everything is a mixtape now

why is this? none of them are actual tapes. is it the implication that they're "free", with the term "album" carrying a corresponding connotation that they are not free? this is annoying me.

I mean I understand how this term originally came up from hip-hop underground, but now it's just being applied to anything and everything, it seems like. there are "commercial mixtapes"/"official mixtapes", "mixtapes" of mashups of other artist's material, etc. The term has morphed into this mutable catch-all to mean "collection of music that is given away"

Just a nickname that became synonymous with any free album/tape/lp. Nothing to over-think imo.

it's just weird to me when nouns become totally divorced from their original meanings.

you mean how language can change? SOOOOOO WEIRD

*sigh*

lol ; )

old man yells at english

oops

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3o9FUDlJrSw/TQE4Yv7dDWI/AAAAAAAABeo/WjvDbNlX9Ts/s640/Coffee_Talk_Linda_Richman.jpg

And, you know, you aren't really meant to park on the parkway.

The term has morphed into this mutable catch-all to mean "collection of music that is given away"

I think it's still mainly meant to underline that the actual musical beds on the tape have been sourced / pinched / compiled from various sources, instead of all being produced / commissioned for that one album. Even though it's been abused since the days of Funkmaster Flex's 'mixtapes' focusing entirely on one label's catalog for cool cache, I still take it as a meaningful term, a way for artists to really telegraph to the listener that a lot of casual musical borrowing will be going on.

But the other meaning i.e. "this is not an 'album' this is a give-away" is just as crucial now that everything is encountered as mp3's, when labels notice their stuff getting looped on files tagged 'mixtape' they are less likely to waste their time sending out cease and desists

'cause otherwise when Nicky Minaj sampled Negativland on Sucka Free, she would have made them all mad

I mean, you know all this

I guess I'm unaware of the use of the term proliferating beyond what I've seen, so if you can post more specific examples that'd be interesting -- I'm chiming in because this very week I'm going through how the mixtape evolved in Hip Hop in the mid-late 90's, there's some stuff I have to download (open to recommendations, though mainly I should find that poll thread for 'best DJ mixtape break-in' and just track some of those things down)

Most of the mixtapes on Mixtape Torrent or wherever have basically been reduced to Hip-Hop and R&B 'Now' compilations. DJs don't even shout over tracks anymore, they just add airhorns and clips of women saying the DJ's name.

"I mean, you know all this"

neu borad descrip

milton parker you do see a lot of rap mixtapes these days where theyre rapping over original beats rather than borrowed stuff

Yeah it's become almost the norm

The term has morphed a lot. I sometimes see it as an artist not wanting a work to be judged commercially or artistically against "actual" albums. These guys like Jay Electronica or Saigon who drop countless mixtapes but keep claiming that their "album" will blow everyone away.

okay here's some examples of how this term is just thrown around willy-nilly

- the James Blake/Drake "mixtape" project. a mashup of other artist's material (dunno if commercial sales of this were attempted or if it was just given away)
- Raekwon's "Cocainism Vol. 2". this is all original material afaict, given away for free. the only difference between it and an "album" is that I guess the Brinkz Boyz aren't considered a "label"
- Clams Casino "Instrumental Mixtape". Self-released (I assume for free), of instrumental material, some of it composed of samples but some of it not

what do all these things have in common, besides being available for free on the internet

Too bad "TOAD" (Tape Once And Distribute) never caught on outside a few small circles.

milton parker you do see a lot of rap mixtapes these days where theyre rapping over original beats rather than borrowed stuff

― just sayin, Wednesday, June 22, 2011 1:39 PM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

the more I know! a lot of the studio rap I hear is tacking away from samples so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Keyes' comment about calling it a mixtape simply to lower expectations / denote something a little more raw, even if it is 'original' material -- that seems to make sense too