I’ve invited you all to participate in this pet project of mine– one that I’ve been thinking about doing for quite a while. As of this moment, there is no set date for putting this live, but I wanted to put the word out now so we can get started creating something great.
A little backstory:
I’m not sure what the average suckage percentage for first dates is, but my money’s on 60-70. Contrary to what you might think, this is not because 60-70% of people suck, but more that the both of you are too busy exchanging nervous banalities to uncover each other’s non-sucky parts. This project aims to circumvent that, via something that everyone loves: music. Music is a fantastic personality and predilection gauge. Think about it–it’s easy to pretend you stand on one side of politics, religion, easy to lie about liking Smash and loathing Cougar Town, but music is hard to lie about; it’s a measure of taste. It’s wrong to think that there can be one taste better than the other (though Creed and Nickleback are trying very hard to disprove that), but it does help inform you about another person.
The manifestation I have in mind is simple: a mixtape, anywhere from 5-20 songs that explain who you are. They can be songs that have always been associated with a memory, a song from a band that you think is great, a Top 10 of songs that would make great movie openers. Choose anything that is a window into what you like, what you are passionate about, who you are. There are no limits, here, as people aren’t meant to be simplified down to a playlist, but you can certainly introduce yourself as one.
There are a few rules:
1. Try not to use more than one song from the same band unless absolutely necessary, or the songs from the band are nothing alike (or possibly, taken from different decades). For the sake of brevity, we’ll call this The Rolling Stones exception.
2. Try your best to include why you’ve chosen the particular song. For instance why did you choose “In My Life” by The Beatles? Was it for the beautiful guitar intro; is there something in the lyrics that is permanently associated with a time or person in your life? Does it deserve to be in a list of love songs that no one remembers are love songs?
3. Not absolutely essential, but if possible, try to make the songs in your playlist synch up with each other. Sequencing is perhaps the most important thing in a playlist; you want songs to feel like they’re leading into, or away from each other.
Send your ideas, questions, concerns to theartofthemixtape@gmail.com with “Hello, My Name Is… Project” in the subject line
Best,
The Art of the Mixtape 