The Perfect Mix

With apologies to Avenue Q:

“A mix cd.

I made a mix cd.”

Or is it:

“A mix playlist.

I made a mix playlist.”

None of those have the ring of “mix tape!” Maybe it’s just because I’m a kid of the ‘80s when piracy involved trying to hit the record button before the song started on the radio.

Now with iTunes and other such online services, we just click “purchase” and our bank account grows a little bit smaller as our music library increases.

One drawback to this since I rarely buy a whole cd anymore (really I don’t despite the three reviews I’ve done here earlier) is how to put the songs together into the perfect mix cd or playlist. I don’t envy D.J.’s trying to balance bpm (beats per minute) with style and variety of artists, etc. They have a real job doing that.

I remix my collections constantly. I don’t trust my iPod to do the right mix for a five mile run or an eight hour drive.

And I like some odd mixes – yes, you can run to classical music! And electronica. And metal.

Country, though, is a little iffy.

I have almost three days worth of music in iTunes at this point. Last night I visited with a friend who has twenty-five days of music. Yes, that is correct – twenty-five days! I don’t know if I could ever make a mix from that much selection. My brain nearly exploded from the choices as I scrolled down the pages and pages and pages of music: “Which Carpenters? Which Clash? Which James Brown?” Short circuit, my brain would.

My search for the perfect mix continues. If you see me jogging around Town Lake with my iPod, then you will know I’m getting close to it since I rarely run with music.