Once upon a time there were these things called cassette tapes.  Music lovers, snobs, casual fans, and enthusiasts used them to make what were known as mix tapes.  Though there were a wide variety of types, the most prominent featured a selection of songs to represent the maker’s current faves or emotional status.

The popularity of trading mix tapes fell somewhere betwixt baseball cards and postage stamps.  But then, a few guys got together and dealt cassettes the death blow.  They invented the CD.  You could still make mixes with these.  The real bad news came several years later when those same guys came up with the iPod.

No longer were songs “songs”, instead they were called files.  There was a brief moment early in this era when people shared these “files” via the internet.  This resembled the communal vibe of mix tape trading days gone by.  One downside of file-sharing was computer viruses.  The other was that it was stealing.

So, the guys got together again, cleaned things up, and made sure all respective parties got their money.  Very nice.  No one wants starving artists or corporate execs.  What happened though was people shared music less.

It didn’t help that these iPods made it so easy to have your music and keep it to yourself.  And this is the current state of affairs, has music ever been bigger?  Everyone’s listening, most of them behind their earbuds.  The playlist has replaced the mix CD.  Of course, hardly any one listens to the radio anymore.  Why would they?  No need.

I woke up the other morning and decided something had to be done.  But what?  I can’t resurrect cassettes.  I can’t kill the iPod.  But maybe I could get people to talk about music like they used to and to share the experience. That is my big goal.

My little goal is to amass a handsome collection of mix tapes and mix CDs, to get to know people by way of these mixes, and to create dialogue.

Begin the journey toward personal discovery and world peace, send me a mix.