The Best of Best of Best of Series or the ultimate mix tape

Well, over a year later and I come back to the blog with an interesting project that is still ongoing. I call it my Best of Best of Best of Series! It is a set of recordings of my favourite songs - what I would add to an ipod if I had one (No, I do not have an ipod...I intend on getting on, but have an old computer which is not compatible - this project should load straight onto an ipod when I get one).

So it is the ultimate mix tape!!

I miss mixed tapes I admit, being old school. Doing mixed music on the computer and blank CDs just does not cut the muster of a mixed tape - sure it sounds better, but there is the thrill of creating the mixed tape there and then. A mixed CD is a little more technical and loses a little bit of the romance of making it. What I mean - and I am sure purists will understand here - is when you make a mixed tape you have your records, other tapes and CDs there to be listened to as you go and if you need a break you can just pause the process and continue later. The mixed CD is a little less accessible. For instance you save the songs to your computer, but it is a little fiddly if you need to go back and add something else you have found or change the running order - technically you can do it, but as always with a mixed tape you do need to hear what is happening - get a feel for the mixes and changes from song to song - the computer just takes that out of the project. But this project is different to the usual mixed tape so that is ok!

So, I am seriously tampering with the strategy of making mixed music here - and I know my dear 'friend' Rob from Nick Hornby's fabulous High Fidelity (Yes, I feel like he is my friend and I adore that character sooo much, I just know we would be firm friends....maybe even more....and I felt like that before the movie, add Cusack in the role and ......but enough of my fantasies!) would not be at all happy with me....but hopefully when he listened to the finished product he would be amused.

The Best of Best of Best of Series is simply an alphabetical order by artist listing of favourite songs off my collection of CDs. I know - how very Librarian of me, well in the words of Rachel Weisz in The Mummy, "I am a Librarian!!!"

So the rules are, I go through my collection from A to Z and tape favourire songs in alphabetical order onto CDs. Initially I would only choose 1-3 songs per artist, but, well, I got to The Beatles and that rule got thrown out the window. Also if choosing more than 1 song from a CD I would tape them in track order - but I do believe I broke that rule too...oh the anarchy! I am also excluding any various, mixed or soundtrack CDS AND serious jazz, classical or opera. These are all not housed in my A-Z run!

The postings on The Best of Best of Best of Series will include musings about the artist, song and anything else related that I deem important into the inclusion of said songs! We all know with music a certain song can take you back to a certain, place, event of time or just lighten (or change) your mood. The songs are indeed eclectic, but hey my collection is and because they are listed alphabetically, they can seem even more eclectic - but that is half the fun. Funnily enough, listening to some of them back I wonder why I included some and excluded others, I suppose it all depends on where my head was when taping them in the first instance.

So, here is where you can come in, join me on my musical journey - and tell me what you think! I am interested in your opinions, whether you agree with me or not - musical taste is so personal, but I will try not to judge you (much) or take it too personally. It will take a while as the process is long and my collection expansive and I will not post on new CDs until a few weeks of listening.

Please enjoy, Cathy