Organized thoughts on mixtapes
This post by Adam875 (who is a friend in life, not just in internet) got me thinking about mixtapes, the death of the album, etc. Not that I'm experiencing these personally, but I'll take a few minutes to think about music given the opportunity.
Adam875 wrote about interactions with music and whether mixtapes still have a place. My thoughts follow:
A. Mixtapes may be a life-phase activity, where it's not so much the case that technology has outmoded them as we've simply outgrown the thing. This could be based on...
1. How music was regarded and/or used at that age in a this-sequence-of-songs-represents-WHO-I-AM-and-not-you sense, a means of self-identification. (or)
2. How we interacted with friends back in the day. Music as a social activity. Did you make mix tapes for yourself, others, or for yourself with the intent to distribute copies to others? (My recollection is of mix-tapes as a social thing. In High Fidelity the perfect mix-tape was for a girl.) If you were to make a mix-tape now, who would it be for?
3. Ways to look at this: Ask people older than us (maybe 40 or 45 or 50) whether they made or listened to mix-tapes when they were 10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 25, 30, 35 (depending on their age and state of technology). Alternately, see B(1).
B. If there is that impulse at a certain age, is it really defeated by iTunes and mp3 players? At first pass, seems doubtful. What do the kids do today? Alternately, is there a way that this is helped by new technology?
1. Playlists are swappable, shareable, publishable online. How is this used, and by who? Do high school / college students send each other playlists, or allow access to each others' iTunes libraries if they're on the same network? (I've noticed that people at school don't have their iTunes libraries buttoned down. It's creepy. What's the default setting for that?) [I've since figured out iTunes is open by default. Fix it if you're inclined to, people!]
2. Further, is the interaction enhanced or defeated by iTunes? If shared: Do kids not listen to each others' playlists because they already have 53 Gb of their own music in the same place? Do they listen because there's social value in it? Do they half-listen and skip anything that sounds boring after 5 seconds (because it's not a matter of mechanical fast forwarding, it's just a push of a putton that may
already be at hand)?
3. Ways to look at this: Ask the kids. Or ask Apple -- I bet they have amazing data on this.
C. If it's a behavior that's outgrown, what does that say about us? About how we relate to ourselves or others when we're younger, and how that changes over time?
Of course, I'm not a mixtape person, so I'm not sure about any of these.
Adam875 wrote about interactions with music and whether mixtapes still have a place. My thoughts follow:
A. Mixtapes may be a life-phase activity, where it's not so much the case that technology has outmoded them as we've simply outgrown the thing. This could be based on...
1. How music was regarded and/or used at that age in a this-sequence-of-songs-represents-WHO-I-AM-and-not-you sense, a means of self-identification. (or)
2. How we interacted with friends back in the day. Music as a social activity. Did you make mix tapes for yourself, others, or for yourself with the intent to distribute copies to others? (My recollection is of mix-tapes as a social thing. In High Fidelity the perfect mix-tape was for a girl.) If you were to make a mix-tape now, who would it be for?
3. Ways to look at this: Ask people older than us (maybe 40 or 45 or 50) whether they made or listened to mix-tapes when they were 10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 25, 30, 35 (depending on their age and state of technology). Alternately, see B(1).
B. If there is that impulse at a certain age, is it really defeated by iTunes and mp3 players? At first pass, seems doubtful. What do the kids do today? Alternately, is there a way that this is helped by new technology?
1. Playlists are swappable, shareable, publishable online. How is this used, and by who? Do high school / college students send each other playlists, or allow access to each others' iTunes libraries if they're on the same network? (I've noticed that people at school don't have their iTunes libraries buttoned down. It's creepy. What's the default setting for that?) [I've since figured out iTunes is open by default. Fix it if you're inclined to, people!]
2. Further, is the interaction enhanced or defeated by iTunes? If shared: Do kids not listen to each others' playlists because they already have 53 Gb of their own music in the same place? Do they listen because there's social value in it? Do they half-listen and skip anything that sounds boring after 5 seconds (because it's not a matter of mechanical fast forwarding, it's just a push of a putton that may
already be at hand)?
3. Ways to look at this: Ask the kids. Or ask Apple -- I bet they have amazing data on this.
C. If it's a behavior that's outgrown, what does that say about us? About how we relate to ourselves or others when we're younger, and how that changes over time?
Of course, I'm not a mixtape person, so I'm not sure about any of these.
posted by blerg3000 at 6:30 PM
3 Comments:
There are mix tapes, they are just called iPods not on shuffle.
Yes, I remember when mixed tapes were a labor of love. You'd make one for a gal or guy you dig--and hope that they have the same taste in music you do, or at least dig DEEP and find out who you really are. Mr. J's iPod playlist doesn't overlap with mine, save for Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie", Guns N Roses' "Paradise City", and Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous Girl". What the heck does that mean?!?
I have no idea what to make of that overlap, but you could combine the titles to make "Promiscuous Girls' Hips Don't Lie in Paradise City," which I rather like.
Post a Comment
<< Home