The Rebirth of the Mixtape (The Independent, UK)

One of our YC mob family forwarded us a link to a fun set of articles in The Independent (UK) covering all sort of recent mixtape nostalgia:

The recordable cassette represents the momentmusic was first put in the hands of the masses. For those who couldn’t strum a guitar, a mix tape was the ultimate expression of youthful (self-)obsession. And an underground cassette culture continues to flourish, courtesy of a new online coalition. Each month, the members of the International Mix Tape Project put a home-made cassette in a Jiffy bag and send it to one of their 1,200 fellow participants, in 30 countries on six continents. All it takes is for Ryan Goldman, the project’s founder, to email each member with another member’s name and address and – hey presto – music-sharing the old-school way. Cassette from my Ex is a blog where writers share their mix-tape memories of past flings and stream the resulting soundtrack for everyone to enjoy. 

They also have pointed out a bunch of great sites for sharing and listening to real mixtapes:

• Foundtrack.com – uploads a monthly mix-tape of new music
• The Art of the Mix – 10-year-old community of mix-tape lovers, forum for suggested tracks
• International Mix Tape Project – puts a home-made cassette in a Jiffy bag and send it to one of their 1,200 fellow participants, in 30 countries on six continents.
• Cassette from my Ex – blog where writers share their mix-tape memories of past flings and stream the resulting soundtrack for everyone to enjoy. 

The Independent also includes interviews with 10 artists, writers, and editors including Jamie Lidell (song writer), Jonathan Lethem (novelist), Conor McNicholas (editor NME), and Paul Smith (Maximo Park) who talk about past experiences with making mixtapes. Each also contributes a playlist of songs from a mixtape they’ve made in the past or they’d make now.

Link to article