questions

Do you pay attention to smooth transitions on a mix or do you not care? What about a perfect transition?

If you were making a mix of disturbing songs, what would you put on it?

If you had to pick one song to start every mix, what would it be?

How do you title your mixes? Favorite title?

Cover art? Process?

Any helpful hints?

Any particular mix / theme of mix you are most proud of?

Adam (Adult) - I have made 2 based on time periods that I am proud of. One called "7 years". Another is called "7 different years". The first has 18 songs from 1978-1984, the second has 16 songs from 1977-1983. And actually the friend I made these for (BMG of ectomorph) charted one, which was funny because people then emailed trying to buy this, but they are just for friends and fun, not profit.

Mark Mallman - The love of my life and I lived in different cities - So when she visited it was a big deal. One time we put my 100 CD changer on random while we had sex and taped it - the music, not the sex. This was great because it added a new twist on songs like "Papa Won’t Leave You Henry" by Nick Cave...! You know, murder songs, have this weird meaning when you fuck to them - kind of like fucking is murder as love is death.

Calvin (Dub Narcotic) - The mix theme song I would use is "Dinosaur" by Link Wray One mixtape I have re-configured several times, tailored to different recipients is a "U.S. Pop Underground" compilation of wimpy or power pop on independent labels from 1975-1982. Similarly, girl oriented pop and punk from that era. Also,odd-ball 45s from the '50s on. But most mixtapes are blending of recent finds old and new, plus a few classic tracks, with an average of 30% being from current releases by current artists.

Bob (Shellac) - Like I said... (See all previous answers).

Jason (The Bronx) - None that I have done, but I believe there could be some exciting developments in the umbrella genre as interpreted by a wide variety of styles. Metal songs covered by electro groups, Psych freak out as pursued by Japanese bands, Home made mash-ups, such as the Strokes / Aguillera hilarity, etc..

Jamie (Leka) - I'm proud of any mix that ended up turning someone onto a band. Themes can wear out their welcome very quickly.

Rishi (Space Mitten) - I once made a friend a tape before he went to Greece with his sister. This was probably back in 1994. Every time I've seen him since, which is about twice a year, he and his sister ask me to make him another. Kind of touching, isn't it?

Jen (All Girl Summer Fun Band) - I always made the best mixes for boys who eventually broke my heart.

Tim (The Sames) - "Late night College Radio", a collage of 4-track experiments supplementing old Fisher-Price tape recordings made in the late 70's. All this on a black Maxell suffocated in sliver tape as artwork. How can you not want to listen? Alas, I was a one hit wonder.

Sam (Pacific Stereo) - I keep telling people I am going to make them samplers of certain bands I think they would like. When I actually make one of these, I will be very proud of it.

Jack (The National Trust) - The last one - Afro-flower power; psychedelic soul, jazz and pop of the 70s. Peace, love and tight jeans. Nina Simone, brought to you by a grant from the Childrens Television Workshop.

Chris M. (The Hecklers) - When I moved to NYC and starting working in record stores, I loved making mixes for my friends in Richmond, PA, Texas, and other places across the country because I was hearing & gathering so much music history and up and coming sounds - I needed an outlet to share.

Jeremy (Arctic Skies) - I’m probably most proud of "Signals From Distant (Space) Ships"- a mix i made for Dan. It was something I had been wanting to do for years and years, slowly edging my way towards it and finally last year I did it. It's a 90 minute tape with no stops on either side, songs are crammed together, chopped up, crumbled, diced, and mixed together in a jumbled mess. It was extremely fun to make but totally exhausting. I recently tried to make another tape of that sort but my recorder broke halfway through side one which is probably for the best since it was giving me a heart attack making it.

Dan (Crispus Attucks) - I really like the one I made for Jeremy for the Mix Tape Road Trip. It was a musical journal of my life. It ran from October 2001- July 2002. October included "Anthrax" by Gang of Four. November included a Huey Lewis song to reflect my strip karaoke performance. January reflected Jeremy’s and Rishi’s visit where we argued about the Strokes and the White Stripes and played Eurorails. So "Freight Train Blues" and the aforementioned rock bands made the cut. March, I went to Europe. So there was some "Dachau Blues" by Cpt. Beefheart because I went to Dachau. Some "Puffin" on a pot pipe to represent my stay in Amsterdam. And some "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight" by the Jam because I was when I was in London. April was Freaks and Geeks month so I put a snippet from the show on. Plus, baseball season had started. So there was a Keith Hernadez/ Fran Healy lazy day midweek afternoon Wrigley Field call of a Sammy Sosa homer. Hernandez spent the seconds leading up to it discussing some of the antics of the crazy Mets teams he used to play on. In May, my terrorist paranoia which had subsided resurfaced because of the NY Times article about the threat of dirty bombs and nuclear weapons. So the Hives songs about nuclear weapons made the cut. By June, my fears were being soothed by the thoughts of the upcoming Mix Tape Road Trip so the Super Furry Animals "It’s Not the End of the World" was the selection for June. The night before the trip, Jamie delivered the song that I had commissioned for the trip- a song about the trip. This was the last track. The next to last track was recorded a half an hour before I left for the trip. It was of my favorite newscaster ever- Pat Kiernan on New York 1 reading from that day’s paper in his usual dry way about the added security for the upcoming July 4 celebration.

Eric Plumley - Phillies Phever- my loving tribute to the greatest baseball team ever and the hi-lite of my life to date, the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies. Because you can’t lose 'em all...