pakmannen on 17/4/2008 at 09:53

---

I think the first album is great. Something you don't really notice on Good night moon is their weird arrangements. The other albums are more of a mixed bag, some good stuff, some not so good. I'd upload a muxtape with some of their stuff but apparently you're not allowed to have more than one song per artist.

demagogue on 17/4/2008 at 21:39

---

(http://cadefornow.muxtape.com/) Here is my modest first go at this with the ancient ('90's) songs on this computer.

It's acoustic heavy, I think all but 3 songs, mostly alternative/popular but on the folkish end ... a mix of rock, folk, zydego, j-pop, swing, country, movie soundtracks, celtic and the always popular polka ... none of them really pure-bred, more rock fusion with each, a little trance vibe, some humor ... so you know what you're getting into. That's an awful pitch. It sounds better than it sounds, unless you're just not into the genres.

Edit: Wow, all of you guys have great mixes. Makes me a little self-conscious with my small collection. Yeah, too bad it's only 12 songs, only MP3, size-limited at that, and only one mix (Would it really be such a disaster to allow more than one page per email address?)... it limits what you can do.

Stitch on 18/4/2008 at 15:25

---

I've been assembling mix CDs for about five years or so. At one point they were just collections of new-ish music in a vaguely indie, alt-rock vein, but over time they have evolved into mood soundtracks that follow a strict set of internal rules.

The main rule is every song needs to be from an album that I have purchased or downloaded since the previous mix CD. This results in each compilation being a snapshot of what music I was discovering over a six month period of time, and also thankfully eliminates any album overlap between mix CDs. I keep my focus on new music, so older albums are off limits, whether they're new personal discoveries or not.

I've also been trying to increasingly omit overhyped flashes in the pan--I actually included Jet on a 2004 mix, for god's sake--in favor of more substantive material, which means I do a lot more listening before settling on what makes the cut. I also generally try to present songs in a different context than their placement on their respective full albums (e.g. not opening a compilation with the first track from an album, etc.). The cardinal mix CD rule of not repeating bands on a single CD also applies, of course.

Most importantly, I try to assemble a mix that works as a whole to pull the listener through a series of moods. This has resulted in me using increasingly sophisticated tools to mercilessly edit and assemble these tracks. Lingering outros can be cut entirely, and intros looped and extended if needed. Most tracks are crossfaded to some degree, and I've even done some compressing and normalization to get a consistent level (where appropriate) over the course of a mix.

Ridiculously self-indulgent this may all be--I mean, who the fuck am I and who really gives a shit?--I find this to be a fairly rewarding process that has resulted in me discovering tons of new music. It actually isn't as much work as I'm making it sound--settling on a track listing that works as a whole is probably the biggest pain in the ass--and the end result is a musical memento that I can revisit later.

I'm currently in the final stages of assembling my third mix that truly embraces all of the above, and it's actually a direct sequel to one I did last October. (http://squappity.com/10-24-2007/) Here's the track list for that particular mix, which was an attempt to capture the feeling of a Summer afternoon giving way to a dark Autumn evening. I'm actually willing to slap up a download link on that page if Dave and GBM don't object terribly. Me hosting mixes like these for download is technically illegal, even though the individual tracks are crossfaded and generally fucked with enough to make them useless to pirates. I've decided to risk it for the most part--record labels have actually quietly supported MP3 blogs so far as promotional tools, after all--and the only question is whether or not the link is publicized on TTLG.

pakmannen on 18/4/2008 at 18:03

---

But I'm an honest, law-abiding.. ah who am I kidding. Here you go: (http://pakmannen.muxtape.com/) http://pakmannen.muxtape.com/ Three songs each from their three albums. The guy singing on Flycatcher is one of the band members, I think. Threw in the last one in case there are any Ed Harcourt fans around.

Stitch on 18/4/2008 at 19:13

---

I've done plenty of that, too.