Rebecca Gates (The Spinanes) - Yeah, there was a tape on the tour that everyone was like "oooh, that was good" but now I can’t remember what it was.

Debby Vander (Butterglory) - Oh goodness. How about Dwight Yoakam to the Wedding Present? It makes no sense at all but that’s what I’ve been listening to a lot these days.

Matt Suggs (Butterglory) - See, that’s the whole theory behind mix tapes- to get a good transition and to be honest, I’m not really into mix tapes. I tape whole albums or put a number of 7 inches on one tape. Albums are meant to be listened to from beginning to end. Mix tapes always make me confused. Here’s one band and then another. Some people like that, going from one some total noise band to some wimpy pop band, but I can’t handle that. If I’m into one thing, I want to hear it all the way through. This is hard for me to answer because I don’t think I’m a mix tape kind of guy. Debby always makes tons of mix tapes and I always make fun of her because they don’t make any sense but I guess that’s the beauty- the songs don’t belong together at all.

Calvin Johnson (Dub Narcotic Sound System) - Though the equipment set-up in the home DJ both allows an actual "mix", I usually don't, they are song then song then song, with breaks between. Smooth transitions are over rated. Some times the jarring transition is refreshing or stimulating- this is true on the dance floor as well.

Bob Weston (Shellac) - I've never made a mixed-tape. But I would pay attention to the segue-ways.

Jamie Paquette (Mitten, Leka, Senior Lounge, Starland Vocal Band) - I pay attention to transitions of any kind. Smooth transitions are not necessarily good ones, but most transitions are good in some way. I used to think that I was really good at moving from song to song on a mix until I realized that you really had to try to fuck it up.

Dave Nelson (D.C. Kingpins, Mystery Seven, The Insteps, Stubborn All-Stars, The Scorchers) - I don't care.

Jason Curtis (The Bronx) - I do care. Not so much that the transition is "smooth" like a criminal, but the "cut", or "crossfade" if you will, adds to the overall quality of the mix. Good DJ's treat songs like language, and these songs on your mixtape should tell me a story dammit.

Rishi Chakrabarty (Space Mitten) - I pay attention, but "smooth" is not the right word. A jarring transition can effectively highlight a song and make you squeal with delight, or it can just as easily ruin the tape.

Jen Sbragia (All Girl Summer Fan Band, the Softies) - Hell yes, I think it’s very important to have continuity.

Tim Salamy (The Sames) - How can you not pay attention to smooth transitions? But that being said, some of the best transitions are ones that are truly unintentionally choppy.

Sam U. (The Relics, Senior Lounge, Daytime Television, The Big Rock, Pacific Stereo, The Condiments) - Care as much as possible...the flow of the songs on the mix is key...but sometimes I hit the pause button too late and blow it.

Jack "Jakk Attakk" Watson (The Diplomats, Raygun Theatre, The Most/National Trust, The Bee-Gees (deceased)) - Essential! That's the art of the mix-tape, isn't it? To be able to create a smooth and seamless piece of music that is greater than the sum of it's parts. Each side should be like a concept album; no song is as good removed from the context of "Side One". And you want to be able to put these songs in a new context of your own. You want to claim these songs for your theme or message, even if it's as basic a message as "I like you", and smooth transitions help put your stamp on the sequence. (Sometimes, a harsh transition works as a smooth one. For example, if you're building the punk rock frenzy to choatic levels, you might want to jump down to some country lest the tape careens out of control).

Chris Mooney (The Hecklers) - Pretty easy to determine the anal-ity of the maker if half songs, cut off intro and outros, etc. are included. Reminds me usually of the maker of the tape. Plus I could never fault someone else for something I wouldn't want to be criticized for.

Jeremy Paquette (Arctic Skies) - Yes indeed. I worry more about them when I make tapes because I like to meld one song into the next. When I burn cds on my work computer I am forced to leave space between songs so I'm not able to fuss over transitions as much. One of my favorites was the sound of Lee Harvey Oswald's assassination right into the drum pops at the beginning of Bruce Springsteen's "Cadillac Ranch."