A Labor of Love

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A well-crafted mix, a compilation of songs carefully selected to tell a perfect story, has always been a gift of considerable thought. It's a gift that is as easy to bestow on a best friend as a lover, and it's always a bold move to bestow one on a crush.

The Argyle Academy

Technology has advanced the art of creating a mix; cds and mp3s have made it easier to fine-tune selections, to rearrange songs until the mix tells the exact story you want. While I can't complain about these advances (for I'm certain I spend more time now than ever before trying to achieve the perfect song order,) as surely as I date myself writing this, I can say nothing quite compares to the labor of love that was a mix tape.

Mix Tape USB Stick. I love these- they appeal to the mix tape fanatic who still lives inside me.

When making a mix tape, you often had to catch your favorite new songs on the radio. When they played, you waited patiently for the dj to stop talking, hoping he wouldn't talk too much over the beginning (or the end) of the song because you wanted to catch as close to the original versions as possible.

SparklePower

When you did catch a favorite song or when you were recording music from another cassette or a cd, you listened with the greatest of concentration; you wanted to stop the tape at the exact right spot-- not too soon and not too late. Knowing that spot was a well-honed skill that made a mix tape flow more smoothly from one song to the next.

SparklePower

Playlists were compiled with care to make sure they not only conveyed the right mood, but that they were also split acceptably between Side A and Side B; if you weren't cognizant of song length, you might find an unintentionally abrupt stop to the music at the end of a side.

heatherjeany

Before embarking on recording the mix, you also had to be fairly confident with the order of your selections. Once a song was sandwiched between two others, a change was only possible if you could find a song of equal length to fill the space or if you were willing to re-record everything after the change in selection. Once an entire side was recorded, there was often no turning back.

InvitaPaperStudio

Choosing the title of the tape, as well as the right words for the stickers on both sides, felt monumentally important. Fitting the entire playlist on the allotted spaces of the case liner was a creative challenge, and sometimes the cover of the case liner turned into your own work of art.

Messenger Bird Press

When the last song had been recorded, the liner notes written, and identifying stickers placed on each side of the tape, you'd slide the cassette into its case. The finished product you then held in your hands was not just a mix tape, but was also a labor of love.

Because I still have a huge collection of my old mix tapes, I love the idea of this product!

Double Decker Arts Festival

Every April, Oxford plays host to the Double Decker Arts Festival, a celebration of art, music, and food. The streets around the Square are closed-off to accommodate the artists booths and the patrons who come to browse their wares.

Stages are set up at opposite ends of the Square; musicians play throughout the day, with the biggest acts taking the stage in the evening, after the art vendors have closed up shop. Many local restaurants have food stands at the festival offering a limited selection of their best fare.

The festival offers a perfect way to get a taste of the things that are well-loved and respected throughout the Oxford community.

There is a poster designed each year for the festival, and the one above is from this past year's event. Image found here.