally agree, orinoco.. I never buy an album for a song or two. I can save more money by lifting it from the radio or buying the single. I buy albums because the album is good. A couple nonradio songs jump out at you, and then you slowly start to come around to the others that don't have the punch of the singles, but maybe as good or better. I haven't dabbled in mixes for a long time.
Oh, I still make mix tapes, usuall based on mood. It just bugs me when that's the only way someone listens.
i'm currently (between umpteen bazillion other things) working on putting together a mix tape of all the songs that remind me of my trip to mexico, mostly stuff that they played at the disco, it's gonna be pretty cool:)
My latest project is a mix tape of music that no sane person would listen to, for my friend Caitlin who is Not a Sane Person. David Byrne, Brian Eno, King Crimson, Anna Holmer, Ashley MacIsaac, Surrender to the Air, and other weirdness.
I'm feeling a need to make a mix tape again now that I have an influx of music that I really don't like the whole albums of, some of which are borrowed anyway.
I've got to make a couple mix tapes of stuff that's so cool or colpex or whatever that it can bear listening to many, many times. . .I'mn going on a long trip to this jazz conference in Itraly, and looks like we're going to be on grains alot. .. set "grains"="trains"(man, I gotta learn to type better. . .)
Made a mix tape about a week ago for the trip from hell (aka the trip to my hometown) -- first side was good, second side got thumbs down from the driver, bru. So, I can make really good side ones, and not good side twos.
I tend to either cram all the good stuf onto side one, or deliberately put filler into side one so as to have good stuff left, and then run out of tape before I have everything I want to on it.
I used to make mis tapes for my moods. (This was when i had a tape deck that actually played tapes). One was total angst music ( mianly played to and from work), the sappy music, teh scream till your totally deaf music (never left the house because it was my "I am totally trashed and don't give a damn about anything music") and I am totally happy to be alive (which RARELY got played) I think they consisted of alot of punk/ sca music due to the main reason why i was in my car was to go places i didn't want to go. Which was work.
I remember I used to get mix tapes of songs from the Dr. Demento show from a friend of mine. (Speaking of that, the good old Dr. D was practically mixing 'em for us!) Unfortunately, the sound quality was EXTREMELY poor-- the show was on an AM station when we listened to it. Even when our Adult Contemporary station started playing the show in FM, it was an extremely short run. The station also picked up our local Top 40 audience when our Top 40 station folded to a country one, so I doubt I'll ever hear the show again :`( Of course, these days the syndicates banned Dr. D from doing his show live in L.A. ever again-- the show is bound to syndication. I hear the live show was even better. (or so I've heard)
(I don't put together as many tapes for myself as I used to, but I still do for various friends, and quite frequently at that. I don't really have a favorite, mostly because I rarely get the chance to hear them again. =^) what I like about making tapes for myself is that it gives me the chance to sequence songs that would not normally be placed side by side. in this regard, my favorite sequence would have to be the time that I followed Suzanne Vega's "Solitude Standing" with Public Enemy's "Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos.") (what I like about making tapes for other people is the ability to show off. I love finding alternate mixes and B-sides and recordings that most people aren't even aware exist, and then putting them on tape and making the person GUESS who the artist is.)
Oooh, you're MEAN! (I am not good at guessing these things.) Was given a mix CD for Christmas of Canadian bands. I am now lusting after a whole CD by Captain Tractor. Am trying to put togehter a mix CD of my fave filk, since it's going to be decaying soon (most of the filk I have is on over ten year old tapes, and it's all oop. Bummer.) -- and I have a friend who has a CD burner. Now if I can only get together with him....
Wow. I can't get use of a CD burner out here, although there is a used music store back in Richland (Eastern WA, that is) nearby where I live that might be patient enough to do mixes. Now-- what are minidisc recorders capable of? Are they still just a little too expensive?
I LOVE doing mixed tapes...and it's fun looking at peoples expressions when I do things like have Billie Holliday followed by Meatloaf...Duke Ellington, Jewel, and Disney all in a row....:)
re #26: Minidisc players have suddenly gotten a *lot* cheaper in the past six months or so.. They're actually semi-reasonably priced these days, though I still don't think I'd want one..
Yeah, I've been mulling over buying a Minidisc deck. The console decks are now less than $400, media $5-7. A few months ago Big George's had a package with a record/play console deck and a walkman player for about $450. I'm slightly more interested in DAT, which starts at about $750. :(
Doesn't minidisc use a compression system that causes the sound quality to degrade when it's recorded, something along the lines of mpeg?
Yep, it's called ADTRAC. The first versions of ADTRAC *sucked*. It's much better now, and even with the lossy compression MD is a *ton* better than cassette.
Which is why I'm still liking DAT over MiniDisc... Cassette is good enough for a lot of things, and at $2-3 (or less) media cost, pretty damn cheap to use.
DAT is the same technology that was being labeled DCC, right? Professional both in the computing and music industry love DAT players because they make great backups, and they are a superb tool in the mastering process. For example, DAT players make sampling real audio clean and easy. But if I understand things correctly, DAT cassettes aren't usually used as a permanent recording. Now somebody might have to explain to me how DAT players and DCC players are different. DCC can play digital and analog tapes, but does DAT follow the same format? Both are subject to the same wear and tear that regular cassette tapes are, so even if cassettes are cheaper, I think the masses decided that CDs were worth paying for, even if DCC's were made cheaper. So that meant for the public, DCC players were of little value. Why drive down the price of a DCC when CD players are just as viable and are cheaper now? Enter MiniDisc-- as was said, the public has wanted to have some advantages of CDs, and some flexibility that only cassette had previously offered. Again, it is marketed to the *listening* public. Sure, they are recordable, but that's not their ultimate use. Again, DATs are used by programming companies, studios, and folks who demand the same temporary needs. (is that close?)
DAT is *not* DCC. DAT is like a little tiny VCR system, very high density, linear 16 bit digital recording. These are used for mastering on the not-top-end, since they are CD quality with no data compression tricks. DCC was a failed compromise format. The shell is a cassette size, and some compression is used. DAT is still expensive because of the mechanical complexity, with spinning heads just like your VCR, only on a smaller scale. MiniDisc has a cheaper mechanism, more like a disk drive, and the resulting lower data density requires cheating, ie data compression. Unlike the kind of compression used on a PC, this type of compression is "lossy", gaining a much higher compression ratio in return for some permanent data loss. The compression algorithm is intended to make the loss inaudible by taking advantage of audio data characteristics, but it can't be perfect. Actually, DAT may well be used for mastering at the top end. I'm not that up to date on the subject. (one other advantage of DAT/MiniDisc: since walkman-type recorders are available, you can do digital field recordings with little lugging of hardware. DAT is especially great for compiling live albums, since the deck is small and the media is cheap so an artist can record every concert in a tour with clean digital recording but minimal fuss and expense.) One application some professionals like Minidisc for is DJ work or solo musician backing tracks, due to the random access capability DAT lacks. (DAT can search out index marks, but it takes time) Minidisc audio quality is fine for those situations.
DAT is used all over both ends for mastering. Although in the big mastering houses 1/2" analogue at 15ips with Dolby SR is still king. THe problem with DATs (and this could be true for MD, i don't know) is that they self-erase in 20 or so years. Worthless for archiving. Gotta love that Ampex 641 tape.
DAT would have, could have, should have been a great recording format, the kind that would've crippled cassette tapes the way CDs crippled LPs as a popular format. Unfortunately the record companies did a remarkably good job of using fear, uncertainty, doubt, and the threat of legal actions to stifle the adoption of DAT as a common standard and so today it largely remains the domain of demanding niche users like recording technicians and audio fanatics.
Yep, although I've nearly sworn off DAT at a viable format. Just too many little things to go wrong. I've been using my 1/4" analogue open-reel machine a lot more lately. (until I broke a couple springs that is....damn) Anyone know of a good source for small springs?
re #34-36: Much better said-- I was hoping to learn something.
re #37: My experience with DAT is primarily backing up computer data but you're right -- the mechanical reliability of the tape mechanisms leave a lot to be desired.. Unfortunately DLTs are a little chunky to haul around with you.. :-)
Re:17 (Yeah, I know. Way back there) Not a sane person, eh? ... Yeah, I guess you could describe her like that. :)
Yep.
So I finally took the plunge this week and ordered a CD-R burner.. I knew I'd succumb eventually after I fell for a rebate offer at Staples through which I got 20 blanks for basically sales tax and a stamp (the rebate offer covered the full purchase price..) "Sounds like a good idea," I said, "they're almost totally free and they might come in handy. I don't *have* to buy anything.." Now a few months later, my willpower exhausted and temporarily flush with money from some recent consulting work, I succumbed to temptation -- one of my friends pushed me over the edge by telling me about a deal on a refurbished CD-R drive ($150 for a 2x/4x SCSI CD-R burner with mastering software, check the red tag specials area at Turtle Beach's web site, www.tbeach.com, if interested, or wait for me to have a chance to try it out, after which I'll enter a review) I'll have to see how well it works before recommending anything but I am looking forward to the ability to make my own CDs -- in particular I've got a number of well-loved albums that are hard (or impossible) to find these days and making archival copies of those will be a high priority. Another big thing for me will be arranging collections of preferred artists in more convenient forms, there are a couple of musical genres I collect (especially old-style ska and classic-period dub) where many of the recordings I've been able to find are multi-artist anthologies so the work of some of my favorite artists is scattered across ten or twelve discs..
I see Philips now advertising CD recorders on television. The RIAA must be feeling really glum right around now.
Who are the RIAA?
RIAA is the Record Industry Association of America, the trade group for the record labels.
Are they the guys who set CD prices? What do they do?
They're the ones who send goons around to your business if you're thinking of making a product that records with a sound quality any greater than the classic two-styrofoam-cups-and-a-piece-of-string "telephones" you might've made as a very small child..
Yikes. I never knew. Funnything is, I could never get those cup and string things to work. Sound quality was nil. Hmm. Why are they so uptight about it? (I know that I'm asking a lot of questions, but it always seemed like the best way to find out about stuff.)
Well, I might be exaggerating a *bit*.. The thing is there's a lot of money in the recording industry and the industry executives have concluded that the best way to make more money is to sell CDs for a lot more money rather than sell a lot more CDs for less money.. They may be right -- I'm sure they know more about it than I ever will but even to me it seems that a recording has a certain natural market and that reducing price below a certain level won't greatly increase sales outside that market. However, while prices for CDs and cassettes go higher and higher the danger of losing sales to piracy, made attractive by improved technology and lower and lower equipment costs, continually increases. Rather than alleviate this pressure by lowering their prices somewhat the record companies have tried instead to squash the technology. They were quite successful in doing so with digital audio tape (DAT). Though popular among recording engineers and audio technophiles, DAT never achieved the popularity it deserved as a consumer format because the record companies managed to intimidate the DAT-makers for long enough that the format missed its chance. However, I don't think they foresaw the rise of the CD-ROM and the arrival of affordable recordable CD drives, which had too much momentum for them to quash the way they did DAT..
Cool. I say, more power to the affordable recordable folks. Thank's for the explaination, mike.
So.. I've had a few days to get play around with the new CD-R and
I have to admit it's a pretty nifty device though it is not without
a couple of problems. The first (and biggest thing) I ran into was
a very bad software installation process. The documentation
prominently proclaimed compatability with Win 3.1, Windows 95, and
"Windows NT", which sounded good to me since I was running NT 4.0.
I had deleted Windows 95 some time back (or rather decided not to
reinstall it when I moved to a newer, larger hard drive..) To my
horror I only realized that the claim of "NT" compatibility meant
NT 3.51 and not 4.0 *after* the poorly-written installer overwrote
several vital components of my operating system in my Windows NT
system directory (some day when you have a *lot* of time, ask me
about my pet peeves regarding user-mode software that requires driver
files and shared libraries installed in system directories..)
I was eventually able to repair my NT installation enought to make
it bootable again but the software wouldn't work with NT 4.0 and
I didn't want to pay another $80-$100 for a 3rd-party program, the
only reason I bought this bundle in the first place was that it was
amazingly cheap.. Deciding that it was probably wisest to reinstall
NT anyways after a debacle in the system directory, I grudgingly
concluded that my best course of action was to repartition my machine
to allow for a Windows 95 partition (I'd been considering one anyways
for game compatibility..)
After the nightmarish process of backing up important files to a
spare hard disk, partitioning the machine and installing three
operating systems (Win 95, NT, and Unix), *re-partitioning* and
*re-installing* several times until I figured out a way to get
all three OSes to live in harmony, and restoring all of my software
I had a working setup and it was time to test the CD-R. Although
the results of the attempted install on my NT setup were disastrous
the included mastering software ("Corel CD Creator 2", which has long
been discontinued -- Corel sold that branch of its software business
to Adaptec -- these bundles have clearly been sitting on a shelf
somewhere..) installed without problem under Win95 and has so far
made backup copies of several of my more expensive CD-ROMS and made
a couple of audio mix CDs for my own benefit. The drive seems to
work quite well, were it not for the software problems I could
recommend this bundle wholeheartedly. Unfortunately it doesn't
matter what I recommend, at $150 for a 2xCD-R with software and
SCSI card, Turtle Beach sold out of these within hours after I
ordered. However, should you come across a similar deal, consider
taking the plunge if you've got a lot of irreplaceable or expensive
music or Data CDs..
For a top quality drive, the Plextor drive is providing very low BLER (block error rates) on a variety of CD-R media. The drive is about $500. Come to think of it, it might be spelled PlexStor.
You have several choices: