Although there's not much of a need to anymore, sometimes I do just to be old-school. It's the format I've always been the most comfortable with too. My parents or my uncle, and occasionally other people made them for me as a kid (it helped that I liked alot of the same stuff), and I clocked in about 10 years of doing them myself. About 13 to 23...until I started finally burning CDs about two years ago.

Everyone did this in the '80s and the first half of the '90s. Tapes stayed popular as a secondary format as late as 2002ish before the proliferation of CDs, downloading and digital media made them really start fading away.

What's bizarre is that records are still around for DJs and collectors and they're even older! They've always been around because of the unique things you can do with them, so I've always hoped the same would be true with cassettes. You can record from just about any source, and you can also speed up or slow down the running speed and all kinds of cool stuff you can't do with digital media.

Mixes feel more like a "creation" because it's from analog technology and the quality of recording varies a little, depending on the machine or even the brand of tape.

I used to make mix tapes all the time between 1988 and 1994, mostly recording songs off the radio. By 1994 my life got a lot busier and didn't have as much time to listen to the radio as before. I know I still have a bunch of those old mix tapes somewhere, LOL! I still like to make compilation CD's of songs representing a certain period in my life (i.e. my senior year in high school) every now and then.  :) :)

Whether you cut two 22-minute segments to fit on a 45-minute cassette, or one 76-minute mix to fit the CD format, the Art of the Mix is alive and well...

I still make mix CDs but I rarely listen to them... instead I just use the playlist feature on my MP3

Oddly enough several of my playlists contain the same songs with slight variation because I get in mood for something and cant let it go.

Wow, even mix CDs are starting to become passe, that's amazing and a little scary. I've just started to get into that in the last three years!


I used to make mix tapes all the time between 1988 and 1994, mostly recording songs off the radio. By 1994 my life got a lot busier and didn't have as much time to listen to the radio as before. I know I still have a bunch of those old mix tapes somewhere, LOL! I still like to make compilation CD's of songs representing a certain period in my life (i.e. my senior year in high school) every now and then.  :) :)

Even though my mixes are usually random, I sometimes put "themes" on there too. Like a certain style of music in general, or "what I was listening to in 1994" etc. That's cool you've got alot from the radio. I rarely did it, just because whenever someone made mixes for me, it was just from the actual albums. Once I started doing it myself around 13/14, that's what I did since I had alot of tapes anyway lol.

I really wish I'd saved more from Nineties radio, since it's like a time capsule. I have more TV from then.

I do burn mix CD's for in the car since there's no MP3 player in my car... but no, I can't say I've made a mix tape in over a decade...I think I would be irritated by the fact that I have to rewind/fast forward and deal with the tapes being eaten by evil cassette players.

Wow, even mix CDs are starting to become passe, that's amazing and a little scary. I've just started to get into that in the last three years!

Even though my mixes are usually random, I sometimes put "themes" on there too. Like a certain style of music in general, or "what I was listening to in 1994" etc. That's cool you've got alot from the radio. I rarely did it, just because whenever someone made mixes for me, it was just from the actual albums. Once I started doing it myself around 13/14, that's what I did since I had alot of tapes anyway lol.

I really wish I'd saved more from Nineties radio, since it's like a time capsule. I have more TV from then.


   I've posted this as a topic before and it didn't get much play so I'll try it here...

   I love, love, love old radio airchecks which is just a term for a clip recorded from a live broadcast.  ReelRadio.  Type in the call letters from a local station that you remember from days gone by and see if you can find yours.  The airchecks are cool!  I'll find a KFRC broadcast from the morning of November-something 1978, or somesuch.  I'll have all the banter from the on air personality (in the case of KFRC in the 70s, it's Dr. Don Rose), traffic reports, weather, some local commercials, news, etc.  Talk about a time capsule..!  Although not all inclusive, thare are quite a number of radio stations and decades represented...

   Some airchecks on ReelRadio are "scoped" which means that the actual songs played are edited.  Usually that consists of the intro and outro of the song being left in, the rest of the middle being cut out...

   The sad reality is that this once free site now charges a small fee to listen. >:( :(  Eh, that's life...

   I hope somebody joins, finds their stuff and smiles because of it.  I can ask for no more than that...

I burn cd mixes now to listen to in the house.  I give them out every year at my daughter's birthday parties too. This year's birthday is a pajama party so I've included songs with "Dream, sleep, night & such in the title. 

I also have several different playlists that I've carefully selected for my ipod.

I burn cd mixes now to listen to in the house.  I give them out every year at my daughter's birthday parties too. This year's birthday is a pajama party so I've included songs with "Dream, sleep, night & such in the title. 

I also have several different playlists that I've carefully selected for my ipod.



wow...that's such a cute/fun idea! I'm sure your daughter will always treasure them..I know I would! :)

wow...that's such a cute/fun idea! I'm sure your daughter will always treasure them..I know I would! :)
Yes, it's my mission to save our youth from popular crap music!

I used to make mix tapes all the time, and I'd even make fancy labels to make it look like a cassette that you would buy in the stores.  My car only has a tape player, so I used to make mix tapes all the time, but nowadays, I just listen to the radio

I do make Mix CDs all the time that I listen to at work.  I just made a 4 disc CD set of classic Canadian Eighties hits, and printed off snazzy homemade labels to make it look awesome!

I stopped making mix tapes about 5 years ago, when I finally purchased a home CD-R/RW recorder.  All my mix CDs are DJ-mixed personally, with all songs beat-matched.  My CD recorder allows me to index by track with no spaces for a continuous mix.  I usually program mix CDs by genre also (80's, house, NRG, trance, alternative, electro etc.).

I guess whenever I get into the iPod age I'll just record mixes to mp3 and upload them.

I haven't made a mix tape since about 2001, when I got a CD Burner. But, I am actually going to buy some audio tapes so I can now tape off the Casey Kasem broadcasts on KFRC (I want to make a tape for Erin). I use to make them all the time for my friends when I was 10 years old until about 19 years old. I had even made up my own company name, called KTS, Kristen's Tape Service, lol  ;D 

I haven't made a mix tape since about 2001, when I got a CD Burner. But, I am actually going to buy some audio tapes so I can now tape off the Casey Kasem broadcasts on KFRC (I want to make a tape for Erin). I use to make them all the time for my friends when I was 10 years old until about 19 years old. I had even made up my own company name, called KTS, Kristen's Tape Service, lol  ;D 



thanks girl..that's so sweet of you! :)

Whether you cut two 22-minute segments to fit on a 45-minute cassette, or one 76-minute mix to fit the CD format, the Art of the Mix is alive and well...


I was an artist with mix tapes.  Some of my best were tokens of affection for the women in my life.  It's about association, theme, development, and--most important--segue!  I could fill every second; no excerpts, all discrete tracks.  If I had 28 seconds left, I could find a 28-second track that would both serve the theme and, if it was the end of side one, segue with the first track on side two. 

I do the same with mix CD-Rs.  It's better not to fill every last second of an 80-minute CD-R, I find they're more prone to error if I don't leave a little space, so I stop at 78:00 or a few seconds after. 

thanks girl..that's so sweet of you! :)


No Problemo :0)

still listen to mix tapes time to time

I used to make mix tapes all the time, from about 1977/1978 to about 2002, when my tape player died and so i decided to buy a CD/DVD burner.

I still have most of them too...Including recordings from local radio stations (local to Newcastle Australia that is) 2KO (Now KOFM) 2NX (Now NXFM) and the like from 1978 onwards...

I have recordings from the years when I entertained ideas of becoming a singer...from around 1978 to 1983...Though listening to these tapes its clear to see I would never EVER make it as a singer lol.

I have recordings of myself talking to people on the CB radio from around 1981 through to 1994.



These days, though...I make mix CDs...Usually themed, like I have around 20 or more CDs full of music from the 1970's and around the same amount from the 80's and again the same from the 90's...And a growing number of CDs from the 00's of all my singles Ive bought. I also make themed CDs of stuff I was listening to at a certain time...Not always were they all 'modern songs' from that time...Like for example I was listening to The Night Chicargo Died in 1985, so they would be on a CD featuring songs from my first year in high school.



They are all keepers of memory...Each song reminds me of a person, an event or a time.





AN

I was playing a cassette in my car today but it wasn't a mix. I've only made a few mix tapes and it was in the 80's just as Marty keenly observed. I lost one which was unfortunate because it was a good mixture of classic 70's rock and early 80's rock. I've been given a couple of mix tapes by younger friends which were just incredible arraingments and introduced me to bands and artists I was not familiar with. It's hard to sit & wait for "fast forwarding" and rewinding because with CD's and MP3 players, there's little to no wait which is nice but I still listen to my mix tapes and I know if I started mixing CD's, I could really get into it and maybe one of these days I will.


   I've posted this as a topic before and it didn't get much play so I'll try it here...

   I love, love, love old radio airchecks which is just a term for a clip recorded from a live broadcast.  ReelRadio.  Type in the call letters from a local station that you remember from days gone by and see if you can find yours.  The airchecks are cool!  I'll find a KFRC broadcast from the morning of November-something 1978, or somesuch.  I'll have all the banter from the on air personality (in the case of KFRC in the 70s, it's Dr. Don Rose), traffic reports, weather, some local commercials, news, etc.  Talk about a time capsule..!  Although not all inclusive, thare are quite a number of radio stations and decades represented...

I remember Dr Don Rose. I've recorded right off the radio myself and got some great tunes. I have found some old tapes in storage without labels and am curious as to what's recorded?  ???

I use to tape off a new oldies station back in 1995, and I made mixes for my Dad who would play them in the OR while performing surgery, lol. He said the doctor's loved my tapes and then I graduated to CD's, and I they rocked to those too. I also use to make some right off the radio for my brother. Ahh, I do miss making these tapes.  :(

I use to tape off a new oldies station back in 1995, and I made mixes for my Dad who would play them in the OR while performing surgery, lol. He said the doctor's loved my tapes and then I graduated to CD's, and I they rocked to those too. I also use to make some right off the radio for my brother. Ahh, I do miss making these tapes.  :(



that is so cute Krissy..oh, btw..I didn't know your dad is a doctor!

I remember Dr Don Rose. I've recorded right off the radio myself and got some great tunes. I have found some old tapes in storage without labels and am curious as to what's recorded?  ???



  I'd sure be interested in what's on those tapes.  I've downloaded hours of KFRC radio checks with Dr. Don, converted them to MP3 and burned them onto discs...

I used to love making my Beastie Boys mixtapes, even though it was a complete waste of time on the grounds I had all of their CD's.

I used to love making my Beastie Boys mixtapes, even though it was a complete waste of time on the grounds I had all of their CD's.


  That's not so bad.  Sometimes it's the context that's important...

Now I mostly make mix CDs and photo stories. I used to really like making mix tapes, but now I think CDs are better.

I think when new cars stopped being made with tape decks, that contributed to the decline. Alot of people still did mixes in the '90s, probably to listen to them in the car. Some of my adult friends in this one apartment complex I lived in in 1994 used to do them quite a bit. He even gave me some of his old ones, lol.

I use to tape off a new oldies station back in 1995, and I made mixes for my Dad who would play them in the OR while performing surgery, lol. He said the doctor's loved my tapes and then I graduated to CD's, and I they rocked to those too. I also use to make some right off the radio for my brother. Ahh, I do miss making these tapes.  :(


Oh that's cool, you got "famous" off them in a way. :) That's sort of like those ones (I think I may've told you and a few other people about) that my dad made with the specialized announcements between the songs when I was 6-7. I used to love when we were in the car and played one of those, and people would get a kick out of that.

P.S. You know what's weird? In the mid '90s, classic rock stations already played some '80s music, yet oldies stations still played '50s!