Later on last night, while trying my best to distract myself from some horrible IE code fixing which was going very badly, I had an IM conversation with someone about music, discovering new music, podcasts, etc. That, coupled with reading this article on Subraction this morning, got me thinking about music, new music discovery, and the days when i made mixtapes and CDs obsessively. In this era of downloads on demand, mp3 blogs, free mp3s given away legally and podcasts, you can be bombarded with new music constantly. I subject myself to this bombardment, yet somehow it just isnt as satisfying as discovering your new favourite song or band by listening to a mix CD someone made you, or the free CD on the front of a magazine. And I really miss making mixes for other people. I'm not really sure why I don't do it any more. Time, for one thing, but more probably because a lot of people I know care less than they used to about music in general, especially what my taste in music is. And I suppose because everyone else is also bombarded by enough music to keep them going. A lot of people don't share my yearning for that tactile pleasure of a hand crafted mix CD.

But there must be plenty who do? So I think I'm going to find out. I'm plotting to start a Mix Club. I haven't decided what format it will take yet though. There is the format described on Subtraction, of a smallish number of people creating a copy of their mix CD for each member, and sending them in the mail. This would work well for just a small group of my friends. There are the myriad formats found by searching for cd mix swap. There is the possibility that every member sends a mix to another random member, so everyone gets a unique mix. this would work better if I decide to open it up to the public. I really like the idea of having loads of totally random people who don't know each other, all making CDs for each other. Logistically this is obviously much more complicated though.

I'd appreciate any ideas, thoughts, advice, or notes of interest anyone might have. And watch this space for an announcement on this soon(ish).