Show us what you swapped! February 10, 2013 8:08 PM   Subscribe

Have you gotten your MeFi Swap mixes yet? Are they awesome? Have you found new favorite songs?

My own mix is made, and the CDs are in a pile on my bookcase waiting to be burned. As soon as I have the time to make the booklet, they'll be burned and out of here.
posted by ocherdraco to MetaFilter-Related at 8:08 PM (79 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite

I spent most of yesterday putting together my mix instead of doing all the other things I was supposed to be doing. Just need to grab the CDs and rip better quality versions of some of the songs then find some blank disks to put it all on. I've sat out the last few mefiswaps, but I'm glad I'm back in because this is fun!
posted by shelleycat at 12:34 AM on February 11, 2013


I spent most of yesterday putting together my mix instead of doing all the other things I was supposed to be doing.

Yep, this was me, but now mine's finished. I'll be burning and shipping this week to my other Amazing Pencilinas.
posted by mykescipark at 12:56 AM on February 11, 2013


My printer is broken and I need to get a new one, and that's the only reason I haven't made up my CDs yet. Argh. (This coming weekend! Really!)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:19 AM on February 11, 2013


Uh, I uh... chose a theme today? I know what the first and last song will be, at least. Haven't gotten any in the mail yet, thank god.
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:35 AM on February 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


I have some of the songs picked out!

I need to pick up supplies, and then finish picking out the songs and put it together.
posted by needlegrrl at 6:23 AM on February 11, 2013


My theme hasn't yielded quite as many songs as I was hoping. Debating whether to keep the mix short-ish or expand my parameters.
posted by ActionPopulated at 6:25 AM on February 11, 2013


Holy moses, we have until February 28, people. You near-on gave me a heart attack just now.
posted by Shepherd at 6:26 AM on February 11, 2013 [11 favorites]


I do have blank cds, envelopes, and a cover design though!
posted by ActionPopulated at 6:26 AM on February 11, 2013


I mailed mine out a week ago. The Bazantars should be getting it very soon if they haven't already.

For the last several MeFi mixes, I've done soundtracks inspired by books. This time around I soundtracked Patrick deWitt's The Sisters Brothers, which (to my ears) called for some Bakersfield pop, country western, psychobilly, Piedmont blues, avant-jazz and mariachi -- among other things. Folks who want to see what that looks like can do so here in the MeFi Cover Pool Flickr Group. Any Bantazar who hasn't received it yet, and doesn't want the surprise ruined shouldn't click on those links.
posted by .kobayashi. at 7:04 AM on February 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


This Bazantar got your cd just the other day - haven't listened yet, alas. But have received it - much thanks!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:07 AM on February 11, 2013


Re: the Daxophones: I got an intimidatingly cool mix from zamboni on Thursday. Still working on mine.
posted by gauche at 7:08 AM on February 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


I made my mix shortly after carsonb announced things, so it was ready to go pretty much on opening day. My secret for Mefiswap efficiency was general indifference to themes and/or packaging, despite using brightly coloured discs.

(Seekrit Behind The Scenes Detail: Everyone got a different coloured CD.)
posted by zamboni at 7:43 AM on February 11, 2013


Haven't gotten any yet but I'm pondering a couple of mixes I have on hand as options.
posted by immlass at 8:47 AM on February 11, 2013


Whoa, this is way too soon to be having this thread I think.
posted by mannequito at 9:43 AM on February 11, 2013


CDs burned and envelopes addressed. Pondering going down and buying a printer today I was going to buy at some point anyhow, to print out the insert. Then probably mail tomorrow when the post office is open again.

Whoa, this is way too soon to be having this thread I think.

The original thread is closed to comments now, so I appreciate this one being around.
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:59 AM on February 11, 2013


PC, check! Blank CD-Rs, check! Six simultaneous playlists, in progress! Procrastination, begun!

Hank Drums - a mix will be in the mail by Monday!
posted by kreestar at 11:48 AM on February 11, 2013


Whoa, this is way too soon to be having this thread I think.posted by mannequito at 12:43 PM on February 11 [+] [!]

The old thread is closed, though. I asked the mods if I could open a new one, and it was suggested that I make it the "show us what you've got" thread.
posted by ocherdraco at 12:27 PM on February 11, 2013


Clackamores status update:

Sleeves - purchased.
CDs - burned.
Insert - designed, needs printing out.
Self - out of town, so will mail next week! honestly
posted by carter at 1:52 PM on February 11, 2013


MeFi Cover Pool Flickr Group

Wow, I didn't even know this was a thing! Awesome.

(Also, as usual, I will be posting a link to my mix once I have confirmed receipt of the physical CDs by my group.)
posted by mykescipark at 2:05 PM on February 11, 2013


Hey, a question for y'all: I'm organizing my mix in iTunes. I can't figure out how to check if any of my tracks are ones I bought before iTunes dropped DRM. I don't want to send out a mix that has dud tracks. Anyone know how to identify those?
posted by ocherdraco at 4:55 PM on February 11, 2013


I don't think that matters if you burn them to cd. Once they're on the cd they should be playable anywhere (I think).
posted by carter at 5:40 PM on February 11, 2013


I hope The Moodswingers are ready for a strange but danceable journey into the recesses of my psyche.
posted by naju at 5:59 PM on February 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


mykescipark: "MeFi Cover Pool Flickr Group

Wow, I didn't even know this was a thing! Awesome.
"

I didn't either. Mefi has a bunch of artistes!
posted by deborah at 6:11 PM on February 11, 2013


Do you guys use templates for your fancy inserts/CD covers? Last time, I just made covers out of construction paper, but I'd like to maybe go digital this time.
posted by topoisomerase at 6:26 PM on February 11, 2013


I use Scribus, the open-source alternative to InDesign. Square CD inlay templates are the easiest thing to create.
posted by mykescipark at 6:33 PM on February 11, 2013


Why didn't I think of that? I love Scribus. Thank you. :)
posted by topoisomerase at 7:22 PM on February 11, 2013


Does Scribus open .indd files?

I don't think that matters if you burn them to cd. Once they're on the cd they should be playable anywhere (I think).

Hmm, that's not how I remember it. Oh well, I guess I'll just go for it and see what happens. I have been putting together lyrics and liner notes all evening, huzzah!
posted by ocherdraco at 7:31 PM on February 11, 2013


Does Scribus open .indd files?

No, alas. From the FAQ.
posted by mykescipark at 7:40 PM on February 11, 2013


I bodge things together in word or powerpoint, save as a pdf, and print them out on card at the local copystore. Then cut them out.
posted by carter at 7:55 PM on February 11, 2013


Made my mix (theme? We don't need no stinking theme!) and this thread reminded me to start burning discs. I'll work on some cover art tonight and hopefully post them this weekend.

All my discs are heading to the US from New Zealand, so they may take a while. Sorry gang!

Is it still the done thing to dropbox mixes and throw them in here?
posted by roobot at 9:47 PM on February 11, 2013


iTunes does a not terrible job of printing all the relevant info for a mix CD so I use that for my covers. Sure it's not cool, but neither am I so it's all good.
posted by shelleycat at 12:06 AM on February 12, 2013


CDs? Shit! I just sent all mine out on 8-tracks!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:11 AM on February 12, 2013


Hmm, that's not how I remember it

I think iTunes only lets you burn DRMed songs a certain number of times, so it should tell you if you reached your limit.
posted by amapolaroja at 12:30 AM on February 12, 2013


Ah, sorry, I misunderstood ocherdraco's original comment. Disregard my reply, please ...
posted by carter at 12:40 AM on February 12, 2013


tzikeh (3 days ago): Hey, Carson, what do we have, participant-wise this time around? About 150?

Yep, right around that many, maybe just a few fewer.
posted by carsonb at 11:29 AM on February 12, 2013


Moodswingers, my mix will be moodswinging its way to you soon -- my printer is fucked up and I have to find somewhere to print out the cover.
posted by emcat8 at 12:14 PM on February 13, 2013


I've printed my covers and songlists, got lyrics and liner notes up, am burning the discs as I type, and should be packing and shipping this afternoon!
posted by ocherdraco at 12:15 PM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


Wait, liner notes? What?
posted by Gronk at 4:36 PM on February 16, 2013


Eh, I wanted to share with folks why I included the songs that I did. I'm not printing them out or anything, and it's by no means required.
posted by ocherdraco at 4:48 PM on February 16, 2013


....I've sometimes done liner notes too. I chalked it up to my just being a huge dweeb.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:31 PM on February 16, 2013


Thank you catch as catch can and fishmasta! I got your mixes but I haven't listened to them yet. I will be sending out my mixes on Tuesday. Be on the lookout Cymbaloms.
posted by amapolaroja at 12:02 AM on February 18, 2013 [1 favorite]


Mine have been sent. I've never been this far ahead of the deadline before!
posted by salmacis at 3:11 AM on February 18, 2013


I have some pressing work deadlines looming, which almost certainly means I'll be working on my swap mix over the next few days instead. Expect psych-rock.
posted by Sonny Jim at 6:14 AM on February 18, 2013


Oh, that was more of a humor / panic reaction to the liner notes than actual panic.

I'm committing myself to participating and getting things out on time. After I've wallowed in the glory of the Harpouditars this time around, I'll get really committed for the next swap and do an explanation of the mix for the liner notes.

On a tangential note, quick (maybe not) story - Years ago, I was coming home on a Spring Break road trip driving a 15 passenger van full of people who had just gone on a backpacking trip. The weather on the ride home had gone bad and our plan to stop halfway and camp overnight was thwarted by freezing temperatures and damp camping gear. As a result, we decided to rotate drivers and drive straight through to our destination.

Somewhere around two in the morning, the copilot in the shotgun seat was looking for ways to keep me engaged (and awake). We had been talking about music and playing tapes in the little boombox that we brought with us on the trip. I was on the receiving end of a fairly recent breakup and had two mixtapes with me related to that relationship - one that she had made me when we were still dating and one that I made to send her when she (horribly and unceremoniously) broke things up. I explained each and every song and its context - two 90 minute tapes worth. I think we might have gotten about 5 hours of caffeine-fueled, late-night / early morning, Neal Casady-worthy running commentary and music. In fact, I'm not sure my copilot was awake for the whole thing but I sure was.
posted by Gronk at 11:32 AM on February 18, 2013 [2 favorites]


I am burning the second to last one and itunes just reminded me that I can only burn purchased songs for personal use :-P

I believe I only have 1 or 2 "purchased" songs on the list. I've got my fingers crossed.
posted by amapolaroja at 12:40 PM on February 18, 2013


Arg. I've got three "protected" songs in my playlist, so I went to iTunes to buy the iTunes + versions, and they don't offer 'em individually anymore. Now you've got to buy into their iTunes Match service, so after a little shirt-rending, I decided to go ahead & do that anyway, and it is now TWO DAYS into checking through my Library and determining which songs to upload, etc. Not real happy about that. I could have driven to Dallas, got a hotel, bought the CD's at the store & driven home the next day faster than this.

I want to use Toast to burn the CD's because you can fade & adjust track volumes, and it won't handle the protected AAC files. Early adopter, caveat emptor, fanboi, etc. hoppita moppita...
posted by Devils Rancher at 2:46 PM on February 18, 2013


How do you know which songs are "protected"?
posted by ocherdraco at 3:10 PM on February 18, 2013


Right-click the column header & check "show kind." Also, the file extension is .m4p
posted by Devils Rancher at 4:21 PM on February 18, 2013


Dammit. This is what I was worried about upthread. One of my songs is a "Protected AAC" and the discs are already burned and sent. :(
posted by ocherdraco at 9:29 PM on February 18, 2013


One handy approach is to create a "smart playlist" with a "Protected" filter for Kind - makes it easy to see which ones you have.
posted by Celsius1414 at 10:27 PM on February 18, 2013


Well, if it burned them all without balking, you're fine. My prob is not being able to use them in Toast, plus they're only 128 k so they're not going to sound too great if someone re-rips the disk to mp3. I probably over-think this stuff, being a bit of a audio nerd.
posted by Devils Rancher at 10:55 PM on February 18, 2013


Anyone have suggestions for how to test burned CDs to make sure they'll play in a regular CD player when you don't actually own a regular CD player? Everything I have that plays CDs also plays various other audio files from disc, so I can't be certain that these CDs will play in a standard player.

Help? MeMail would be great, but commenting to this post might also help others.

(No, my roommate/neighbor/place-of-business doesn't have one either)

I have both iTunes and Toast Titanium and I'm on OS X 10.6.8, if that helps.
posted by tzikeh at 9:51 AM on February 19, 2013


In other news - got my mix from Mize! Hurrah! Now to carve out some time to do nothing but listen....
posted by tzikeh at 2:22 PM on February 19, 2013


...and my first Pencilina mix has arrived from koucha. I admire the painstakingly hand-cut-and-assembled CD sleeve!

ocherdraco, I am in your tradeset, so I'll let you know about the protected song. I suspect it'll be fine.
posted by mykescipark at 10:10 PM on February 19, 2013


Thanks!

(By the way, I only realized after I sealed it up that I wrote "Dear Mike" and not "Dear Myke" on the note inside yours. Sorry...)
posted by ocherdraco at 10:17 PM on February 19, 2013


Common mistake, believe me.
posted by mykescipark at 9:02 AM on February 20, 2013


Got mine from mahorn! Thanks. Haven't listened, yet, but the list looks promising.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:50 PM on February 23, 2013


Mine are sent, Nondos. If you don't receive an IRFH mix in a reasonable amount of time, let me know.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:50 PM on February 23, 2013


Moodswingers, I hope you've all received your discs by now. I was in a rush to make a trip to California, and I hope everything was correctly addressed and stuff.

But alas, alack, I did not come home last night to any discs. My mood was swung!

The one thing I wish I'd had some time for was liner notes. So I guess this'll serve as my liner notes.

I started this with Mark Lanegan's "Harborview Hospital," because I'd been kind of listening to that on constant rotation for a while, so I knew I'd want to use that. It's about (or not about, but at least is centered around) Seattle's famous trauma hospital (as well as infamous, since that's also where most indigent cases go). I also wanted to use John Fullbright's "Satan and St. Paul" since I'd also been listening to that a lot, and thus presented my theme: Location, Location, Location.

I probably could have made about a dozen CDs easy with that theme -- I was rather amused by how many songs are written about places. I wanted to find some that don't even always talk about the place they're either named for or take place in (like Bon Iver's "Holocene"), as well as the obvy ones that are called out for what they're about. My favorite of those is "Cold Missouri Waters" by Cry Cry Cry, which is an amazing story song about one of the two survivors of the Mann Gulch Fire, where 13 of the first smokejumpers lost their lives in a terrible wildfire. It's the subject of Norman Maclean's book Young Men and Fire which is also amazing in itself. I can't listen to Richard Shindell's exquisite voice singing that song and not sob uncontrollably.

Mostly I was amazed that I remained steadfast and did not include Toto's Africa. Instead of that, for schwoozy relief from all the folk and indie stuff, I included Anggun's Snow on the Sahara. And of course, I had to include something from Springsteen, who probably has more songs about places or with titles that are place names than any other artist around. I always choose the downers, so this one includes "My City of Ruins."

I had to cut songs to get this to fit, so I may just do a part two and who knows, a part three next time if carsonb does this again! And I'll put the complete play list and cover up on the Flickr group page.
posted by emcat8 at 11:49 AM on February 26, 2013 [1 favorite]


In under the wire.

Watch out, clackamores, and many thanks to entropyiswinning for the first mix received here, some cool stuff on there, it is designated as kitchen/cooking music for the moment.
posted by carter at 2:15 PM on February 26, 2013


I believe -- and someone may correct me if I'm wrong -- that I am sending out the first MeFi Mix CD based entirely around a Comedy Bang Bang improv character.
posted by Shepherd at 5:08 PM on February 26, 2013


All my fellow Koralimbas should have theirs by now, as I sent them out a week or two ago. If NOT, get in touch and I will resend or zip and put on Dropbox, whatever your little heart desires. Oh, and after looking at the Flickr group, I was pleased and relieved to see that no one has put up my cover yet.

OH THE HUMANITY.
posted by THAT William Mize at 11:37 AM on February 27, 2013


Sent out CDs to fellow Trylons just a few hours ago. Though I'm a little embarrassed to have waited until the last possible moment, I haven't yet received anything either.

My approach was minimal, in more ways than one. Chances are you'll either hate it or mildly appreciate it on some level. I'm hoping it's the latter.
posted by eric1halfb at 8:42 AM on February 28, 2013


To the Uberorgans and Tamburitzas mixes mailed. Major printer problems so you a disc and a nice burn list.
posted by bjgeiger at 9:32 AM on February 28, 2013


Koralimbas -- be on the lookout for a random mix of middling-to-crappy music that either reminded me of, or was actually used in, tv shows in the 90s (X Files / Lois & Clark / Due South / Nothing Sacred / Sports Night / MST3K / Xena / South Park) plus Muppet stuff because ALWAYS HAVE MUPPETS.

Also, The Saddest Song in the Fucking World. (No, for real.)

And a song about Harrison Ford.

Called "Harrison Ford."
posted by tzikeh at 12:34 PM on February 28, 2013 [1 favorite]


Hey Koralimbas! Your cds are on their way. The theme was "melancholy." It has "Holocaust" from Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers, so you know I mean it.

I have received Mize's CD so far, no others. Looking forward to the rest!
posted by litlnemo at 4:57 PM on February 28, 2013


tzikeh, Due South! Yay!

Tell me about The Saddest Song in the Fucking World. I am intrigued.
posted by emcat8 at 11:08 AM on March 2, 2013


It's our first real spring day today, my professor ended class almost an hour early, and I came home to not one, but two(!) mixes - mahorn's and IRFH's! Yay!
posted by Karmeliet at 8:16 AM on March 4, 2013


I got two more mixes and haven't listened to them yet but I have a little commute tomorrow :-)
posted by amapolaroja at 7:57 PM on March 5, 2013


Hey, Uberorgans, better late than never, right? ...Right? (The end of February always arrives distressingly early!) Anyway my mixes are on their way, and so far I've received two of the five I'm expecting.
posted by obloquy at 11:59 AM on March 6, 2013


The Saddest Song In the World™, aka "A Boy and His Frog." It's a song Tom Smith wrote the weekend that Jim Henson died, sung from Kermit's point of view.
posted by tzikeh at 1:17 AM on March 8, 2013


I have just received the fifth of the Bazantars' mixes yesterday - and incidentally, this makes it the first swap I've received everyone's mixes. Go Bazantars! (Haven't had a chance to listen, but I'll be doing some intense home-organization tasks this weekend and will use them as the soundtrack.)

Are we sharing song lists in here as well?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:49 AM on March 8, 2013


Have any of my fellow Octavators managed to crack the code bfranklin sent along yet? I'm starting to see patterns in my coffee creamer.
posted by Panjandrum at 1:27 PM on March 8, 2013


My play list. 40 years of Rock n' Roll.

Mefi Mix Feb 2013
posted by bjgeiger at 6:29 PM on March 8, 2013


Woo!

My playlist (on Spotify) - a musical tribute to American History.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:37 PM on March 8, 2013


Oh! I forgot about Spotify.

40 Years of Rock n' Roll
posted by bjgeiger at 10:13 PM on March 8, 2013


Thanks to entropyiswinning, puritycontrol, zsazsa, and readery! Lots of cool new stuff to listen too!
posted by carter at 9:37 AM on March 9, 2013 [2 favorites]


I finally sent mine out today (I've had a death migraine that means no driving for a week, so I'm bad, sorry) and I got the last of my swapmates' mixes today. I'm looking forward to listening to all my fellow Bikelophones' mixes now!
posted by immlass at 5:34 PM on March 9, 2013




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