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Mix tape

A mix tape, or mixed tape, is a homemade compilation of songs (typically copyrighted pop music taken from other sources) recorded in a specific order onto a compact audio cassette, generally intended for private use, as a soundtrack to social events, or as a gift. (Recent advances in technology have also allowed a mix of songs to be created and distributed in the form of a compact disc or MP3 playlist, but out of respect for the historical origins of mix tape culture, the term "mix tape" will be used throughout this article.) Mix tapes, which usually reflect the musical tastes of a single compiler, can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a theme or mood, to a highly personal statement tailored to the tape's intended recipient. Mix tape enthusiasts believe that by carefully selecting and ordering the tracks in a mix, an artistic statement can be created that is greater than the sum of its individual songs, much as an album of pop music in the post-Beatles era can be considered as something more than a collection of singles.

History and aesthetics

In all likelihood, the first homemade mix tapes began to appear soon after the introduction of the compact audio cassette by Philips at the 1963 Berlin radio show. Before the introduction of the audio cassette, the creation of a pop music compilation required specialized or cumbersome equipment, such as a reel-to-reel player, that was often inaccessible to the casual music fan. As cassette tapes and recorders grew in popularity and portability, these technological hurdles were lowered to the point where the only resources required to create a mix were a handful of cheap cassettes and a cassette recorder connected to a source of prerecorded music, such as a radio or LP player. The growth of the mix tape was also encouraged by the use of audio cassette players in car entertainment systems, and by the introduction of the Sony Walkman in the late 1970s.

A distinction should be drawn between a private mix tape, which is usually intended for a specific listener or private social event, and a public mix tape, or "party tape," usually consisting of a recording of a club performance by a DJ and intended to be sold to multiple individuals. In the 1970s, such DJs as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force, Kool Herc and the Herculoids, DJ Breakout, the Funky Four and DJ Hollywood would often distribute recordings of their club performances via audio cassette, as well as customized recordings (often prepared at exorbitant prices) for individual tape purchasers. These commercial mix tapes, which made use of copyrighted material, were arguably illegal (although rarely, if ever, prosecuted) under the definition of fair use expressed in the Copyright Act of 1976. Private mix tapes are usually considered inoffensive from a fair use standpoint.

While the process of recording a mix onto an audio cassette from LPs or, later, compact discs is technically straightforward, most music fans who create more than one mix tape are eventually compelled to confront some of the practical and aesthetic challenges involved in the mix tape format. From a practical standpoint, such issues as avoiding an excessive amount of blank tape at the end of one side (which requires careful planning of the length of each side of the mix) and reducing the audible click between songs (which requires mastery of the pause button on the cassette recorder) have become part of the shared experience of mix tape aficionados. From the aesthetic point of view, the fact that a tape player, unlike a CD player, lacks the ability to skip from song to song means that the mix tape needs to be considered in its entirety. This requires the serious mix tape creator to consider the transitions between songs, the effects caused by juxtaposing a soft song with a loud song, and the overall "narrative arc" of the entire tape.

From an artistic point of view, there is no doubt that most serious creators of mix tapes regard them as a form of emotional self-expression, although whether a mix tape retains the same web of emotional associations when passed from its creator to the recipient is, at best, debatable. In selecting, juxtaposing, or even editing originally unrelated tracks of pop music into a new work of art, the "author" of a mix tape moves from passive listener to archivist, editor, and finally active participant in the process of musical creation. This perception of the mix tape as a work of art has been criticized as resulting in a sort of elitism, with creators feeling more concern over finding arcane and surprising combinations of tracks than with creating a tape that is listenable, enjoyable, or appropriate to its intended recipient. At the very least, the creation of a mix tape is undoubtably an expression of the individual compiler's taste in music, often put forward for the implicit approval of the tape's recipient, and in many cases a tenative step towards building the compiler's personal canon of pop music.

Types of mix tapes

Many different genres of mix tapes have been identified. Beyond such basic mix tapes as the simple taping of an entire album, the collection of favorite songs, and the snapshot mix of recent favorites, some of the more common categories (most of which are self-explanatory) include:

• The Romantic Mix
• The Break-Up Mix
• The Driving Mix
• The Workout Mix
• The Party Mix
• The Lesson Mix, intended to educate the recipient as to the essential works of a particular artist or genre.
• The Concept Mix, such as a mix of Christmas songs, songs about cars, or covers of songs by a particular artist.
• The Mood Mix, simply a mix of songs intended to sustain a specific mood, stated or unstated.

References to mix tapes in popular culture

A very partial list:

• The novel and film High Fidelity are arguably the definitive treatments of mix tape culture.
• Deleted scenes from the movie Say Anything, also starring John Cusack, make a number of references to mix tapes.
• The musical Avenue Q features a song called "Mix Tape."
• "Kate," a song by Ben Folds Five, includes the line: "When all words fail she speaks/her mix tape's a masterpiece."

Commercially available mix tapes

• Starbucks, the coffee chain, sells a compilation CD series called Artist's Choice, which consists of mixes based on selections by such artists as Johnny Cash, Tony Bennett, and Sheryl Crow.
• The Apple iTunes store features Celebrity Playlists, downloadable mix tapes in MP3-compatible form, selected by such artists as Moby, Barry Manilow, and Andrew W. K.
• The consistently best-selling Now That's What I Call Music! compilations are essentially mix CDs consisting of recent hit singles. However, unlike the typical mix CD, instead of reflecting the musical tastes of a single compiler, the Now! compilations ostensibly reflect the popular songs of the moment.
• Songbook, a 2003 essay collection by author Nick Hornby, consists of essays on selected pop songs and musical artists. The original edition of the book, published by McSweeney's, was accompanied by a mix CD featuring ten of the songs under discussion.
• One could argue that the modern movie soundtrack, which often consists of selected pop music tracks (rather than the traditional orchestral score) is a mix tape with songs selected by the film's director or music supervisor. Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets is often cited as one of the first movie soundtracks to consist entirely of existing pop songs. Other movies with landmark compilation soundtracks include American Graffiti, Singles, and Pulp Fiction. A film's compilation soundtrack can sometimes surpass the movie itself in popularity: one notable example is the multiplatinum-selling country soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou?

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