about

twenty ten mixes is a weekly mix CD service:

each week i make a new mix CD with the latest and greatest music found in all corners of the interwebs
i listen to these mixes myself, share them with my friends, and mail them to whoever would like one
you can download a current or past playlist to make the mix CD yourself, or you can sign up to have me mail you one

these mixes feature mostly independent & alternative artists in all varieties of styles - indie pop, electronic, alt-country, rock, dance - you name it! the selections are hand-picked each week from hundreds of brand new track releases from artists both big and small.

you can contact me at sprocket87@gmail.com

faq:

is this an mp3 blog?
not exactly. there are 10 million plus blogs you can go to and download mp3s a la carte; my goal is to make a modern weekly mixtape of only the best of the best.

originally twenty ten mixes was only a snailmail mixtape delivery service, but for the sake of user convenience you can now download the mixes to burn for yourself if you like.

do i have to pay for this music?
nope, only if you want me to burn a cd and mail it to you, which is a pretty cool option. however, i welcome donations for my effort if you enjoy the mixes.

why mail CDs at all? downloads are much faster/easier/blah...
because there is too much linking and not enough listening. because it's better to hold a CD and slide it into the player than to click around some website. because it requires effort. this means you slow down, pay attention, and put it on repeat for a week to simmer while you look forward to the next one.

another reason is that it's really fun to get things in the mail [that aren't bills or junk]. getting a shiny new mix CD delivered to your door each week is pretty awesome, and it totally beats downloading a bunch of random stuff from the 'net and not listneing to or remembering half of it.

that said, you can still download them and make them yourself if you like. just promise to set aside 70-80 minutes to actually listen to the whole thing :)

okay, so what kind of music is on your mixes?
check out some past playlists to see for yourself :)

why can't i download individual songs?
because i wanted to make it harder for you :P
but seriously, because these are meant to be heard as a complete mixtape. so download it, burn it and enjoy. maybe you'll find something new you wouldn't have heard otherwise.

can i put these on my ipod/zune/etc?
sure. i've included an m3u playlist for each mix in the .zip archive that you can drag/drop into itunes, etc. but they're intended to be played in a CD player, assuming you have one of those ancient beasts

what do i do with the .zip file i downloaded?
you need to extract it. windows & mac should be able to do this out of the box but if you like you can download a freeware program called 7-zip to help you. just open the file in 7-zip and drag/drop the contents to wherever your like, or click "extract".

what does it cost if i want to mail order these?
i'm not in this to make a profit, just to share some great new music with others. that said, CDs, stamps, paper, and toner all cost money. besides that, it takes time to burn/print/fold/mail everything.

with that in mind, i'm asking for $1 per mix CD. if you want each week's, that's $4 or $5 a month, depending.

if you're a fan of this site or are especially fond of a mix CD you got, i would happily accept any "extra" donations you threw my way. i spend quite a bit of time on these mixes!

how do i sign up / pay?
payments & donations can be made via PayPal; please see the sign up page for details

what does my hard-earned dollar get me?
it gets you a single CD-R mix of the latest and best new music in the independent/alternative scene, labeled in fine point black Sharpie, encased in a single sheet of paper with the tracklisting and maybe a blurb of text, cleverly folded into a mailer, taped, addressed and stamped. i also place it in my mailbox for your convenience.

what if i don't like a mix?
you have my sincere apologies! one thing is for sure with these mix CDs - you will find a variety of styles represented, and it's probable that not everyone will like every track. that said, i strive to make a really well-balanced mix that will appeal to a wide audience. a couple things i would suggest are (1) to give the whole mix a few listens before passing final judgment, as some songs take time to marinate, and (2) try another mix - each week is completely new and different, and you may find something you love!

if, despite these suggestions, you still feel wronged about the quality of a mix, i will gladly refund your dollar. please note that i reserve the right to call you a cheapskate.

is this legal?
good question. the audio files i distribute are all freely available on the 'net at public mp3 blogs, most of them provided directly from the artist or label for promotional purposes. you can easily download most of these tracks at one of many popular sites (pitchfork, stereogum, etc)

that said, it is not the intention of twenty ten mixes to support filesharing en masse. these mix CDs are intended to encourage support of the artists by getting their music into more hands. where possible, i provide purchase links for the albums/artists on my playlist pages -- if you like what you hear, by all means buy the album!

payments made to my PayPal account are no way compensation for the actual songs/files, simply the shipping & handling costs of mailed CDs

i heard/wrote this really great song i think you should put on a mix!
awesome! i'd love to hear it. check out the suggest a song page to do just that.

can i request a copy of an old mix?
sure! i keep copies of all my mixes so it's no problem whatsoever. see the signup page for details. alternatively, you can download the archives at the playlists page.

your website sucks/is ugly/needs RSS/etc
sorry. i'm not a professional designer by any means. this site coded 100% by hand (dreamweaver? pfft!) in the excellent sublime text text editor with minimal graphics work in adobe photoshop cs4, over a period of 2 or 3 lunch breaks. it's no doubt slow and less than beautiful, but it works.

as far as nifty features like RSS and comments are concerned, i agree, that would rock. i'll look into it. i honestly put zero thought into the design of this site; eventually i may rework it to be more user friendly. in the meantime, suck it up and enjoy the tunes :)

that said, if you encounter some significant problem or error on the site i'll be happy to address it asap - just let me know!