Originally Posted by Strummer521
double post sry...oh well. What are your oppinions on mixtape theory Yoda? Do you have any rules you follow for each tape?
I do, but very few are set in stone. Remember Charlie Kaufman near the end of
Adaptation, where he says "wait, McKee said no voiceovers...screw it, it feels right." That's how I feel; there are rules, but they're not totally rigid. You've gotta feel it out, ultimately. The rules are just there to help you do so.
High Fidelity has some good guidelines; first and foremost, you have to start off strong. No ballads at the beginning. Something upbeat that grabs the listener's attention. After that, it's suggested that you "take it up a notch," but I'm not sure I agree with that. You've gotta cool down again at some point, but I think it's just as good to do so with the second song as it is with the third.
Transition has to be considered, too; some songs just don't sound good next to each other. If one song fades out and another fades in in similar ways, why not put them together? Also, I think most agree that you probably shouldn't be bouncing from fast to slow too recklessly; better to group upbeat songs together somewhat, and put the slower ones next to each other, too (and probably toward the end of the tape/disc).
There are exceptions, though; some songs are so frantic, or abrupt in how they begin that the contrast can be kind of interesting when you put them next to something slower. The Hives'
Two-Timing Touch And Broken Bones is a perfect example of this, and it's short, too, so that it can sort of act as an interlude between two slower songs.
Other than that, you generally don't want more than one song by the same group, with some exceptions. I just finished a tape the other day, for example, that has two songs from The Shins on it, but they're from different albums and sound different enough that someone who hadn't heard them before probably wouldn't recognize them as the same group.
Ultimately I think the most important thing to consider is why you're making the tape. Is it to send someone a message? Is it to show them what you like? Is it to try to introduce them to things they might like? If you're trying to show them something new, then you have to take their level of knowledge into account. I have a friend who works at a record store, for example, and if I were to make her a tape I'd probably steer clear of anything even remotely mainstream.
So I think the most important part is deciding what your goal is with the tape. Bonus points for grouping songs with similar titles or meanings. It can be frustrating to try to put together something that's both nice to listen to, and meaningful in some way, but it's pretty satisfying to finish something that works on multiple levels.
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