WERE-TOBER EPIC 3-PART HALLOWEEN EXPARIMENT!!! expariment 8, part one: mixed music

yes, you heard me! three-parter! this was my to be my last post, i had to make it last, somehow. you didn't think you'd get rid of me that easily, did ya?! anyway, expariment. today, throughout all three expariments, i will do something yet unheard of on LABRATZ-R-WE! i will provide the instructional bits myself! ta-da! now, onto mixed music!

many a cheesey film from the eighties and nineties has the little plot string of one teeenaged love interest giving another a mix tape, which proves that he/she really does love her/him. why does this tape scream "desperate for you"? because it's such a painstaking process to make a mix tape, and if you're that devoted to making this for me, how deep does your devotion run? nowadays, however, people give mix cd's, which mean slightly less than love to both giver and reciever, for the simple reason that they're so easy to make -- literally point and click!

today, i'm going to teach you how to make both a mix cd and mix tape.

starting with the cd, as it's a more "popular" medium, you will need: a blank cd, a computer with a rip/burn drive, existing cd's with songs to use, and/or an internet song download source.

step one: procure your music. you may use your computer's rip drive to take songs from existing cd's, or download them from the internet. every computer is different with its ripping procedures, and i'm still to much of a novice at downloading music to be giving advice on it.

moving on, step two: open your burn drive and apply the music you wish to have, in the order you wish to have it in. this may be done via drag and drop, or by list searches.

step three: insert your blank cd, click the icon that commences burning, and wait until the computer tells you it is finished before removing your mix cd.

it's always a good idea to immediately pop the disc into a boom box or dvd player to be sure the burn took -- not always are discs and computers compatible.

optional step of final awesomeness: cover art. some computers have cd cover art hardware that applies it directly in the tray. sometimes you can find on multifaceted scanner/printer programs a "cd" setting in the list with business cards and letterheads. you could go old school and bust out the Sharpies, careful not to let the ink interfere with the digital information on the other side. and, occasionally in craft stores, you can find print-n-peel decals that basically go on your cd like a sticker.

now, easy as the mix cd is, i still vastly prefer mix tape. it's not really as easy as step one, two, three, and could take an unlimited ammount of time to finish, depending.

if you are working with mainly music you already own, either on cd or cassette, it may not be as hard as all that. you will require a cd player with a tape deck, or a cassette player with two tape decks, or a cd/tape player with radio, or all of the above.

for an existing music source: insert blank tape to the recording deck. before you even start any music, go ahead and press record, and immediately pause it. while it is paused, insert your cd/cassette of choice, find the song you wish to record, then pause the song source there. un-pause the mix tape, then un-pause the music. stand by for the song to end, then pause your mix tape again. leave it paused as you switch out music to your next source. continue the chain, pausing between songs (not stopping, as it will create an ear-shattering popping noise on the tape that really sucks with a walkman.).

outside music source: the radio is the best place to get outside source music. always keep your mix tape inside your radio/cassette player, listen to it often, and be ready to pounce on the record button when the right song comes on. this makes the pop! between songs inevitable, but it's worth it to jump just in time to get the covetted hit. music can also be taken from television, movies, other devices, and live performances via the use of a plug-in microphone (things tend to come out garbled if this is what you end up doing it; a definate last resort).

optional awesomeness: the same microphone can be used in both instances to give an introduction to the recipient/sweetheart, or explain after a song why the song is even there. it makes it more personable, but after a few hearings, can make the listener impatient to just get to the music, already! if the tape comes with a case, one can also do a cover design, just on a piece of paper cut and folded to fit.

believe me, no matter how much easier the cd is, the effort put into a mix tape means more to the recipient, and to yourself.

for i am we and we are labrats and LABRATZ-R-WE!!!