A mixtape: The greatest expression of love if there ever was one. A good mix captures on 90 metres of fragile magnetic tape those romantic and crazy feelings you don’t know how to put into words. Even decades after a mix’s conception it can stir those long forgotten memories of romance so you’ve got to make it good.
While catching up with a dozen musicians and music aficionados the poignancy of mixtapes proved undeniable. Many people find new artists by way of mixtape and others find the loves of their lives. Myke Atkinson host of Big Friday on CJSW proposed via mixtape while Steve Russell blogger at Vinyl Equinox found his future wife. “The finest mixtape I’d ever received and certainly the most romantic one came to me in a parcel from Australia from the woman who’d eventually become my wife“ says Russell. “My wife and I will take out that tape once in a while and go back to that time of uncertainty desire and bittersweet confusion which were firm character traits of the young 20-something lovers we were all those years ago.”
The pressure to make a good mixtape can be huge so if you’re unacquainted with the fine art of making a mix it’s time to go over some things. The advice that guided a generation comes at the very end of the movie High Fidelity. After being dumped and lamenting over past breakups John Cusack’s character Rob Gordon starts making a tape and says: “The making of a great compilation tape like breaking up is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch but you don’t wanna blow your wad so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules.” To cover all of them would take ages but let’s cover some basics.
Rule 1: Think about who you’re making it for. No one can tell you what songs to choose but Atkinson hits the nail on the head explaining “The best songs go beyond the song and have a special meaning between the creator and recipient of the tape.” While cacophonous noise might not turn everybody on it could be just what your lover wants.
Rule 2: Make it flow. Some will tell you to follow an arc; to worry more about the emotional flow; or to build intensity throughout but local musician Foon Yap sums it up best saying “As in any romance flow requires both stability and surprise. You’ve gotta stroke your audience with loving predictability but tantalize them too.”
Rule 3: Make the artwork as good as the tape. To finish it off you need to spend time on the packaging. “The best romantic mixtapes I’ve received had small touches like artwork handwritten track notes — ‘This one reminds me of you!’ — and turned me on to new bands” says Spencer Brown talent buyer at The Palomino. Everyone seems to agree that artwork requires as much love and care as the mix itself. While you can’t judge a book by its cover you can’t deny the importance of a good first impression.
The Calgary Cassette Preservation Society Calgary’s authority on tape culture claims to have volumes of guidelines. CCPS founder Gene Poole lays out the biggest rule in the book and some of the best advice: “The perfect mixtape doesn’t exist; never expect to create a mixtape which doesn’t include one selection you regret — at least! …Embrace the imperfection. You gotta make that mixtape the best as you can.”
Throw on your Serge Gainsbourg Al Green Rilo Kiley and Common. Only you know what says love to that special someone so give it your time. And to paraphrase those immortal words of Rob Gordon fill it full of stuff they’ll like and stuff that’ll make them happy.
