Dean Kamen, the Segway inventor, is at it again. This time creating robotic prosthetics, there’s not a person on the planet that doesn’t see benefit to this kind of technology. Not one. Surely, not a single one.
So I signed up for Muxtape about 3 hours after it launched but I hadn’t ever had a chance/taken time to get mine in order. No more. With over 100,000 created in the first week, I decided to catch up.
No need for explanation other than to say that it took time for me to put mine together. I put thought into it. And I picked songs that were a step out for me. No Jack. Nobody from Brushfire Records. No Coldplay. I crossed genres, artists (only duped one) and genders. Autumn: A Feist song even almost made the cut, maybe on the next round. Edit: Updated due to the logic of one Tai Autumn.
I still have two slots open, one of which I know what I want to fill it with. Any suggestions for the last spot?
When I share music with somebody, it’s usually something I think is worth listening to and ask them to put it to the 3 (or 5) listen test. There’s not much music that can catch you with one listen. I’ve only seen it on rare occasion. 3 listens is all I ask if you are serious about getting some new music. I know it won’t be worth it for everyone, but there are a select few that will get it. http://christianross.muxtape.com/
Just opened shop yesterday. I found out about it about 9:00a yesterday morning and by noon they had over 4000 signed up and uploading music. I hesitated writing about it cause it is showing up everywhere. On every blog, tech site, etc. But, I figured if you were under a rock the last 36 hours or so you might not know.
With the death of the cassette tape, the unique ability to create mix tapes died as well. I know, you can burn cd’s and create playlists but it just isn’t the same. My uncle used to hook us up with some of the best mixed tapes I’ve ever heard. Band’s like Tesla, Outfield, and Mr. Big all came together to create soundtracks to my junior high life. While other kids NKOTB’ing it, I was able to dive into real music and learn about groups like Saigon Kick and The Black Crowes. I won’t lie, there might have been a Richard Marx or Chicago track stuffed in there as well, but that was what made mix tapes so great. You could cross generations, genres, and billboard lines all in the name of spreading good music. And it worked.
I have signed up. I haven’t built mine yet. I listened to most of the early-bird mixes I could find yesterday, and honestly, lots of stuff I either skipped or wouldn’t want to listen to again. But then again, some that I went back and repeated a time or two as well.
I am formulating my muxtape. In my opinion, it takes time. Thought has to go into the songs, artists, order, transitions from song to song, genres, old, new, classic, indie, etc.
Good music can take you places. At least it does me. When Buffett sings, I feel the breeze and hear the seagulls. When JT croons, I see the stage, the single spotlight, the guitar, the in-awe’ness. You can pinpoint times in my life just from a song/album. The Weezer ‘Blue Album‘ sung me to sleep on my red futon with my discman and headphones more often than not one school year. Montell Jordan found a way to kick every Friday night off for me my first semester of college. And I can even admit that Mr. Hammer himself convinced me to don more than one pair of baggy-to-the-knees nylon pants in the sixth grade. Heck, I might still wear them today if it weren’t for Justin J. and his fistfuls of snow that ended up down in my trousers more than once.
Music means something to me, it might not have the same effect on you. Mix tapes at their best were a way to learn about new music. They could have been road tapes, junior high love songs, or the soundtrack to your first kiss; but they all had one thing in common, they were to be shared.
I don’t know how long the RIAA will let Muxtape run, but if you are in the market for some new music it seems like a fantastic option for the time being. I’ll make one. I might even post the link here.
