How would you like to find a mystery mix CD or tape left on a bench? What about making one?

I had tossed around the idea in my head of making a mix and leaving it somewhere for awhile, and then this item on 43things reminded me again a few months ago. So, I made a playlist...that has gone untouched and unremembered for 3 months. I decided that, tonight, I am going to finish it up, and leave it on a bench in a park tomorrow.

The reason people generally want to do this is because some random, music-thirsty soul might happen upon it and, thus, end up hearing some pretty cool tunes. My own music taste has been very much affected by taking someone's advice on listening to a band or looking up a group after reading about them in a magazine; a random mix CD could do just the same. The difficult bits: 1) finalizing the playlist, 2) deciding where the heck to leave it, and 3) not knowing who found it, if in fact it didn't get sat on and crushed or thrown away!

I love burning mix CDs for people, and it is done with great care. I consider the music they're already into, as well their general personality, what music might suit them. There's the problem with the mystery mix; you don't know who is going to find it! There are some bands a person might figure to be generally beloved, but looking up some of my favourite albums on Rate Your Music, using Sort: negative shows it's not so. Ouch. There is not guaranteed love.

What then? I think the more unusual and personalized the mix is, there are actually better chance that someone stumbling across it may enjoy it. They might believe it was intended for someone else, and it's like they are listening in on something secret. Or that it was made just for them...which, of course, it is!

15 songs by 15 different artists is my ideal mix; usually somewhere between 40-60 min. Not to much to digest, just enough to leave the listener wanting to hear more. It could be placed in an ambiguous paper sleeve or decorated to reflect the theme of the songs inside. It could be left on a bench, in a library book, in an elevator, perched atop a staircase rail, in a Geocache ; anywhere where a person is bound to see them and be inclinded to check it out. A casette tape may be an even more enticing find, since they are being seen less and less often as all music goes digital.

Aside from the tracklisting, I plan on including another important document; a suggestion for the finder to pay it forward if they so choose by making their own mix and leaving it in the same spot or elsewhere. It's all about music awareness, exposing hidden gems, and maybe it could even drive someone to buy a CD they wouldn't have otherwise.

I would love to hear your take on Mixes on Benches in the comments. What would you put on your tracklisting? I've got mine below; there are lots important favourite artists of mine that I did not include, but I could always make another in the future:

Mix on a Bench #1 - Tracklisting
1. Yomp - thenewno2
2. Snow Flower - Ananda Shankar
3. No Big Deal - Love and Rockets
4. Bayou - Danielle Dax
5. What Goes On - The Velvet Underground
6. Pocket Calculator - Kraftwerk
7. Tales from the Riverbank - The Jam
8. Caravan - Blur
9. A Future in Noise - Tom Verlaine
10. The Gala Event - Beastie Boys
11. I'm Not Like Everybody Else - The Kinks
12. A Dream Away - The Cars
13. Radio America - The Libertines
14. A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes - Leonard Cohen
15. The Endless Plain of Fortune - John Cale