I've been making mixes for about three years now. Every once in awhile I go back and listen to an old one, and compare it to whatever I am currently working on, just to see if I can perceive any change in my mixing style and to see if, in any measurable way, my mixing skills had improved.
It's a little discouraging to note that I haven't seen any noticeable improvement, either in song choices or transistions or in segues, over the course of the three years. Which is not to say that I'm not happy with my mixes. it's just that I've always bought into the idea that one should always be growing, always be improving. But maybe that's bullshit. I'll have to think about that.
Anyway, even if I can't discern any growth in my mixing skills, there are no that I can't listen to, and I think I work equally hard on all of them.
However, every so often I make one that I really, really like. I would say it's mostly about song selection. Sometimes the songs I have chosen just sound, to my ears better than others.
I think "Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture," is one of my favorites, and one of the best I've done. From the opening notes of Marvin Gaye's acapella rendition of "Mercy, Mercy Me," to the closing notes of the same song, every second of this mix is strong. It moves seamlessly from one genre to another, building in intensity but never flying out of control.
The Playlist:
1. Mercy Mercy Me - Marvin Gaye
2. Wake Up Everybody - John Legend/The Roots
3. Round and Round - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
4. Aquarius (Let The Sun Shine In) - Celia Cruz - Celia Cruz
4. Lotta Love 6:49 Nicolette Larson (Remix)
5. Empty Room - Arcade Fire
6. Palm Road - Wolf Parade
7. Juveniles - The Walkmen
8. Living In America - Dom
9. Major Tom (Coming Home) - Shiny Toy Guns
10. Satellite of Love - Color Of Clouds
11. What Would I Want? Sky - Animal Collective
12. Renaissance Fair - The Byrds
13. Change of Time - Josh Ritter
14. A Town Called Obsolete - Andreya Triana
15. Ailleurs - Benoît Pioulard
16. Ghosts - Laura Marling
17. Circle - Swan Dive
18. Sink / Let it Sway - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
19. Sundown Syndrome - Tame Impala
20. My Hopes and Dreams - jj
21. In the Sun - Damon & Naomi
22. I'll Keep it With Mine - Dean & Britta
23. Dear God - The Roots & Monsters of Folk
24. Mercy Mercy Me - Marvin Gaye
The Mix:
Soon to Be a Major Motion Picture Mix
