When you go out for a drive with your friends, do you get tired of the same old songs on the radio? Do you wish that you could be in control of what you listen to from start to finish? Well make a mixtape! Don’t know how? Well you’ve come to the right place! I will try to make the process of a making a mix of playlist easy so that everyone can be burning 5 star mixes in no time at all!
I’ll be breaking it down into steps that should be relatively easy to follow. Also, I am assuming all of you readers have a broad range of music you listen to, if you don’t than I fear you may not benefit from these tips. Your fault for being so close minded. So let us get started then.
1. Starting Off- One very easy way of hooking someone into a mix or playlist is how you start it. If you open your mix with a song that has no energy or lacks a clear hook you can be automatically destined for disaster. This is the time in the mix to put a song that has 100% energy throughout. Something that will make listeners shake their head and nod along. My personal favorite mix starter is Dick Dale and the Deltones “Misirlou,” the simple reason being that it kicks off with energy and is consistent with it. Also, the Pulp Fiction soundtrack offers a few seconds of dialogue before the song starts, so it kind of preps you for the energy about to ensue. Anything that just launches people into the CD.
2. Artist Dominance- I’ve noticed that a lot of mixes fail because they are overloaded with the same artist. One thing that a good mix does is make listeners say “This is good, what band is this?” or say “I like these guys.” When I make a mix it never has the same artist appear more than once, now this can be hard to do since a lot of bands have multiple songs that are good. But you can show off you’re musical knowledge if you simply avoid repeating artists. Don’t put that second Doors song on the mix if you know none of your friends have listened to TV On the Radio.
3. Genre Dominance- This is a really easy one to avoid if you have a big library of music. Don’t put the same basic genre back to back. Now this isn’t as broad as say going in a Rock-Hip Hop-Rock-Hip Hop order. It can be whittled down to not making the mix go Pop punk-Pop punk-Metal. Mix up the genre order, it keeps the sound fresh. If you have too much of the same genre it can get tiring, and once someone gets bored of the mix for a legitimate reason like too much of the same thing, you know you’ve made a bad mix, or at least organized it badly. Make track one classic rock, track two hip hop, track three progressive, track four classic rock, track five pop punk. It’s not a hard concept to grasp.
4. Make it fun- Put on something funny to break between the tunes. Give the listener a quick laugh before giving them another good track. TV show bits from like the Simpsons and Seinfeld, or comedian bits are great. Or you can just put a track that’s an inside joke or something. Anything that will crack a smile is good. This is the place where Mitch Hedberg can be used incredibly well.
5. Clue in the listeners, but not too much- If you listen to music that your friends don’t put some tracks from those artists on the mix if you think they will go over well. If none of your friends like metal, don’t try to clue them into Killswitch Engage. But if you know your friend likes The Hives but they’ve never listened to The Strokes, put on a Strokes song. But don’t overkill this idea. Don’t make the mix 20 songs that nobody has ever heard. Make it something like 50/50, so listeners can sing along and also get clued into new artists or genres.
6. Listen to your mix- This one is another one that’s really simple. Listen to the CD you’ve made before you put it to use. If you’re making a CD or playlist for a party you’re throwing, REMEMBER haste makes waste. If you make your mix and send it out 10 minutes later you could have made some bad mistakes. I make my mixes about a week in advance and just shuffle through it on my way to class. And if I go “eh, I dunno how this song fits,” I pull it and look for another one that fits the bill. Refine it so it’s perfect before you put it out there. I know if I put out my first drafts of mixes I would not be very happy with my own outcome.
7. Make sure the mix isn’t turned off- With iPods out nowadays, it’s really easy for a friend to simply unplug your tunes and put in theirs. If people disagree with three of the first five tracks of your mix and ask to change it don’t let them! Your mix is a work of your art!
8. Don’t be afraid to take a chance- If you feel like the mix is solid, but you’re not sure that all of the potential listeners will like it go out on a limb and try. If you are worried about one track, and you are confidant about every other there is no reason not to take a chance.
9. Be aware of your audience- If you’re going to have your playlist playing in the car for some long drive, make sure you’re not going to offend anyone with what you have on the mix. This is another really easy one, don’t put on songs that are offensive to a certain race, and if you have some uptight people, don’t put overly profane tracks on.
10. End it well- This step is similar to the very first step. All you need to do is end with a bang. It doesn’t need be a big bang, just make it a good ending. The perfect mix ender is “The End” by the Beatles. It packs some energy that makes the listener tap their foot, and then slows down and ends on a nice open chord with a nice last line to leave the listeners satisfied. A song that ends quietly can make the listeners go “Man, that was a good ending” and that’s what you want now isn’t it?
So that’s it! It’s not too hard to follow. Hopefully I gave you some good advice. If you have any ideas or methods that you use feel free to leave them. Until next time…
Thursday, May 17, 2007
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