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The art putting together a great mix of music should never be taken lightly. It requires years of training and a general belief that you have the goods to deliver what will be your most impressive mix to date. First step is setting up your playlist. Now keep in mind you want to stick to general theme, whether it be your general mood, or the occasion. This is where the next step comes into play, the order. You don't want to flip from Nick Drake to Jay-z, that will just leave your listener in a state of total confusion. Song transitions are the key to making or breaking your mix. Once the order is completed grab your favorite beverage and get ready to listen, but be prepared to sacrafic songs that don't fit into the mix. And if worse comes to worse relinquish the entire project and start over. Because, after all, there is nothing worse then a bad mix tape.
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i agree mostly with what you've said but i like it when people pull a 'jayz-nick drake' if it is done properly the results can be amazing. also, if the mixtape is for others i always believe you have to let your own tastes go a little and get em hooked with their tastes and throw in yours to mix it up (like a good dj really isn't it?)
Pulling a Jay-Z - Nick Drake transition would be a delicate procedure indeed. But like any difficult task, if done properly, I'm sure could have amazing results.
I sometimes mourn for the loss of tapes. Indeed, it is an art to create that mix tape that causes the listener to just sit there and listen. No fast-fastforwarding. With mix CDs it's too easy to skip along (this doesn't mean the people don't like it, maybe they're just anxious to find out what's next), but tapes are linear and require patience. Making tapes to drive too was my favorite; late night drive tapes, early morning drive tapes, after work drive tapes, cruising around with nothing much to do drive tapes. I never achieved transcendence at the art, that was my DJ friend's skill, but it was fun to try out different things.