a post about a mix-tape (!)

whooo! just finished my first attempt at a full-length live-to-cassette continuous dj mix. full-length in this case means 60 minutes (in two unconnected 30 minute "sets" that end pretty much aprubtly when the tape gives out. just like the end of a real club night, at least in places where the lights come on at two.) gotta build up the stamina, y'know.

i did cut in to nice up the end of side one (fade to treble), and there are a few spots on side two where i got perfectionistic and cut in to fix a botched transition, but it's basically all live, and there's nothing that i couldn't theoretically do in a live dj set (although there was some amount of advance planning involved - especially with the side-opening 'live mashups,' less so towards the end of each side, which is why the selections get random. the tape was maybe 25% improvised. and 90% beatmatched. with 75% success. um yeah. (actually, even some of the nasty ones sound kind of okay listening to it now.) 95+% danceable(!)

so the brief for this mix was to combine soul with electro-pop (or what-have-you) in as integrated a fashion as possible - not so easy, because the feels are often pretty different (which can be cool), and the tempos even more so (more of a problem.) mastering (volume) levels are an issue too. anyway, i am in love with these two genres, and i'm trying to figure out whether or not my poptopian electro-soul-dance-clublove dreams are really tenable.

you want evidence?:

[side a]
love's in need of love today - stevie wonder vs. as serious as your life - four tet
i'd rather be an old man's sweetheart - candi staton
who's that girl - robyn
dumb dumb - rachel stevens
how long do i have to wait? - sharon jones
i need it just as bad as you - laura lee
i'm a slave 4 u - britney spears
something isn't right - herbert
do the funky chicken - rufus thomas
here in the night - kelley polar
crash and burn girl - robyn
there's no other way - blur //

[side b]
sing a simple song - budos band vs. drop it like it's hot - snoop dogg
mr. big stuff - jean knight
secret garden - rachel stevens
walk a mile - willie hightower
talking about my love - james hunter
freak like me - sugababes
boyfriend - ashlee simpson
jump - girls aloud
everything i'm not - veronicas
i think we're alone now - tommy james and the shondells
an introduction to ghosts - solvent
packt like sardines... - radiohead
otto's journey - mylo
time and place - lee moses //

i'm making a couple copies to distribute in new york this weekend to cassette-friendly parties. lmk if you wanna, k?