i recently made a cd mixtape for a gift exchange with friends and i had to limit myself to 80 minutes. first step was to stalk the spotify of the playlist receiver, and i added songs that i knew from their playlists to the playlist for them. i also added songs from artists we liked in common, and songs from memories we have together. it ended up being like 7 hours worth of songs so i just sat down for a looooong period of time and cracked away at editing it, trying to just curate that indescribable feeling that you find in a playlist someone made for you. i also like to order songs to make the transitions between them sound good when i’m making a playlist for someone; i imagined them listening to the cd in the car and how it would sound for the songs to switch, would it sound natural or clunky? and a playlist made with a loving hand will always have a beautiful charm to it so don’t worry or overthink it to much. 💌
Aug 29, 2024
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i’d say making a mixtape for someone really depends on a few factors: how personal you want it, what their preferred form of media is, and how much you want to spend.
spotify playlists are cute and basically free, but they sometimes come across as less personal. however, if they don’t have a cd/cassette player, it’s probably your best bet.
burning a cd is fun and relatively easy, and it takes more work to do so it’s more personal. also, you can draw or paint the cover for the cd. however, if you don’t have the means to burn one, paying someone to burn one could get a little pricey.
making a true mixtape on a cassette is my personal favourite, because tapes are my favourite form of media and making a mixtape on a cassette takes a ton of work. however, again, paying someone to make it for you takes time and money.
overall, in terms of length, a good 30-45 minute play time is expected. try to pick songs that you know they’ll like, or that remind you of them, and maybe have something to go along with it that explains why you picked certain songs.
good luck!
Jun 29, 2024
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i like taking the time to order playlists to convey a specific feeling or story. sometimes i challenge myself connect songs that dont have any business being on the same playlist
its time consuming but very rewarding
Jul 10, 2024
This is my love language.
I’ve loved It since the days of making mix CDs, so I typically keep them to 18-20 songs. Somewhere around an hour. Playlists can be infinite now, but adding self-imposed limitations forces you to make choices and be intentional. It makes for better playlists.
Sometimes I make playlists for people based around a theme (like Fall) but other times it’s a random word or word phrase like “retro futurism.” The goal is always to find those gems that people will hear for the first time and go, “Oh man, I love that song.”
Nov 14, 2024
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i have noticed occasionally that some recs are turning into, dare i say, tweet-esque things…i think it’s easy to slip into acting like this is any old social media platform when it is not that; it is a special little place to tell people things you love ❣️🌀
Feb 26, 2024
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get into bed WARM, COZY, and most importantly, CLEAN!
Mar 1, 2024
Mar 1, 2024