Yes, I have Spotify. I know I can make an endless number of playlists which function similarly to a mix-tape. But I miss mix-tapes.
When I was a teen, I would sit in front of our stereo system at home - which had a receiver, record player and cassette plater, plus big speakers. The system was from Sears and... my Mom is still using the speakers!
Anyhow... I digress. I would sit in front of the stereo system with a big set of headphones on my ears and I would go through my records, both the LPs and the 45s, as well as bought cassettes, and pick out songs to put on my new mix-tape.
This involved a number of decisions... did I want to use a 60 minute or a 90 minute tape? I would then have to figure out the order of the songs, which is important you know... and then total up the play time of the songs (complete with the gap time between tracks)... Did I have 30 or 45 minutes? Or was one song too long? Tweak the playlist a bit... cause there's nothing worse than having a mix-tape where Side 1 ends in the middle of a song!
Once I had my playlist mapped out, then I would have to physically put the record on the turntable and line up the song and then hit record on the cassette player. Wait until that song finished, hit Pause on the cassette player and then get the next record (or 45) lined up. Or the next cassette too... because I had most of my Abba albums on cassette and luckily we had a double cassette player so I could tape off of the bought cassettes too! But finding the start of a song on a cassette is way harder than on a record! This took time and effort.
And of course, as each song was being recorded, I'd need to write it's title and artist very neatly (and in very small print) on the cassette playlist label. Neat and small... not always easy!
It was a process that could easily take an afternoon, but a very enjoyable afternoon. Sometimes, after the mix tape was done, I'd be listening to the radio (on that same stereo) days later and... a new fave song would come on!!! I would hit Record immediately and tape the song on the radio... which of course messed up the mix-tape but... I got my new fave song on tape now!
I'd also make mix-tapes for others, for friends, for my sister, or my Dad. These were gifts given to share songs that I thought they would like. I once made a Nana Mouskouri mix-tape for my Mom. A lot of time went into making these mix-tapes, time and love and attention. Heck, I used to get mix-tapes from friends and family. It was a personal gift that gave me a window into their music interests. It was personal. And profound. And EVERYONE had access to a cassette player... be it on a stereo, a ghetto-blaster or a walkman... the medium was the same.
Back to Spotify. Yes, it can all produce a similar result, a list of songs in a playlist that I can play whenever I want. For a subscription fee of course but hey... cassettes weren't cheap back then either. If I hear a neat song on the radio or in Starbucks, I will Shazam it and then search for it on Spotify and add it to my latest playlist.
But my latest playlist often has a title like... 2024 Faves... 2019 Faves... I just add a new song to that playlist without any real rhyme or pattern. It just becomes the last song and onwards.
I did make one "conscious" playlist a few months back, my Cleaning the Airbnb playlist, where I wanted peppy, fast, zippy songs. So I went through all of my annual Spotify playlists and created a new playlist and added in some peppy instrumentals in between. I took some time and effort and even added a cover image and gave it a real name.
What about sharing a playlist? Well... does my friend have Spotify? Or are they Apple? Or Google Music? Or something else again? And sharing a url link isn't quite the same as wrapping up a mix-tape and gifting it at Christmas. Seriously. A URL link?? Sent in an email? Or write it out on paper and mail it? Meh. Not very personal. And I can tell you now... my mother is NOT going to be listening to a Spotify playlist. Just. Not.
The other thing I've noticed is... I don't really know who the artists are on many of these songs. I like the song, I Shazam it, I search for it in Spotify and add it. Back in the day, if I liked a song, I would have to listen to the radio announcer and get the name and title and then go to the record store and search for the artist and either buy their 45 or, more likely, buy the entire album as an LP or a cassette. And then... with their whole album, of course I would listen to their other songs and maybe even find another one or two (or more) that I really liked. I might even buy more of their albums (Hello Abba).
But now... with Spotify, that doesn't really happen... I might look at other songs on their albums, but I might just do a quick preview play of each and then move on. I don't ever listen to their entire album. So I never really connect or bond with the artist.
Something has been lost. Something has been gained.
I've gained more time, that's for sure. I no longer sit in front of a stereo for hours with my headphones on, happily making mix-tapes. But I've lost that experience as well. I've lost those happy afternoons.
I've gained a HUGE pool of songs and albums and artists. I have a whole A&B Sound in my smartphone!! I don't have to buy an entire LP album for just one song. My horizons and musical tastes have broadened. Spotify will actually suggest new songs based on my listening preferences. There's always a new artist, a new song and so the old playlists very quickly become... old and out-of date. I've lost a connection to the artists, to the bands, to the albums. There's always something new, something better and there is no time to sit and let a song or an album simmer and soak in.
Although... I do have to admit... I love the Repeat One Song feature in Spotify!!! I love playing a new song on repeat for hours. That was impossible with cassettes... well... I guess not... I never did it, but I guess I could have made a mix-tape with one song on repeat... But I never even thought of that back then.
I've gained the ability to share my Spotify playlist with everyone! Like... everyone and their dog. I just post the link on Facebook and... boom... everyone can listen to it. But it's lost that personal touch... I don't make a separate playlist for this person, or that person... based on what I think they will like. No, I just share MY playlist... the songs that I like. It's not the same as a mix-tape. Not at all.
Whipping up a playlist can be superfast now... but it's different than creating a mix-tape. Producing a mix-tape used to be a creative act, a personal act, an intimate act and now... it's not.
I miss mix-tapes.
