NAQ (Never Asked Questions)
=> NTD (Necessary Technical Dorkiness)
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     AEthermix 2004

Aethermix 2005: NTD (Necessary Technical Dorkiness)

Here are some guidelines for the AEthermixen, but first a disclaimer about Why This is Necessary. We'll be receiving -- via mail, FTP, pack mule and carrier pigeon -- several hundred files from two or three dozen contributors. In return, we hope to deliver a small stack of CDs, lovingly crafted to have a uniform style and directory structure; one that will make our CD-burning friends just as happy as our iPod elite, our Rio-sporting trailblazers, and our Winamping computermonkeys. Also there are stupid restrictions (like the filename limit for a data CD) that have to be observed for the technical end to work.

Your mix must

• Run less than 74 minutes. This is a strict limit.
• Weigh in under 100 MB. This is also a strict limit.
• Consist of only mp3 files. Other formats such as AAC, WMA, and OGG are *NOT ACCEPTABLE*. This is necessary so everyone can enjoy everyone's AEthermix.
• If you're ripping from CDs, iTunes will make mp3's and so will Audiograbber. Note that Windows Media Player says it will rip mp3s but will only do so at ridiculously low bitrates. Avoid at all costs.
• If you're ripping music from CD you should choose any bitrate (quality setting) between 128 and 192 kBps.
• If you already have files in WMA or AAC or an otherwise evil form -- well, it's best if you re-ripped it or re-downloaded it as mp3. Barring that, your best bet is to burn it to a CD and then re-rip it at a high bitrate (192+ kbps). Re-encoding a previously compressed file introduces unpleasant audio artifacts, as seen from this Iron Maiden song re-compressed 666 times

• Contains album art in a file named 'folder.jpg'
• Has a text file giving the tracklisting; possibly describing your mix, its inspiration and genesis; or just telling the unrelated story of that one time when you and your friend Jill learned an important lesson about the dangers of experimenting with Vapo-Rub.

• Use any FTP program, like FileZilla to connect to the site ftp://ftp.aethermix.com/. The username is "mixer2005@aethermix.com" (yeah, the whole thing), and you should have gotten the password via email.
• - Make your own directory, named for your mix.
• - Drop me a line once the upload is complete so I can sync it to our offsite repository deep within Yucca Mountain, NV.
• - You may notice other people's mixes already up -- please resist the urge to peek. It will be much more fun to get them all at once. If I can resist you can too.

• Follow the naming format:
  ## Artist - Song Name (extra info).mp3
  OR
  
  ##_Artist_-_Song_Name_(extra_info).mp3
  Please use only spaces or only underscores. Note there is no dash between the track number and the next field.
• You can include as much or as little information as you want. If you want to have SOOPER SEKKRIT TRXXX you are welcome to name them '03 Track 03.mp3' or '04 Party On.mp3' or whatever -- but whatever info you do include should follow the above format.
• Please maintain "Title Case" -- The Capitalizing Scheme Used for Titles That You Learned in High School English Class -- unless artistically necessary.
• Do not use the characters "'?*:/\$ (some operating systems will barf otherwise -- do you hear me Mac dudes?)
• Trim your filenames to fewer than 64 characters, including extension. (Burning to CD chops names at 64 characters. I know -- crazy, huh?)
• Examples of good file names:
  • 01 Killers - Girl in the Pink Killers Shirt.mp3
  • 08_Track_08.mp3
  • 09 Fernandos Too Sexy (daily show clip).mp3
  • 23 N-E-R-D - Dance, Monkey, Dance (caSh sl-sh mix).mp3
  • 02 50 Cent - Candy Shop.mp3
  • 25 Lil Jon & Eastside Boyz - Get Low (feat. Ying Yang Twins).mp3
• Examples of bad file names:
  • [bad characters] 23 N*E*R*D - Dance M'onkey Dance ca$h sl/sh mix.mp3
  • [bad format, caps] 02-candy_shop-50_cent-xls-rip-128k.mp3
  • [too long] 25 Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz - Get Low (feat. The Ying Yang Twins).mp3
  see also: MusicBrainz Style Guide

If you want to fix all your mp3s to have the same perceptual volume, the MP3Gain gain program is free and promises to losslessly adjust the volumes of all you tracks to match.

Okay, with all that said: don't stress about it too much. We'll be glad to help you wrangle your mix into shape, and to help you with the technical stuff like ripping and naming, and we'll even fix your honest mistakes. We definitely don't want anyone to forgo doing an AEthermix because of stupid RULES, man!