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One of my favorite ways to kill an afternoon is to create a mix of music. I love obsessing over what should go next and how to juxtapose the songs and sounds. I have boxes of cassette tapes and scores of CD-R's of mixes that I have created or received over the years and they are a joy to revisit. This exercise not only gives my collection of records and CD’s a sense of justification, but they are also little audio diaries that reveal a period of time and emotional status. Over the years I have used any excuse to go play with my music library and make a mix. I I've created non-existent compilations such as "I Hate The Midwest" and the follow up "Lets Bomb Dairyland" which compiled nothing but obscure punk and new wave sounds from the America's heartland (I had no clue I had that much music from Wisconsin and Ohio). I've even made my own additional CD's for existing box sets. Since the Rhino reocrds "Nuggets II" box set failed to include enough Sixties Japanese and Swedish garage and psych for my taste, I felt I should rectify that situation and create my own. I don't need to wait for Rhino or Sundazed to put together a collection when I am willing to do it myself. Occasionally a piece of literature or a magazine article will feature the track listing for a mix tape and odds are I will replicate it for my own enjoyment. While I have never swapped sounds with Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, he did create a swell mix in an old issue of Mojo and I quite enjoy listening to it. Even if a book never mentions music or even alludes to it, I often make a soundtrack mix upon completion. Mixes are sometimes based on themes or answers to questions like what if The Beatles made one more album and then I create it using their solo work. Often they are a collection of songs to convey a mood such as the popular ‘romantic' mix or the counter, “I Hate Your Fucking Guts” collection. Looking over all these mixes, it seems any occasion to make a mix has popped up; plot to overthrow the world mix, scare the neighbors mix, the mix of all cover tunes, watch the cats go crazy tunes, Sunday morning coming down mix, cleaning up after the party mix, songs inspired by watching Russ Meyer movies mix, the popular... I had a few too many when I made this mix, and a host of others which are all been given unique titles and interesting artwork. When revisiting these old mixes, I discover that there is often another hidden theme that is far more revealing when viewed from a distance. At the time, I may have been compiling a mix about the history of Power Pop only to discover it was really a mask for something that even I wasn't keenly aware of at the time and suddenly the mix takes on a whole new meaning. This proves to be quite telling and seems to happen more times than not. The joy I receive in creating mixes is obvious, but is surpassed when shared and exchanged with others. It becomes yet another way to give friends (and even strangers) a peek at my obsession.
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