The Art of Making a Mix Tape

I have made quite a few mix tapes in my day. I enjoy the challenge of trying to capture a person's musical taste while also surprising them with new songs and artists. Sometimes I give myself a theme to work towards like songs about America or songs featuring the banjo.

Over the years I have developed my own system of arranging songs in order to create a mix that flows while telling a continuous story with the music. To some extent I follow the technique explained by Rob in the movie High Fidelity:

"The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules."

Here are a few other tips from me:

--Never use two songs by the same artist.

--Include one good cover songs if you can.

--Inevitably you will have a handful of songs that you think are killer. Make sure you space them somewhat evenly in the mix.

--I like to end my mixes upbeat rather than with a slow song. It's a bit more unexpected.

What are you mix tape rules and tips?