na�tee
11-08-2005, 07:57 AM
hey dudes and dude-ettes, have you heard of this isht?
as read on the bbc (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A6643172) and stylus magazine. (http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=1516)
here's what the bbc say incase yr lazy:
Remember all those dire pronouncements that “home taping is killing music”? Well it may just be that the humble tape is in fact keeping some of the spirit of music alive. At least that seems to be the case with the International Mixtape Project, the brainchild of Washington DC resident Ryan Goldman. Interested parties send an email to the Project, are given the postal addresses of other members and invited to send a mixtape once a month for one in return. As more members join so more mixtapes do the rounds and more people get the thrill that someone they’ve never met is getting excited by that same Throwing Muses B-side that they couldn’t stop playing in 1992.
The Project began with 25 members in 2003 and has subsequently grown to such an extent that Goldman is currently putting a hold on new members for a few months until he can get on top of the already 400-strong membership from over 25 countries. According to Goldman, “It aims to bring together a community. Mixtapes are a one-to-one communication that feels more emotional than an iPod playlist, which isn’t designed to stand the test of time.”
One criticism of MP3 players is that they encourage ê la carte listening. In other words you buy an album, rip your favourite tracks and never listen to the rest again. James Kendall, who promoted the iLike iPod DJ nights in Brighton, admits, “iPods make you a DJ in your own head, which is great. But you can also start thinking about music like a DJ – losing patience if it doesn’t grab you straight away and always feeling the need to find new tunes.”
As Goldman points out, “Mixtapes create a context by expressing a moment in time conjured by the mixer, as opposed to an iPod [mix] that more or less only serves as an aural match to the time and place when it's heard. With mixtapes I tend to hear it as a whole and try to find a narrative, and the benefit of the Project is that I’ve found people who approach that in unique ways.”
So there may always be plenty more fish in the sea with an MP3 player, but if someone’s gone to the effort of dredging through their record collection, thinking about what best defines them as a person, then surely it’ll be a better catch. After all, if you want a serious relationship with music, rather than just a series of casual flings, you really have to put the work in.
To join The International Mixtape Project send your name and house address to International.Mixtape.Project@gmail.com with ‘International Mixtape Project’ in the subject line.
awesome yah? i've signed up, you should too.
in other news, HELLO!
i graduated with my first class degree (hey hey!) and am now working on a feature film. by an oscar winning director no less. yeah, i've earnt my limited smugness but currently i am a photocopying and faxing whore so out goes any glamour, i guess.
and other stuff, too, but i guess it's not very interesting so i've decided to stop this paragraph now. stop!
as read on the bbc (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A6643172) and stylus magazine. (http://www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=1516)
here's what the bbc say incase yr lazy:
Remember all those dire pronouncements that “home taping is killing music”? Well it may just be that the humble tape is in fact keeping some of the spirit of music alive. At least that seems to be the case with the International Mixtape Project, the brainchild of Washington DC resident Ryan Goldman. Interested parties send an email to the Project, are given the postal addresses of other members and invited to send a mixtape once a month for one in return. As more members join so more mixtapes do the rounds and more people get the thrill that someone they’ve never met is getting excited by that same Throwing Muses B-side that they couldn’t stop playing in 1992.
The Project began with 25 members in 2003 and has subsequently grown to such an extent that Goldman is currently putting a hold on new members for a few months until he can get on top of the already 400-strong membership from over 25 countries. According to Goldman, “It aims to bring together a community. Mixtapes are a one-to-one communication that feels more emotional than an iPod playlist, which isn’t designed to stand the test of time.”
One criticism of MP3 players is that they encourage ê la carte listening. In other words you buy an album, rip your favourite tracks and never listen to the rest again. James Kendall, who promoted the iLike iPod DJ nights in Brighton, admits, “iPods make you a DJ in your own head, which is great. But you can also start thinking about music like a DJ – losing patience if it doesn’t grab you straight away and always feeling the need to find new tunes.”
As Goldman points out, “Mixtapes create a context by expressing a moment in time conjured by the mixer, as opposed to an iPod [mix] that more or less only serves as an aural match to the time and place when it's heard. With mixtapes I tend to hear it as a whole and try to find a narrative, and the benefit of the Project is that I’ve found people who approach that in unique ways.”
So there may always be plenty more fish in the sea with an MP3 player, but if someone’s gone to the effort of dredging through their record collection, thinking about what best defines them as a person, then surely it’ll be a better catch. After all, if you want a serious relationship with music, rather than just a series of casual flings, you really have to put the work in.
To join The International Mixtape Project send your name and house address to International.Mixtape.Project@gmail.com with ‘International Mixtape Project’ in the subject line.
awesome yah? i've signed up, you should too.
in other news, HELLO!
i graduated with my first class degree (hey hey!) and am now working on a feature film. by an oscar winning director no less. yeah, i've earnt my limited smugness but currently i am a photocopying and faxing whore so out goes any glamour, i guess.
and other stuff, too, but i guess it's not very interesting so i've decided to stop this paragraph now. stop!