What follows is an attempt to catalog different kinds of mixed tapes. This list is by no means exhaustive.
(1) The Romantic Mix
(2) The Break-Up Mix
(3) The Platonic Mix
(4) The Dance Mix
(5) The Road Trip/Airplane Mix
(6) The Theme Mix/Genre Mix
(7) The Alternating DJ Mix
(8) The Workout Mix
(9) The Ambient Mix
(10) The Skate/Thrash Mix
(11) The Hangover Mix
(12) The Sleep Mix
(13) The Alphabetic Mix
(14) 200 Other that You Might not have Thought Of (by Sean Marquet)
(15) 7 Specialty Mixes (by Matt Perpetua)
(16) Mixed Tape of Covers
(1) The Romantic Mix
This mix is made for either a potential partner or an existing significant other. There is definitely a kind of communication that is relayed on a mix to such a person. Songs with nostalgic importance are stand-bys on this kind of mix. This kind of mix, when dating, can be a tricky mix to make. You could either be very successful or else quickly end the relationship.
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(2) The Break-Up Mix
As an anditote to the the Romantic mix, the Break-Up mix is for listening to upon the failure of a relationship. (Perhaps you gave the person a Romantic mix which he/she didn't like. . .)
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(3) The Platonic Mix
Mixes made by friends are great. You might make a tape for a friend deliberately with the person's musical taste in mind. Or, the mix might just be a record of what you felt like listening to a certain moment. The mixed tape becomes, for your friend, a record of you at a moment in time. A series of mixed tapes over the years made by one person becomes a kind of document of that person's life. (This is often why I keep mixes I make; they are quite the nostalgia trip.)
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(4) The Dance Mix
There is quite an art to this kind of mix. The point is to create an ambiance and insure people continue to have a good time. If you're real good at this kind of mix, forget making mixed tapes for friends and go make money as a DJ.
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(5) The Road Trip/Airplane Mix
These are mixed tapes that make the time pass and get you in the groove of the road/sky.
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(6) The Theme Mix/Genre Mix
A tape made with a theme (i.e., X-mas songs) or one that adheres to a particular genre (i.e., exclusively rockabilly).
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(7) The Alternating DJ Mix
Make a mix with a friend and alternate tunes. The mix becomes a dialogue between you, a sort of call and response. Making a mix like this is a great way to kill a Friday night when nothing else is going on.
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(8) The Workout Mix
This tape is a stand-by for all aerobics instructors as well as anybody who is trying to burn off a few pounds. A good exercise tape makes the minutes go by faster.
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(9) The Ambient Mix
A mix to set a mood, most often a mellow one. These mixes can veer off into a "Hearts of Space" tone, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it.
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(10) The Skate/Thrash Mix
This mix is made ideally with lots of early 80s punk and is played on a jambox sitting on a half pipe.
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(11) The Hangover Mix
The hangover mix is meant for the morning after when it feels like someone is pounding a nail into your forehead and you need some music to distract you from the pounding as well as console you about any behavior that may have occurred the prior night. Rolling Stones ballads usually work well on this sort of mix.
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(12) The Sleep Mix
The sleep mix is a tape made for listening to when falling asleep, the great moment when you are in the zone between waking and sleeping, consciousness and unconsciousness.
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(13) The Alphabetic Mix
This mix is made by mixing alphabetically either by artist or song. If you have a massive record collection and are making a mix, this method can narrow your selection possibilities and inspire cuts that you might not have considered.
(14) 200 Other Kinds of Mixes that You Might not have Thought Of (thanks to Sean Marquet!)
the drug mix, tripping mix, pot mix, intercourse mix, depressed mix, party mix, tea/cocktail party mix, old folks home mix, nut house mix, working manual monotonous labor job mix, artmaking mix, wash the car mix, plot to overthrow the world mix, religious mix, film music mix, being laid up sick in bed for two weeks mix. scare your neighbors mix, calculate math mix, break into the pentagon computers on the internet mix, military marching around the courtyard mix, lost my damn job mix, cleaning up after the party mix, getting all the drunks out of the damn bar mix, suicide mix, clesmer mix, world music mix, i really wish i was a pirate mix, football mix, dog show mix, wedding mix, bar/bat mitzvah mix, grocery store mix, confusion mix, pilgrimage mix, miss you mix, make-up mix, before a big interview mix, mafia music mix, science mix, no music (sounds) mix, gone forever mix, lost at sea mix, sleep music mix, cooking mix, legendary mix, secret mix, evil mix, awful mix, funeral mix, morning mix, shower mix, for my pets while i'm not home mix, off the radio mix, taped off of rental movie video mix, stuff no one but me has heard of mix, bath mix, massage mix, insomnia mix, never get around to making it mix, music from the winter Olympics mix, trying to get someone to go out with me mix, out in the wilderness mix, travelling in the space shuttle mix (limited suppliers), bowling mix, giving birth mix, playing music to the unborn child inside my womb mix, surviving a natural disaster mix, racist evil asshole mix, day care center mix, hospital mix, bar mix, drinking beers with the boys mix, just found out i have a terminal disease mix, mixing up verses and choruses from completely different songs ( and artists ) mix, all these songs sort of sound alike mix, before I had formulated any musical tastes mix, stolen from me mix, working with chemicals mix, all from bootleg mix, backwards satan spea k mix, betrayed mix, clean the house mix, wash the dog mix, brush your teeth mix, wrap individually sliced chunks of meet in tin foil to put into the freezer mix, a good cry mix, eating 13 grapefruits in one sitting and then feeling like your stomach is going to explode - but you would still do it again mix, female singer mix, wandering through the dessert mix, stuck in this goddamn town mix, can't understand a word they are saying mix, had a fever when i made this mix, mix from other mix mix, no song more than 30 seconds mix, beach mix, barbecue mix, shoe store mix, basketball stadium mix, afte rsex mix, metal head mix, foreign (to the us) country mix, halloween mix, cleaning the pool with one of those big nets mix, wake up to this on my cassette alarm clock tape mix, giving the cat/dog a shampoo bath mix, what happened to cold fusion mix, etc........
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(15) 7 Specialty Mixes (by Matt Perpetua)
1. the blocks tape- blocks of 3 or 4 songs by as many artists as we could fit.
2. the game tapes- in which you can create blocks, or even entire tapes worth of songs and have the other person find the connection (most often lyrical) between the songs. this is fun.
3. geographically oriented tapes- tapes we would make so that when we got somewhere we would specifically have music that fit that location. Example: Music that reminded us or "felt like" Nyack would be on the Nyack tape.
4. imaginary soundtrack tape- in which we create a soundtrack for an imaginary film, for which we would explain the plot of the film and what scenes the songs would be played during.
5. the fake radio station tape- the kind of tape I make the most of. basically, you treat the tape as if you were programming your own radio station. for me, these tapes are often very eclectic. (but follow radio rules like songlength, catchiness, and varying moods)
6. soundtrack for our own films tape- we've been making our own comedic films for a while, and we make these so that when we're driving around being filmed we can be certain songs we would want in the film would be included.
7. the imaginary concert tape- limited to only one artist, you program the ideal setlist that you would love to see them play
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(16) Mixed Tape of Covers
So many people have submitted mixes of this variety that it warranted its own category. A time consuming but very entertaining mix to make. . .
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