=> NAQ (Never Asked Questions)
NTD (Necessary Technical Dorkiness)
LPP (List of Participating Peeps)
AEthermix 2004
Q: How do I participate in this crazy thing?
A: Join up by emailing natedogg or leaving a comment at the appropriate Alkaline Earth discussion. If you don't see yourself on that page, you're not on the list yet.
Q: Can I join up?
A: Anyone is welcome to enter. Whether or not you made one last year, whether or not you post to or read alkalineearth.com, you're invited to put your two bits in the jukebox and show the crowd what's banging in '05.
Q: What should I put on my mix?
A: Anything! It can have any theme you like, or no theme at all. If you want to send in 22 different versions of 'Tico Tico' or mp3s of that rap song you and your dorm's 7th floor crew recorded sophomore year, you're welcome to do so.
Q: What's this about a World's Crappiest Mixtape?
A: Glad you asked, Rhetorical Man! Inspired by the Shittiest Mixtape Boombox Blast (discussed here), We're also accepting submissions, 5 songs in length, for AEthermuck: World's Crappiest Mixtape. The AEthermuck songs should be awful yet listenable -- for full points, choose only songs that could receive commercial radio airplay. I've set up a directory on the FTP repository for AEthermuck entries; just make a subdirectory with your name and dump your steaming load therein. Yes, you may include the same song in your AEthermix and your AEthermuck.
Q: I've never ripped mp3's before!
A: Really? I mean, uh, no that's totally cool. First, you need to get your tracks from the CD's to the hard drive in MP3 form (this means you will need 100MB free on the drive). There are lots of choices but I prefer audiograbber or iTunes. Just tell it what your drive letter is, hit Freedb to download track names, let it know you want an MP3 file (!! NOT a WMA or AAC or any of that other shit !!), and tell it where to save. Then, burn your tracks onto a CD and hand them to Nate, or FTP them to ftp://ftp.aethermix.com/. We've gone into much more detail in the NTD (Necessary Technical Dorkiness).
Q: When are we trading these crazy things?
A: If no one objects, I say that you get them in (CD or FTP) by December 1st. Then I can make up care packages for...
Q: I don't live in Austin!
A: Calm down! You will have to FTP them or ship 'em. Don't worry, you'll be getting a box back. Maybe I'll throw some laffy taffies in there too. Then it will be like when I got boxes from my parents in college. (Just kidding! The boxes from my parents had sausage in them because candy is too heart healthy!)
Q: So, when should I get those CDs to Austin if I don't live there?
A: If you can ship them so that they are in my possession on December 1st, that would be awesome. Then I can build outgoing boxes for everyone at once because I'll have all the incoming CDs. Make sense? Anyway, I can't send the boxes out until I get all the boxes coming in (so I can make a full set), so the sooner the better. Just send them to Nate at his department address:Nate Harrison
1 University Station C1600
Austin, TX 78712
Q: Anything else?
A: There are a bunch of NTD (Necessary Technical Dorkiness) guidelines that will help us wrangle all the MP3s into a coherent form.