bishop2knight

Last night I decided I wanted to put together a compilation CD of some of my favorite music for a friend (female and cute). I had no idea it would turn into such a daunting task. I only have about 100 CDs, but still, how do you narrow that down to 13-16 songs? Should I put together a wide variety of music, from rap to rock to soul to metal? Or stick with one form of music? Do I use only songs that have special meaning, or skip that and only include songs that are fun to listen to?

Any ideas?

criptik28

I usually make CD mixes by genre, e.g. R&B, pop, rock, etc.

greeny

I make tons of comp cds and mix tapes for friends, as well as for myself. If you like a wide array of different music styles, I'd say not to just make a mix of one genre. I have around 450+ cds and around 200 cd singles, so it is very very hard to pick your fave songs from so many cds. I like to make comp cds of my fave songs that I have discovered recently, mix in with a few classics that I couldn't live without. Also, you could make a mix by a theme, stars, love, flowers, etc.. and being a girl myself, it is a joy to receive one like this. I made my boyfriend a comp cd of songs with titles that he meant to me and he loved it. The last theme comp I did was titled 'photographic' and had songs that either had picture, photograph, in the title or the song was about them. I always try to start off the cd with a faster song, and close it with one, with a fewer slow songs mixed inbetween other faster songs. My last non-themed mix included the likes of erykah badu, sfa, cinnamon, mary j. blige, kylie minogue, the kinks, aphex twin, ivy, pulp, etc.. so it was a somewhat wide range of music and the recipient loved it. But if you know the girl you are making the comp for, and you know what type of music she likes and doesn't, I would stay away from like putting country songs on it if she absolutely hates country. Just my two cents....

bishop2knight

Thanks for the thorough response Greeny. Sounds like you know what you're talking about. I may have to come up with a theme and run with it. I like that idea. My only question (well, besides the obvious "What should I put on this damn thing?") is in what order to put the songs in. I mean, I understand you need to start and end on a high note, but how does one put R&B and metal together? How is a rap song gonna sound right before a rock song?

As far as knowing the music she likes, I do know a bit, but not much. My first instinct is to actually stay away from music she likes (if she already likes a band, she has the music already) and stick with music she may or may not know. However, this could be dangerous if I really want her to like the comp CD.

Again, any help is appreciated.

SAShepherd

It's been years since I've made a mix tape. (That's how long it's been -- I've never made a mix CD.) But I remember obsessively planning out tapes. So here are a few thoughts:
1) Themes are good -- be it literal themes ("songs about spring") or usage themes ("songs to play at loud volume while driving around the suburbs at 1:00 AM"). It's possible to make non-peppy mixes that aren't depressing.
2) Be diverse, but not too diverse. I mean, maybe you have 20 pop, 20 metal, 20 country, 20 broadway, and 20 classical, but my guess is that your collection is skewed toward one or two genres more than any other. Skew your mix in the same percentages that your collection is skewed.
3) Don't be too popular. One of my favorite joys of receiving tapes was hearing bands or songs I wasn't familiar with. Don't get me wrong -- there's nothing wrong with putting big hits on the mix, and don't be willfully obscure ("hey, look at how elitist I can be!") But I think listeners get a kick out of hearing something they've never heard before and thinking, "d**n, that was cool."

Finally, and most importantly,
4) Be yourself. This is a gift of yourself to someone else. Pick songs you think are cool, and the rest doesn't matter. (OK, as greeny said, if you know she hates country, you might want to shy away from it.)

Have fun -- the planning is almost the best part.

RoQuEr

it's an art and it takes practice. I would start with a theme. It can be r&b, it can be car songs. Just pick an appropriate theme and stick to it. Make sure that the first song is good, and the second is even better. If it is a mix for a person, I would stay away from obscure songs. If it is a party mix, don't play only hits.

Most importantly, make something that you think fits her personality.

Lokimok

It might help to ask yourself things like
1) where is she likely to play it - alone - with a group? Some things sound better in a car, others on headphones.
2) what are you trying to do with this - introduce her to a band - a style - yourself?

I try not to pick things that can be found on the radio (that's not hard). I like to mix it up. Dean Martin followed by James Brown may seem like a bad idea, but it can be wonderful. Sometimes I will throw something on for semi-shock value or because I think it's kind of funny, but I try not to overdo it, & there have to be other reasons for its inclusion - it has to be a pretty good song.

I often obsess over compilations, but sometimes the best collections are the more spontaneous ones I don't spend much time on. Usually I will have a few songs or cds that I know I want to take something from & will spread them out & get some idea of an order. Figuring out the 1st track can be the toughest, then you get on a roll, with occasional dead ends or missteps. I've scrapped ideas many times & started over. It might help to reacquaint yourself with certain songs by listening to their endings. It might help lead you to a next song. Despite genre, tempo, etc., some songs just lead into each other naturally in your head. An idea to help figure where to put fast/slow songs - copy the format of a favorite album.

Most of my compilations have been on tape - where I prided myself on getting songs to fit as close to the end as possible. With cds, sometimes less is more.

1 problem I've encountered: some girls think there are hidden meanings to every song, when usually I just put it on because I think it sounds good.

mllefoo

One of the challenges I like is finding songs that segue seamlessly into each other. For example, there are three songs from the 80s that all have the same beat, tempo, and basic vocal style (Trio - Da Da Da, The Nails - 88 Lines About 44 Women, and Jim Carroll - People Who Died). I will usually put songs like these together on a disk. The preceding and following songs will have similar style but will have minor differences so by the time you've listened from the beginning to the end, you will have listened to about 18 songs that are all totally different yet segue together really well to give the illusion of a DJ mix.

This is a lot easier with synthpop than any other type of music, but I'm sure with practice it can be done.

My last compilation had a science fiction theme. Luckily most science fiction themed songs fit together really well.

Here are a couple off that disk:
Colourbox - Just Give 'em Whiskey
Messiah - Temple of Dreams
Echoing Green - Science Fiction
OMD - Genetic Engineering...