I finished my mix and liner notes last night, and I'm pleased with the results, even if I had to chop off the last couple of categories due to length, and the flow isn't quite what I'd hoped. But what can you do when you're going according to guidelines? There are only so many songs I can use off the first album I bought, and only so many songs I have with a name. ;-)

I'm swapping out the book/movie-related song, because, while I love "Venus in Furs," it doesn't go with the rest of the CD *at all.* Bummer. But my replacement song is really good, and also funny.

I kind of decided flow didn't matter. I hope this does not cause the person who gets my mix to break down in tears.

I had to cheat the "cover I thought was an original or vice versa" category, because the songs I like that would legitimately fit that category are by performers I wanted to use in other slots on the CD. (I'm sure there are other covers I thought were originals in my CD collection, but I lacked the patience to check writing credits on every CD I own to find one.) But it does fit the category for most people who are not obsessive readers of rock history.

Also not entirely happy with the "artist I hate, song I love" category. Is this supposed to be another "guilty pleasures" slot, or should it be a song by a performer who we find morally/politically/aesthetically repulsive, even if we concede they have talent? The word "hate" to me suggests the latter, but the only song I have a decent copy of in that category is waaaay too long.

I don't know if there's a consensus on this, but for me "artist I hate, song I love" will be someone whose music I don't generally like but who has a song I really like. Some of my favorite artists are loathsome people (yeah, i'm talking about you, Miles). So that isn't the criterion I'm using. If that's why you hate so and so, but s/he has a song you love, then use that.

"Guilty pleasures" I think has more to do with perception: I like it, but I'd be sorta embarassed for someone else to know I like it. Many of us here aren't easily embarassed & in fact are eager to stick up for generally frowned upon genres and/or artists on the general principle that it's the execution, not the chosen mode of expression that matters. Still, maybe you dig disco/country/Abba/John Denver/boy bands/fill-in-your-choice-here but wouldn't want that to get around. That's what my take on that category is.

for me "artist I hate, song I love" will be someone whose music I don't generally like but who has a song I really like.

That's how I defined it. Of course, I don't own anything by someone I don't like, so I had to root around for something.

someone whose music I don't generally like but who has a song I really like.

Ah, that was a category on the original Frankenmix, so i was wondering if this was something different.

It's still a hard one for me because it's very, very unusual for me to like one or two songs by an artist and (know that I) strongly dislike the rest of what they have done-- let alone have those songs in my CD or MP3 collections.

I may think "Sweet Emotion" or "Dream On" is more tolerable than "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing," but it's more a case of "find Aerosmith generally fairly pleasant for hair rock, hate a few of their songs" than "hate Aerosmith, love "Sweet Emotion."" Similarly, "My Favorite Mistake" does not actually make me want to bitchslap Sheryl Crow, but that doesn't mean I want to download the thing or subject others to it. Of course there are CDs I've bought for the single and found pretty boring otherwise, but I don't think that fits the category, either, as my reaction to the other songs is usually not hatred so much as "meh."

Suspect I may be overthinking this just a tad.

I had a few songs I could have plunked in the "artist I hate/song I like" category. I didn't end up going with Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff."

You all can thank me later. *g*

Usually I try to do some sort of flow with my mixes, but this one didn't bother me so much, just because it was so fun to see what I could put on there that someone might not know, or that might make someone say, "I haven't heard this song in years! I love this song!"

Lyra, I've had trouble with both the Guilty Pleasure and Song I Love By Artist I Hate categories.

I don't feel guilty about any music I like. I've got Bobby Sherman and Neil Diamond in my collection fer chrissake. Hmmmm, maybe a Stone Temple Pilots record would make me feel guilty. But I wouldn't own that and I don't take any pleasure in it. Who else - all the faux grunge bands seem particularly bankrupt to me, but again, no pleasure for me in Creed.

If I don't like somebody's music I usually don't hate them though. Just indifferent. For a long time the only Madonna I had was the 12 Inch for "Angel" because that's the only place you could get "Into the Groove." But I actively like some of her later stuff, and would probably pick up The Immaculate Collection if I saw it in the cut out bins.

It's a puzzlement.

Anyone else having trouble being witty with liner notes?

Writing about music is hard! t /talking barbie

Writing about music is hard!

Yes, it is, especially when you don't have the album or other reference materials handy. On that note, David, please change the Ornette quote in the Russell piece from "framework" to "background". (If you keep that part, of course.) </not so super secret message>

Thanks, Hec.

I'm not exactly *guilty* about anything, but there are some CDs I would rather not advertise my ownership of.

If I don't like somebody's music I usually don't hate them though. Just indifferent.

Same here. Well, there are some performers I find obnoxious or annoying, but that's almost completely divorced from their actual music.