MeFiSwap 2012-2 The Swappening

June 3, 2012 8:27 AM

Hi if you're interested in making a mix of some music, burning it to a CD-R, and mailing it to 5 other MeFites, I'm interested in facilitating your experience. Come inside for the MeFiSwap 2012-2 details.

Somewhere in this huge block of text I tell you how to sign up for the swap.

Swap Guidelines:
• Swapsets consist of 6 MeFites. You make and mail out 5 copies of your mix to the other swapset members, and in return you get 5 different mixes mailed to you.
• We swap audio CD-Rs. Your swapmates should be able to put the disc you send them into just about any CD player and have it work. If you want to swap data discs (loaded with .mp3s or whatever filetype is dominant this year) or tapes or 8-tracks something and enough are interested, I can set up a side-swap. This has yet to happen as there has been little interest thus far. Please do not send any media other than a music CD-R without running it by your swapset first. This swap is old-school in this regard, it is known and noted that in our modern age there are more convenient ways to swap music. For the purposes of this swap, however, CD-Rs and snail mail are the rule.
• If you sign up to participate for this swap, you agree to participate in good faith and mail out 5 mix CDs to your swapmates within ~6 weeks from today.
• If you signed up to participate last time (or a time before) but didn't mail out your mix, you are not invited to swap again you damned mooch! However, if you'd like to attempt to get a swap out to your old swapset and regain eligibility please email me and we can talk.
• If you didn't get all 5 mixes in a previous swap please email me so I can keep track of who's eligible to swap again and who's not.
• You will probably have to send at least one piece of mail overseas, and if you live outside the USA, you will most definitely be asked to mail most of your packages to foreign countries. Please do not sign up to participate if you are not prepared to mail 5 packages out.
• Communication is important so if you can't get your mixes out by the mailing deadline (see below), let me or the other members of your swapset know! Don't just disappear cuz that sucks.
Schedule
• Sign-ups close in ~2 weeks on Saturday, June 16. Swapset assignments will go out shortly thereafter via email.
• The mailing deadline is almost two months away, on Saturday, July 21. However, the sooner you mail out your mixes, the better!
Some FAQ
• What should I put on my mix? → Music! Music you love! Music you think people should hear. Music that sounds good!
• Is there a theme? → Yes! It's music! I mean, no! There's no theme except the one you choose. Even though swapset names might have a theme, that shouldn't necessarily dictate the theme of your mix.
• How do I package and mail these mixes? → Padded mailers work best (and recycled ones even better!) but, as long as you can rest assured that your delicate CD-Rs will arrive at their destination in playable condition, pretty much anything goes.
• Do I need to include liner notes? → You don't need to do anything other than mail 5 mixes to your swapmates, but putting some effort into making it look nice is certainly not discouraged. ;)
• Can I be in more than one swapset? → Sure! Just mention it in your sign-up email and I'll put you in two swapsets. You'll need to mail out a total of 10 copies of your mix though, so be prepared for that.
• Didn't you just copy and paste all this from the previous sign-up thread? → Mostly, yeah. Hopefully I changed all the dates right.
If you have any other specific requests or restraints, please include them in your sign-up email. I will honor them the best I can, but no promises. I'll be around here to answer any other questions or concerns.

TL;DR: go back to the top and read the guidelines.

>>>>>>>OK so to sign up email me 2 pieces of information,

1. YOUR MEFI USERNAME
&
2. YOUR POSTAL MAILING ADDRESS at:

tediseasy [at] gmail [doot] com

(PLEASE NO MEMAIL!!)

Write your mailing address like it should look on the envelope. If your mailing address doesn't include a Real Name, your swapmates will likely use your MeFi username.

Alright, whew! Happy Swapping!

posted by carsonb to MetaFilter-Related at 8:27 AM (118 comments total)

carsonb, I love you.
posted by readery at 8:56 AM on June 3, 2012

Muah, right back atcha.

I forgot to mention that you'll know you're signed up to swap when you see an email from me that says, well, You're signed up to swap!
posted by carsonb at 9:00 AM on June 3, 2012

yay!
posted by likeatoaster at 9:01 AM on June 3, 2012

Jeez, every time I forget this part!

Please, with your mailing address, include which COUNTRY you live in. TIA.
posted by carsonb at 9:19 AM on June 3, 2012

In, as always.
posted by immlass at 9:40 AM on June 3, 2012

At last! A captive audience for my unparalleled collection of Ukranian post-classical zither & kettle drum instrumental reinterpretations of Gregorian chants & Plainsong!
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:43 AM on June 3, 2012 [7 favorites]

Yay! Here's hoping that this time I don't get 3 CDs of the same covers again.
posted by sacrifix at 9:49 AM on June 3, 2012

Lemme think about it.
posted by jonmc at 9:54 AM on June 3, 2012

Is this just for USA/Canada? What about if you live in the olde worlde? How much does it cost to airmail stuff like this around? Does my cd burner even work any more?
posted by marienbad at 9:57 AM on June 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

The swap is open to all MeFites.

I can't speak towards mailing overseas from 'the olde worlde' but it costs me somewhere around 2-3 dollars to post a padded mailer pretty much anywhere not in the USA. Cost is a larger consideration if you're not in the US/Canada, because most of the participants *do* live in those countries and if you don't you'll likely be mailing 3 or 4 or 5 pieces of mail to there.
posted by carsonb at 10:05 AM on June 3, 2012

whee!
posted by scruss at 10:33 AM on June 3, 2012

This sounds like so much fun!
posted by livinglearning at 10:58 AM on June 3, 2012

A thousand times, yes.
posted by Occula at 11:30 AM on June 3, 2012

My favorite time of year, twice a year, is MeFi Swap time. I'm in. I'm not sure what I'll be putting together this time, but I'm in.
posted by .kobayashi. at 11:41 AM on June 3, 2012

I'm just here to say, I still owe disks to two prior swap groups, and once I get a bit more financially on my feet and can afford to do so, I will be making good on my committment to those 10 people (probably with a lot of extras thrown in as apology for being so lame)...

Until then, I will be sitting these swaps out. Sorry to all I've shorted in their swapsets that I'm such a loser.
posted by hippybear at 12:00 PM on June 3, 2012

I am looking forward to sharing my collection of
antique barnyard sound effects and polyglot spoonerisms,
and hearing Turing-tested popular musics!
It's very exciting!
posted by the Real Dan at 12:05 PM on June 3, 2012

Yay! I'm in.
posted by limeonaire at 12:06 PM on June 3, 2012

woohooo!
posted by tzikeh at 12:17 PM on June 3, 2012

Yaaaaay!
posted by snorkmaiden at 12:30 PM on June 3, 2012

In!
posted by ActionPopulated at 12:50 PM on June 3, 2012

Finally, someone to share my carefully crafted Greatest Hits of Eurovision mix with! So in.
posted by Go Banana at 2:42 PM on June 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

Yay! I've been waiting for this summer's swap, building a playlist in my head. Will probably have to rebuild from scratch, but can't wait to do so! Thanks for stepping up again, carsonb!

(Can I be in Go Banana's swapset? That sounds awesome!!)
posted by gemmy at 3:37 PM on June 3, 2012

I had a good time with it last year. Looking forward to doing it again.
posted by codacorolla at 3:41 PM on June 3, 2012

I am so excited to play this game.
posted by helicomatic at 4:37 PM on June 3, 2012

I've sat out the last few rounds, but I think I'm ready to jump back in. I'm a habitual mix maker and I'm always in favor of getting cool things in the mail.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 4:58 PM on June 3, 2012 [1 favorite]

In like Flynn for another go. It's always awesome getting new music I would never hear otherwise.
posted by ShawnString at 5:17 PM on June 3, 2012

I want to get cool new music, but I have nothing to contribute. What do y'all recommend?
posted by Night_owl at 6:26 PM on June 3, 2012

Reevaluation of premises.
posted by carsonb at 6:27 PM on June 3, 2012 [2 favorites]

So I was reading this post and thinking to myself like maybe I'll sit this one out because I don't have the time and last year I only got 2 cd's and do I even have any blank cd's and when was the last time I even used cd's man I think it was actually for this same thing how has it been a year already what am I doing with my life. And then I was like, well, maybe I'll just take a look for a quick sec and see if I get any ideas.

Anyway that was 4 fevered hours ago and I now have in front of me a playlist containing exactly 50 minutes and 9 seconds of what can only be described as pure editorial gold.

So in conclusion I am in also.
posted by tracert at 7:00 PM on June 3, 2012 [7 favorites]

Sent my sign-me-up email already.

I already have TWO possible mixes in mind (one is a double-album one, the other one has the cooler concept).
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:22 PM on June 3, 2012

Oh, yay! In!
posted by sadiehawkinstein at 8:31 PM on June 3, 2012

In. Thanks for doing this and motivating me to go find new tunes.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 8:57 PM on June 3, 2012

Sure!
posted by Rash at 9:41 PM on June 3, 2012

Woo! I really liked the CDs daisyk got last time around, so this time I'm going to join in myself and inflict my music taste on you all. It is acceptable for the songs to be German ones about horrible industrial accidents, right?
posted by Zarkonnen at 11:09 PM on June 3, 2012

Cool!

After getting rid of my CD collection over the last few years I ended up getting a CD deck last time in order to play the great mixes I got properly rather than through my laptop.

Right, off to think of a proper theme this time...
posted by brilliantmistake at 1:40 AM on June 4, 2012

Yes, please. I'm in.
posted by koucha at 5:10 AM on June 4, 2012

I should have asked this before I signed up, but should I be intimidated to do this? Will I be laughed at if my music isn't indie enough, or something?
posted by désoeuvrée at 6:42 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Desoeuvree, my collection is about as middle-of-the-road as it gets; don't sweat it.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:49 AM on June 4, 2012

YEEEesssssss!
posted by jillithd at 7:27 AM on June 4, 2012

Can I be in Devils Rancher's group? :D
posted by jinjo at 7:27 AM on June 4, 2012

Oh god I hope the people in my group don't hate Japanese bubblepop, German boy-bands, and indie jug-band blues.
posted by specialagentwebb at 7:44 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh good, thanks EmpressCallipygos!
posted by désoeuvrée at 7:48 AM on June 4, 2012

Desoeuvree: think of it like cooking. You may have fairly mundane ingredients, but it's possible to combine mundane ingredients in such a way that you make something unusual and cool. Eggs, flour, cheese, and milk are as boring as you can get individually, but if you combine them in a precise way, you get a souffle, which is a pretty impressively awesome thing. Or you can start with just eggs and milk, and a lemon - even more dull -- but if you do the right things to them, and combine them in just the right way, you get lemon curd, which makes people look at you all impressed saying "you made THIS from scratch? Go you!"

One of the playlists I'm considering sharing includes such Old Established acts as Led Zepplin, Traffic, and Nirvana; the most "indie" musicians would probably be Moby and Nick Cave, and I've even got an earworm in there that some may hate me for. But the thing is, there's a theme uniting them all that is actually kind of interesting. I may be working with just plain eggs and sugar, but I just may have found a way to tweak a macaron out of them.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:05 AM on June 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

EmpressCallipygos: I've even got an earworm in there that some may hate me for.

When the members of my swapset all go on their own individual murder sprees, I will laugh knowingly to myself that Empress is to blame, as she just gave me the idea for The Earworm Mix.
posted by tzikeh at 8:34 AM on June 4, 2012 [3 favorites]

I'm in.

Will I be laughed at if my music isn't indie enough, or something?

As long as you put some songs on there you like you'll be fine. The mixes are all over the map in terms of genre/mainstreamness/whatever so there's not really any kind of expectation you have to fit into. For me at least the fact that you never know what to expect when you load up a mix CD is one of the best aspects.
posted by burnmp3s at 8:35 AM on June 4, 2012 [1 favorite]

....I don't know if it's morbid fascination or masochism that is leading me to think that "I actually kind of want a copy of The Earworm Mix."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:56 AM on June 4, 2012

My mix is already done -- I started working on it two weeks ago, hoping not to get caught behind the eight-ball for this edition of the swap. It's good! Real good! Two CDs. Hooray!
posted by Shepherd at 9:11 AM on June 4, 2012

would it be inappropriate for me to just use my wedding mix CD? Or one of the previous x-mas mixes? Or is that cop-outty?
posted by DigDoug at 9:21 AM on June 4, 2012

Yes Plz!
posted by unreasonable at 10:57 AM on June 4, 2012

>would it be inappropriate for me to just use my wedding mix CD?
It would be nice for those of us who couldn't get to the wedding.
posted by rongorongo at 11:08 AM on June 4, 2012 [2 favorites]

OK peeps, I'll be playing catch-up on the email all day today. If you've submitted an email sometime between late last night and sometime this afternoon and haven't heard back from me by the end of the day (Monday), please ping me so I can suss it out.
posted by carsonb at 11:09 AM on June 4, 2012

Yes, this was a blast last time. Please sign me up!
posted by jbickers at 1:21 PM on June 4, 2012

Yes!
posted by bkeaggy at 1:27 PM on June 4, 2012

I'm in like sin.
posted by Slackermagee at 1:35 PM on June 4, 2012

Oh I am so in for this once again. Like Shepherd, I've been working on mine for a while now. I have the songs finalized, now I'm going to work on the album art. But I'm so looking forward to sending mine out and getting five others. Mine is indie as shit, btw. I hope yall are ready.
posted by malapropist at 3:15 PM on June 4, 2012

It is acceptable for the songs to be German ones about horrible industrial accidents, right?

It's OK as long as you don't wind up accidentally making a mix of songs of horrible German industrial music.
posted by Hoopo at 4:58 PM on June 4, 2012

I was kinda sad that I didn't participate in this last time 'round. I'm definitely in this time!
posted by aka burlap at 5:10 PM on June 4, 2012

Became a member around the time of the last swap, the timing of it kinda blindsided me, so this will be my first mefi swap.

I've done mix swapping of this caliber before, but not since the days when LiveJournal was really a happening place to be. Yeah it's been a while.

In short: yaaaaayyy!
posted by pianoblack at 5:15 PM on June 4, 2012

Zarkonnen: "It is acceptable for the songs to be German ones about horrible industrial accidents, right"

You mean "German pop music," right?

(I say this only half-jokingly, as the only German pop song I can think of off the top of my head is about the world ending in a meaningless nuclear hellstorm)
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:25 PM on June 4, 2012

This'll be my first swap, and I'm looking forward to it. I now just need to narrow it down from the 15 or so different themes zooming through my mind. My only question would be what if my mix ends up being longer than one CD? Would people be opposed to getting two discs?
posted by redheadedstepchild at 7:59 PM on June 4, 2012

I've heard lots of good things about swaps, and am looking forward to participating (I've even made my playlist already).
posted by AMSBoethius at 9:52 PM on June 4, 2012

Yay!!! ::flaily Kermit arms::

I still play my mixes from last year all the time in the car. It will be great to have more!
posted by emcat8 at 11:56 PM on June 4, 2012

I'm in. I need some new tunes for my studying for my qualifying exams.
posted by SNWidget at 6:32 AM on June 5, 2012

Yes I'm in! I'll send more palatable music this time, I promise. Last time it was an all-Arctic mix which included throat-singing. This time it'll be more mainstream :)
posted by seawallrunner at 6:38 AM on June 5, 2012

Dang it. I was going to go to sleep a couple of hours ago, but I thought "no, I'll just play around with a few songs for the mix." And now I have a playlist -- but it's after 4 am!
posted by litlnemo at 4:38 AM on June 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm in; this sounds pretty cool.
posted by Mooski at 6:26 AM on June 6, 2012

I'm ridiculously busy and ridiculously cheap but I absolutely will make and mail 5 mixes if I must.
posted by byanyothername at 3:09 PM on June 6, 2012

Dear Five-of-you-who-were-hoping-to-get-a-mix-from-a-notable-MeFi-member: Sorry.
posted by blue t-shirt at 4:07 PM on June 6, 2012

A suggestion from other online swaps I've seen:
'Pinch Hitters'

I.e. Anyone who gets less than say, three cd's, contacts the Mods, and then people who have volunteered to be 'pinch hitters' send out an extra copy of their mix to that person.

Saves on the disappointment experienced if one person randomly has most of their swap partners fall through.


If you're already doing this, never mind!
posted by Elysum at 6:45 PM on June 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

A suggestion from other online swaps I've seen:
'Pinch Hitters'

I.e. Anyone who gets less than say, three cd's, contacts the Mods, and then people who have volunteered to be 'pinch hitters' send out an extra copy of their mix to that person.

Saves on the disappointment experienced if one person randomly has most of their swap partners fall through.


If you're already doing this, never mind!

That sounds like a good idea.

Also, I think I might do a two CD set this year.
posted by codacorolla at 6:57 PM on June 6, 2012

ok im in. will email you
posted by marienbad at 4:36 PM on June 7, 2012

Hooray, my first Metafilter bonding!
posted by Shasta at 11:29 PM on June 7, 2012

I was quite happy with how my last mix turned out and inordinately pleased with my summer swap mix last year (I hope the recipients were too!), so I'm in. I love CDs, but they'd be particularly great to have right now since I just dropped my iPod in a shark tank in Indiana. (That's the whole story. Not as interesting as it sounds.)
posted by maryr at 9:14 AM on June 8, 2012

Sounds dandy, I'm in.
posted by Rocky Mtn Erica at 10:00 PM on June 8, 2012

More excited by this than I should be reasonably. Count me in. I've been crafting my ultimate mix for a spectacular CD for a while when I can't sleep...now I can unleash it :)
posted by thetarium at 1:33 AM on June 9, 2012

A suggestion from other online swaps I've seen:
'Pinch Hitters'

I.e. Anyone who gets less than say, three cd's, contacts the Mods, and then people who have volunteered to be 'pinch hitters' send out an extra copy of their mix to that person.

This is a great idea. Let me think on how exactly to implement it, and hopefully I can have something figured out by the time swapset assignments go out.
posted by carsonb at 5:08 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Since this is the first Swap season in four years that I've had a computer with a working CD/DVD drive, I am, for once, IN. Yay!
posted by phunniemee at 9:08 AM on June 11, 2012

I love how there's always a slight uptick in "I'm looking for songs for this kind of playlist" questions in AskMe when we start a swap going. Heh.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:02 AM on June 11, 2012

What they said, but after listening a few days later, mine is less golden and is at risk of being a downer. Yet it hangs together in its own moody way and features a few tunes I discovered via the blue as well as a couple of known MeFi faves, so it's going out as is!
posted by bonefish at 2:17 AM on June 12, 2012

I'm waiting for some CDs to arrive (mp3 collection was a near-total loss earlier this year) and so still in the heavy-lifting stages of adding and shuffling tracks—mixing, IYW—but several core tracks are in place and it's shaping up nicely. Still not sure what to call it.

4 days left to sign up! If you've expressed an interest in this thread already or intend to participate and have not yet sent me an email with your MeFi Username and full mailing address (including country and if necessary Real Name) you should do that soon! Email in my profile, but please *do not* memail me regarding this.

We're on track to have something like 30 swapsets, which is incredible!

And to everyone who's expressed gratitude, I thank you in turn because this wouldn't be awesome if it was just a grouchy dude reminiscing about college rock by himself in MetaTalk—MeFiSwap is quality because you are participating.
posted by carsonb at 9:00 AM on June 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm in, just under the wire. I haven't made a proper mix cd in maybe 5 years, so this will either be a blast or a frustrating exercise in decision-making. I've always just pretty much gone with my gut when it's come to making mix tapes/cd's, though, and plopped on whatever pops into my head until the damn thing is full. Luckily for my recipients I've been listening to a lot less Current 93 and Turkish psychedelia than I was this time last year.

4 days left to sign up!

Maybe I missed something in the above thread (which I admittedly have failed to read), but isn't the deadline the 16th, not the 19th?
posted by item at 5:58 AM on June 15, 2012

er, not the 18th?
posted by item at 5:59 AM on June 15, 2012

Throwing numbers at me, what? Trying to confuse me?

If you email me this weekend, I can probably still fit you into a swapset. I plan on hammering them into place Sunday, and assignment emails'll go out on Monday. Really it isn't until that last bit happens that thing are set in place and can't be changed without much gnashing of teeth, etc.
posted by carsonb at 7:15 AM on June 15, 2012

Put this off until just now! Glad I remembered! Neat idea! Sign me up! Email sent!
posted by arsey at 6:15 PM on June 16, 2012

Just emailed you, hope I can squeeze in.
posted by otters walk among us at 7:29 PM on June 16, 2012

Sign-ups are closed!
posted by carsonb at 6:29 AM on June 17, 2012

Isn't waiting fun?!

I have the swapsets about 99% figured out, including names (Thanks Shepherd!), so I just have to put it all together and hit send (30 times). Unfortunately, that is beyond my current mental capabilities at least until I've had a night's sleep. ETA for swapset assignments is tomorrow afternoon, Pacific Time!
posted by carsonb at 7:55 PM on June 18, 2012

Super excited about this round! Thanks so much to carsonb for all his hard work! Some of the mixes I've received officially live in my car stereo, they are so good. :)
posted by jillithd at 7:59 AM on June 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

1 2 3 4
1 2 3 4
ROCK FACTS
ROCK FACTS
ROCK FACTS!

Which popular 1968 double-disc album had exactly the same number of tracks as we have swapsets this Swappening?

The 9 Noitul Overs
The Affirmatives
The Birthdays
The Blackbirds
The Continuing Stories of Bungalow Bill
The Cry Babies
The Dear Marthas
The Dear Prudences
The Do It In The Roads
The Don't Pass Me Bys
The EGStHEMaMMs
The Gently Weeping Guitars
The Glass Onions
The Good Nights
The Helter Skelters
The Honey Pies
The Julias
The Long Long Longs
The Mother Nature's Sons
The Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Das
The Piggies
The Revolutions
The Rocky Raccoons
The Savoy Truffles
The Sexy Sadies
The So Tireds
The U.S.S.R.s
The Warm Guns
The Wild Pies
The Yer Blueses
posted by carsonb at 7:26 PM on June 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

O man you guys I think there's a good chance I messed some stuff up. Please just email me if you observe a problem.

Or if you think you should have had the opportunity to observe a problem and just can't (IE you think you signed up but didn't get a swapset assignment email from me tonight) email me too and I'll do what I can.

Probably not very well, but I'll do it.
posted by carsonb at 7:28 PM on June 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

Can I just say how very much I love being in the Do It in the Roads?
posted by emcat8 at 8:49 PM on June 19, 2012

I cannot pronounce my swapset name.
posted by maryr at 9:03 PM on June 19, 2012

Sure enough, I've borked emails to

The Rocky Raccoons
The Sexy Sadies
&
The U.S.S.R.s
The Julias

I had switched people in and out of groups on my spreadsheet but not email groups for each case.
And of course, one of them is all like "You guys rock, you've all swapped before, do it again!" and that was the only group where everyone had swapped previously. So someone's gonna get an updated email that doesn't say that and that's kinda sucky at the least. That happened because before this swap I couldn't think do anything except throw my hands up and say "Better luck next time!" if someone left their swapset hanging.

So this time when people complained or reported really low turnout I thought to myself "I'll make sure they're taken care of." I probably should have just kept keeping it in my thoughts, instead of dropping that into an email. Mea culpa.

From now on, if you get shorted I will offer you a copy of my mix. If anyone else would like to "pinch hit" in addition to mailing their usual 5 copies go ahead and mention it to me (whatever way, email, memail, comment here) and I'll add you to the lineup.

maryr: I cannot pronounce my swapset name.

"Me and My Monkeys!"
posted by carsonb at 9:44 PM on June 19, 2012

I'm happy to mail out some extra copies of my mix if people get left out
posted by cubby at 4:57 AM on June 20, 2012

SO EXCITED. Making a summer mix. Sounds like a salad but it'll be really good I promise.
posted by stompadour at 6:08 AM on June 20, 2012

So many complicated liner note design ideas... I'm glad the mix part came easier.
posted by koucha at 8:51 AM on June 20, 2012

Had first draft of mix prepared and was feeling pretty confident waiting for my swapset group details to arrive... now that I'm officially in The EGStHEMaMMs:
T-R-E-P-I-D-A-T-I-O-N.

Just checking if any of My Monkeys are averse to NSFW tracks. Not super cussy, just not age appropriate if you're going to share with your 6 year old.

Then: is there more of an art to this than making sure there's a certain kind of flow, a love for the music, a tenuous theme and absolute conviction that these tracks Must. Be. Shared? (+ liner/tracklisting design and title).

I've taken some care that the ends of songs and starts of subsequent songs work together, but without any sort of funky DJ mix transitioning. I see that iTunes allows to adjust volume on tracks; do I need to fiddle here to make sure the CD-R plays at a constant volume?

Is there some science to it. I've only ever made mixtapes for friends with very low standards :)
posted by kreestar at 11:48 AM on June 20, 2012

kreestar - I can't speak for the other EGStHEMaMM's, but NSFW tracks are OK by me.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 2:50 PM on June 20, 2012

To go for three EGStHEMaMM's in a row, NSFSYO (Not Safe For Six Year Olds) is fine, NSFW is a little borderline... I mean, I listen to Ben Folds at work without worrying too much about the occasional swear, but I decided that the opening tracks to Girl Talk's Feed The Animals that talk about getting head repeatedly was not great. That said, I'm fine with anything - just warn me on the NSFW tracks if you think they'd make a scientist blush.

You better watch out, because I'm gonna say 'Fuck'
You better watch out, because I'm gonna say 'Fuck'
You better watch out, because I'm gonna say 'Fuck'
You better watch out, because I'm gonna say 'FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!'
posted by maryr at 3:44 PM on June 20, 2012

Is there some science to it. I've only ever made mixtapes for friends with very low standards :)

I don't think there is. I prefer to hear a bunch of stuff that someone likes even if there is no overarching theme compared to stuff that even the mix maker doesn't really like which is on there just because it fits the theme and takes up space.
posted by codacorolla at 4:39 PM on June 20, 2012

You better watch out, because I'm gonna say 'Fuck'

Goddammit if that isn't one of the greatest pieces of satire ever. The little Rage Against the Machine outro is just brilliant.

Man, I need a theme, stat! Both of my tries so far fizzled out at about the 5-song-mark.
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:57 PM on June 20, 2012

Man I just realized that all of my new music discoveries for the past six months have been on Spotify. Guess I'll make the mix in Spotify and then buy the songs once I have it figured out...
posted by showbiz_liz at 6:11 PM on June 20, 2012

Devils R, just fill up the disk with what you're listening to now, and/or your favorites - whatever, it'll be appreciated.
posted by Rash at 8:37 AM on June 21, 2012

what you're listening to now, and/or

That is what all my mixes turn out to be. I have always made mixes, starting wayyy back in the mixtape days and I make them up from stuff that goes thru my head, usually monthly. When I listen back to something I can bring back the emotional state of the month immediately. Some can be weird to listen to as I can only see in retrospect what was going on, but my inner music picker was right on. It's not a lyric thing usually, but a mood thing.

The aural equivalent of 'current status'.
posted by readery at 10:11 AM on June 21, 2012 [1 favorite]

Is it considered a best practice to email your fellow MeFites in your swap group to let them know that the mix CDs are en route?
posted by AMSBoethius at 9:13 AM on June 23, 2012

AMSBoethius: That's something I like to do, but I don't think it's standardized. Some people do. Some people don't. I think it's a nice thing.
posted by .kobayashi. at 5:08 PM on June 24, 2012

The theme I've been doing for the past couple years is soundtracks to novels. This time around, it's going to be The Flame Alphabet. Working on a draft of the mix & cover art now. It's actually coming together quite nicely, I think.
posted by .kobayashi. at 5:13 PM on June 24, 2012

I just finished a mix that is entirely from CDs I've either bought directly from the musicians at a show or while busking, or helped fund the creation of through Kickstarter. I'm not sure how much of this music was sold to me wrapped in a brown paper lunch sack -- 20, maybe 25 percent. And while I didn't set out to have a theme other than that, it worked out that it's also kind of a reflection on the deaths by random gunman last month of two of the musicians included in the mix, friends of friends and neighborhood fixtures who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
posted by hades at 2:29 AM on June 27, 2012

I posted out a mix of music inspired by number stations. My mix group will probably be happy that this only involves a minimal amount of actual number station recordings - before veering off on a direction influenced by this askme on "spy music". If anybody in my swap group fails to get their CD - or if others simply feel their music listening life would be incomplete without hearing the compilation- MeFi Mail me and I will point you in the direction of a downloadable version.

Carsonb: one more big thank for corralling all this into existence; yet again!
posted by rongorongo at 7:43 AM on June 27, 2012

.kobayashi.: Been reading about The Flame Alphabet. Your mix has to be all-instrumental or face-meltingly, body-putrefyingly dire?

Would love to hear it. Post tracklist when swap is over?
posted by kreestar at 1:54 AM on June 28, 2012

Kreester: neither, actually. I figure if Marcus can tell the sorry in language, then I can have the occasional lyric available to me. Even so, many of the songs that have lyrics find them sampled, chopped, mixed, or translated to the point of inscrutability. You wouldn't want to hear this mix if you were trapped in the book's world. But, I think the mix captures the spirit of the work nicely.

In any case, I'm not mailing it out for a bit, because this week I'm off doing archival work, then next week is a holiday week. But once I've got it out and am not ruining the surprise for the Dear Prudences, I'll be happy to share the details. For now, I'll say that it's a melange of face-melting rock, free jazz, hip-hop, and klezmer.
posted by .kobayashi. at 11:55 AM on June 28, 2012

Ooh, I got my first mix already. Thanks, delicate_dahlias!
posted by mykescipark at 7:00 PM on June 28, 2012

Mine is ready, in mailers and to be sent out on Monday. I hope it will be enjoyed! And if needed I can mail out some more.
posted by bjgeiger at 5:40 AM on July 1, 2012

Got one of the weeping guitars' mixes already, another's told us he's sending it out today and mine is going out tomorrow.

(When can we start posting playlists? I had fun with mine.)

ifranzen even included a burrito recipe with his mix!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:16 AM on July 1, 2012

Working on commentary for mine right now. Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Das, I hope you don't mind what may be a downer of mix, with lots of free association/autobiographical bits in the liner notes. I have been using mix-making as a healthy distraction following a friend's death, and my CD turned into a sort of tribute. I might do a longer write-up about the process of making it later on the eventual playlists thread, if that's not too self-indulgent.

Meanwhile, I'll also put it out there that I'm absolutely willing to be a "pinch hitter" if the need arises. I'm proud of my mix, both as a testament to my friend's awesomeness and my coping skills.
posted by ActionPopulated at 10:05 AM on July 1, 2012

I sent my mix out last Tuesday; hopefully the personalization wasn't too cheesy for the rest of the members of The Birthdays. I had a lot of fun with the process - hope you folks enjoyed the mix!
posted by Mooski at 6:42 AM on July 2, 2012

Mine are on their way to the other guitars!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:11 PM on July 2, 2012

The burning will be done by this weekend, and I shall be mailing off to my fellow Blackbirds!
posted by redheadedstepchild at 12:22 PM on July 2, 2012