Wee Feast

Today’s guest blogger is Kristin. She’s the mastermind behind the pop culture blog Puff on Pop. She is also 24, a Pisces, and likes long walks on the beach and cheeseburgers. I asked her to share some information that my readers might like, and she decided to demystify and outs of making an epic mix CD.

College is typically a time in a young person’s life filled with intense learning, both academically and personally. After all was said and done in my college tenure, I learned that I can make a bad-ass mix CD. Let me take you on this journey.

I suppose I always had an inkling that I was really good at it. I was in high school in the hey day of the original Napster, and spent more time than I care to think about downloading music and burning it onto CDs. Burned CDs of a certain artist or genre can get old after awhile, which is when I began playing around with some different combinations. I finally came into my own as a mixmaster (if I may be so bold as to call myself that) my last year of college with what I consider to be the pinnacle of my mix CD making career: Sparkly Capes vol. I-III. Sparkly Capes, named for the sparkly, glittery cape I was wearing when I created the iTunes playlist. Nevertheless, the three CDs were brilliant — fun to listen to while driving, doing laundry, cleaning your house after a huge party, studying, designing a website and pulling an all-nighter in the computer lab … They were my Sistene Chapel.

I retired from making CDs after I finished college and moved into the working world. Just recently, I’ve tried to get back in. My first venture was difficult, I won’t lie. It took me days upon days to get it right, and I still have doubts about it even now. Just last night, however, I, like Stella, got my groove back. I crafted a CD for my current roommate that just might rival some of my older work. It was like muscle memory, and suddenly I knew what made my older mixes so awesome. And now I’m here to share everything I know with you.

So are you pumped up yet? Here are six surefire ways to make a KILLER/BAD ASS/INSERT ADJECTIVE HERE mix CD:

1. Have an extensive library to choose from.In order to get the variety necessary, you need to have a pretty big jumping off point. I mean, a mix CD isn’t going to be neither mixed nor awesome if it’s comprised of the same Hall & Oates song 18 times in a row (… Or will it?). If your personal music library isn’t very large try iTunes or Amazon for cheap mp3s. If all else fails, jack the CD collection from a close friend or relative and lets move on.
2. Pick a theme.Don’t be scared by this step! It can be as broad or as narrow as you like. From “Fun songs to drive to” to “Songs to get Freaky Deaky To.” As long as you have some sort of purpose or setting in mind for this CD, your theme is set.
3. Remember to MIX. I reiterate my earlier point — the point is to MIX. Change up the artist, genre, decade, tempo, and tone of the songs as much as you can. Making a CD of slow Iron & Wine songs is NOT a mix CD. Do not be fooled!
4. Don’t over-think it.My best CDs have always been the ones that have come from just throwing whatever pops into my head first onto a playlist. Some re-ordering and weeding out will have to be done, but a good mix CD shouldn’t take you longer than twenty minutes to craft.
5. Keep the order in mind. This is a step that is more important than you think. The first song on the CD is key, as it sets the tone for the entire CD. Space out the genres and tempos and artists as much as you can. Test it out by listening to the first minute or so of each song to see if you like the way the order feels.
6. Give that bad boy a name.All the best mix CDs and mix CD series have names. Your name can be anything, such as a word you made up, an inside joke, or a statement of the purpose of the mix. Make it snappy and be creative, though. “Random Songs I Like” is NOT a good name. For example, mine include, “Geighties,” “Shboner,” and, of course, “Sparkly Capes.” Ones I’ve received from my friends that I enjoy are: “Junt Chicken” (from my high school friend Steffani) and “This Will Make You Cool” (from Coop).

See? While there’s more of an art to it than one might have originally assumed, it’s still simple. So go out there and make me proud!