Need To Ignore Your Friends And Family Until They Leave You Alone? Try 8Tracks!
by Mike,posted Oct 26 2011 1:39PM
I consume music like I consume BBQ Chips. If you've ever seen me you know that's a great amount. I am in constant search of new sounds to stimulate my mind and body. The Internet has made this much easier than when I was in High School, trolling through magazines and record stores looking for hard to come by new stuff from local and international artists. When I discovered some choice nuggets I wanted to share with my fellow music nerd friends. Usually when I accumulated enough music I would throw it on a mix tape to play in my Walkman while sitting in class. Sometimes I would share these tapes with friends and they would return the favor. These days it takes seconds to do that digitally but back then a mix tape had to be carefully hand crafted with much thought going into the sequence and getting the timing of pushing record and stop just right. Some more creative music enthusiasts would even think up a clever title for their creation and even do some elaborate artwork. A good mix tape could set a mood, make a party get out of hand, or clear a room. This fine art has moved on to CD and then to the digital playlist. iTunes now has the "Genius" function which actually creates the mix for you, but what fun is that?
Now the site 8Tracks has made digital mix sharing a little more exciting. You can make a mix, pick artwork, and share with friends or fellow sonic adventurers from Istanbul to Greater Lowell. But there are a few rules. What you say? Rules? There are no rules in Rock N Roll! But to me, these rules enhance the process.
1.You must have at least 8 tracks(hence the name)
2. You can only repeat artists once per list(which blew out my efforts to create the ultimate Rush mix)
3. You can only use two tracks per album for each list.(so I can't resequence "Grace Under Pressure" the way I want it)
4. You have to name your mix.
Then you can share away, following other like minded mixers or just choose a mix at random and discover something new. Most of the mixes I have found have a theme like drinking, sex, vegetables, and micro-biology. I'm sure there's a million more to be discovered. I've been on it for the last week and have found some great new and old stuff. You can also share your mix on social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
The only real problem I had with 8Tracks is the amount of time I'm spending on it. I could easily spend days just doing this. Soon my wife and daughter will desert me for ignoring their needs. That's fine. I'll just make the perfect mix for a family leaving a deadbeat music junky Dad and share it with other mixers who won't bother me for dumb things like food and attention.
Here's a mix I made while self medicating with my stash of weed that is much less than an ounce...just in case the man reads my blog...I know you do....Hiiiiii....
