When trying to think of a manageable format for making hour long-ish mixes on a recurring basis, my brain eventually wandered over to the efficient old music sorting system I had set up in iTunes back when I was running a 24/7 internet radio stream called 'Mix Tape Radio'… which, eventually, lead me to an idea:

What if I take the 'randomized playlist' system that I used back in the day to create new “shuffle’d up” programming blocks to upload to my old internet radio station… and what if I instead use that organizing system to shuffle me up a selection of 95 'mix tape radio approved' songs that I can then use to put together an old skool 18-track mixed cd?

Well, that’s more or less how we got to this ‘THE MIX TAPE RADIO MIX CDs’ idea (which is a @HI54LOFI Mixcloud mix series currently on indefinite pause as I take a more measured approach to content creation & contentment, while also working on a bunch of interconnected website/project changes & re-thinking what I’m doing with a “music blog” in whatever year it is now)— and that is partly why you can now listen to DISC 04 on the player below or by jumping over to Mixcloud and listening over there (or get on the Mixcloud app if you’re more of a ‘phone listener’)…

…and, as always, if/when you hear something you like, do the universe some good and support/check those artists out further. Every little bit helps move the needle in the correct direction + it’s the only way good stuff will continue to keep getting made. So make sure to have a browse thru the playable track listing below — odds are pretty decent that there’ll be a track/album/artist or two that your ears are gonna want to spend more time with:

MTR/MXCD DISC 04 - Track Listing

And if you find your ears enjoying what they’re hearing, there’s some pretty decent odds that following HI54LOFI over on Mixcloud for future/past mixes would not be the worst use of one of your internet clicks today. Or maybe you’d like to extend the ‘soundtrack-by-HI54-mixtape’ vibes ALL DAY and would be interested in tuning into the ‘all day mix tape’ signal coming out of MOUN.TOWN/RADIO?

Or maybe you’d like to shuffle up every track that’s ever been featured in a Mix Tape Radio Mix CD in an ongoing archive playlist?

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But, let’s remember to remember that we all know how the Corporate Streamers™ of the world are great for discovering/sharing and keeping track of music + streaming services allow us to easily choose better soundtracks throughout the day than what corporate FM radio stations used to drill us into submission with before the internet arrived in everyone’s pocket—which are good things, in the right hands — BUT… the way creators are paid out with streaming is just not very good/fair *ESPECIALLY* in comparison to what some are making off of providing convenient access to other people’s art/work.

Ideally, smart artist/human-minded people will start making some more momentum towards coming up with a better/fairer streaming model that all us other humans will practice-what-we-preach and actually support (here’s my contribution to the dialogue), but, for now, us appreciators of creativity/good things need to do a better job of being more mindful of making sure we’re continuing to show direct support to the creation of those good things we appreciate. And, if you ask me, or even if you don’t ask me, Bandcamp is still one of the best online places going for intentionally & directly supporting the makers of the music you like, in an exchange that benefits both sides. Who knows, maybe you’ve even got a poetic #Fandcamp review in you for an album out there?

Which is why I try to keep a Buy Music Club list going for all the ‘available-on-Bandcamp’ tracks that get featured in one of these The Mix Tape Radio Mix CDs — so go give a gander thru this nice list of nice music you can buy directly on Bandcamp from the humans who make it (the embed below is the archive for 2021 mix cds, click here to check out the 2022 archive):

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Because everybody wins if we all start sharing some more metaphorical coffees/beers/cheers with the people out there making the things that help make our days a little bit better. And maybe we could also stop giving so much to the people out there always trying to keep things shitty?

ON A RELATED NOTE: HI54LOFI was accepted into the Mixcloud Select program awhile back, which means you can now support the making of these HI54 mix tapes & the artists included on them with a monthly subscription, while also unlocking offline listening for ALL my HI54 Mixcloud mixes (over 200+ and counting) to carry around in your pocket anywhere you go — y’know, if that would be something you’d be interested in. And/or nobody would be mad at you if you’d prefer to make a one-time “thanks for the stuff” donation of your choice to HI54LOFI instead or just give a shout-out out on the socials… it all counts/adds up :)

So, in closing… if you heard something you liked in the latest mix (or if you discover something good somewhere else today), make sure to check out the people making the stuff you like and try to show a little bit of love / support / appreciation (in whatever ways you can, even if that’s just sharing it with someone else) — because things’ll get gooder if we all focus on spreading more goodness.

And here’s hoping this year we’ll be better than the last \m/

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JEREMY / @HI54LOFI

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