Muxin’ it up

March 26, 2008


The mix tape is getting a lot of play this year, it seems.

With good reason. We’ve become so used to single-serving songs that we’ve begun to miss the organization that we once had. We’ve lost the full album as art; the idea that each song leads into the next, like the chapters of a book, furthering the cause and complementing each other.

Now, albums are more like anthologies than novels - each song playing on its own like a solitary short story. You’ll find three or four great songs and eight or nine filler songs. The album could be shuffled and nothing would change. And that’s sad.

Regardless of the status of the album, we’ve all longed to create our own perfect track lists - hence, the mix tape was born. It’s nearly ironic - something that with the word “mix” in it often tends to be a carefully constructed, organized flow of music. Mix the songs and the effect isn’t the same.

So it’s only natural that mix tapes would garner some nostalgic support. It seems like ten or more “mix tape” Web sites have sprouted up as music lovers search their inner Rob Gordon and develop the Web 2.1 version of the plastic cased Maxell cassette tape.

I’ve found one that’s easy to use and fun to listen to: Muxtape. Upload up to 12 songs, organize and release.

I’ve got 55 minutes of well-considered mix-tape magic there - what I’d choose if people actually cared about the mix CDs (and their natural predecessors, the mix tapes) I used to make. Check it out: The Black Marks on Wood Pulp Muxtape.

Muxtape


(Credit: Charisma18, the Rick Roll’n cad.)

Tags: Music, Random Links |

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Garfield Minus Garfield

February 26, 2008


It’ll be light for the next few days. I’m still feeling a little bit of a posting hangover after last week’s Oscar ExtravaganzaFest.

Until then, check out what life is like for Jon when Garfield is away: Garfield Minus Garfield.

Garfield Minus Garfield

From the site:

“Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolor disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life?”

Life has never looked so lonely for Jon. I can’t tell if these are hilarious or really sad. I feel both ways.

Via bookslut.

Tags: Random, Random Links |

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A new kind of Trail

January 31, 2008


Thule TrailI loved Oregon Trail. Let’s face it - we all did. I was in grade school, and we had one computer in our room - an Apple II. We also had two games - Oregon Trail or a choose your own adventure quiz for Madeline L’Engle’s The Wrinkle in Time. When it was computer time, the choice was obvious - we all scrambled for Oregon Trail.

It had everything we could want in a game - guns, adventure, personalization. Your friends would end up with a broken leg. You always tried to ford the river. You always lost all of your oxen. You always wondered what the hell Independence Rock was supposed to be; after all, 4-bit glory didn’t do it much justice.

It might not have even been 4-bit. Regardless, it was awesome.

Well, I’ve just stumbled upon its heir apparent.

Thule has created a wonderful little user-generated/lifestyle site called Thule Road Trip. It’s everything you’d want in a subsite - great pictures, a dedication to the brand and tons of fun distractions. It even has a list of “Road Tunes” available for free download.

Best of all, it has Thule Trail - a remake of Oregon Trail that takes you and your family from Chicago to the (fictional?) Atlantic Music Festival in California.

Choose your vehicle. Check the map. Stock up on supplies (CDs and games for the kids, bags of food for the ride). Hunt for food with your pellet gun, if you run out. See scenic outposts like the largest Pickle in the world. Compete in biking, kayaking and snowboarding contests. Pick up smelly hitchhikers.

It’s Oregon Trail for the rugged yuppie. It’s pretty brilliant. And it’s a fantastic time waster.

Ask my co-workers. I played through the entire game this morning (in the guise of advertising research, obviously).

Check it out. And good luck - at our stop in Vegas, Sierra fell in love and left the family.

(And for a longing look back at what Oregon Trail meant to us as kids, check out this article from Classic Gaming.)

Tags: Advertising and Marketing, Random Links, StumbleUpon |

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The Week(s) at Misc. Asst. - 1.4.08

January 5, 2008


Happy New Year from Misc. Asst.!

12/27
“MiscAsst.com” - Corey
- Simply a notification of the new site domain.

1/2
“Inaccurate Vernacular: No Country for Old Men” - John
-T he first of many film review posts from John. Here, he reviews No Country for Old Men, the Cormac McCarthy adaptation.

1/3
“Favourite big screen adaptations of books?” - Mirza
Mirza’s back with a similar subject - book to film adaptations as a whole. Too bad he’s in London and can’t get the good stuff until a month later.

Tags: Blogging, Misc. Asst., Random Links |

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The twelve days of thank-you letters

December 27, 2007


What was your true love thinking by bringing you a menagerie over the 12 days of Christmas? Seriously, that’s a tree, five rings, ten animals and 63 specialists. In 12 days.

You’re angry, aren’t you? That’s a lot of clean-up.

Tony at Other Men’s Flowers (or John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich CVO - whichever) has uncovered the original correspondance from the woman who recieved those 79 gifts and is releasing them, one thank-you letter per day.

The First Day of Christmas
The Second Day of Christmas
The Third Day of Christmas

Pop over and check it out. And stay tuned.

Tags: Random Links |

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The Week at Misc. Asst. - 12.21.07

December 21, 2007


An early Christmas gift from your friends at Misc. Asst.!

12/20
“The British Identity?” - Mirza
-Is the decline of English football the fault of foreign managers? Does nationality play any part in how “British” the team really is? It’s a good question quickly answered by Mirza.

12/21
“Recomputing” - Corey
-Why would you ask an unfeeling, cold machine to recommend a book for you?

Don’t forget your thank you notes!

Tags: Blogging, Misc. Asst., Random Links |

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The Week at Misc. Asst. - 12.07.07

December 7, 2007


It’s been a quiet week over at Misc. Asst.

But with two more people possibly coming on and a site update, maybe we’ll be firing on all cylinders (or whatever other cliche you want to use) within a few weeks!

12/02
“HWM Reunites!!! And what the next record (god willing) could be…” - Tim
-Hot Water Music was one of the greatest punk bands ever. They’re getting back together for a reunion tour, of sorts, and one superfan is very excited.

12/06
“Camo not included” - Corey
-Where we welcome a new writer and formerly welcome the other people who started posting anew.

12/07
“$20M-agna Carta” - Corey
-The Magna Carta is for sale. THE MAGNA CARTA OMG!

Go!

Tags: Blogging, Misc. Asst., Random Links |

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