How to make a mixtape pt. 1: what is this mixtape deal about, anyway?

I have nothing clever to say here, so I'll just be direct: a mixtape is a compilation of songs that the compiler thinks go well together. That's a bit vague, but only because mixtapes come from a wide range of artistic motivations: to address a lyrical theme, to explore an instrument or other musical element, to honor a genre or artist, to serve as a soundtrack for an event or for another work of art, and so on. The extent to which the mixtape succeeds, in some sense, will therefore depend on the extent to which the songs go well together in a way that matches the artistic motivation: to construct an exceedingly simple example, a mixtape designed to show the versatility of the accordion can suffer from both a general lack of cohesion and from a lack of versatile accordion-playing.

Traditionally, mixtapes are used to create buzz for little-known bands, to send messages ("let's get back together," e.g.), to serve one's own personal ends (athletes sometimes have pregame mixtapes), and/or just as gifts. While the most common piece of advice is to tailor the tape to one's audience (see here, here, here, here...), that piece of advice can in some cases be more of a hindrance than a help. In this series of posts (conveniently tagged as "help") I'll share as much as I can of my mixtape-making expertise, and I'll end every post witht he same concluding paragraph, because it's worth repeating.

It's always okay to start a mix over from scratch or to put one on indefinite hold until inspiration strikes. Or, to quote Darren Aronofksy, "You remember Archimedes of Syracuse, eh? The king asks Archimedes to determine if a present he's received is actually solid gold. Unsolved problem at the time. It tortures the great Greek mathematician for weeks - insomnia haunts him and he twists and turns in his bed for nights on end. Finally, his equally exhausted wife - she's forced to share a bed with this genius - convinces him to take a bath to relax. While he's entering the tub, Archimedes notices the bath water rise. Displacement, a way to determine volume, and that's a way to determine density - weight over volume. And thus, Archimedes solves the problem. He screams 'Eureka' and he is so overwhelmed he runs dripping naked through the streets to the king's palace to report his discovery."