For the last 6 months I have been an avid user of the website Mixwit.  The “mix tape” sharing site allows users to create online mixtapes and share them with friends.  Users can pull songs directly into Mixwit using a built in search from services like Skreemr, Seeqpod, and ccMixter or they can manually add songs from outside websites.

Unfortunately I received a message in my e-mail this evening from Mixwit announcing that the site is shutting down on December 27.  According to Mixwit’s blog the original shutdown date was December 21, but due to hosting issues they will be up for 6 extra days.

No real details were provided as to why the site was shutting down, but Mixwit creators Mike and Radley had this to say,

“We’ve put a year of work into Mixwit so this choice wasn’t taken lightly. I
won’t go into the details of our situation but state simply that we
boldly marched into in a position best described as “between a rock and a
hard place.” We’re very grateful to be have been part of the mixtape
revival of ‘08 and are satisfied to be able to to bow out while things
are still good.”

On December 27 profiles will be turned off and by December 31st the site will be completely dark.  Mixwit’s creators are looking for a way to make the mixtape artwork and playlists available for historical purposes, and will notify users via e-mail where they’ll be able to find their stuff by the end of the year. In addition they are considering donating their source code the OpenTape project.

I have personally put months of time, effort, and even emotion into some of my mixes.  Over the last six months I created nearly sixty mixes, many of which had significant meaning to me.  A close friend of mine and I exchanged mixes on an almost daily basis for months.  The mixes themselves tell a story and act almost as a yearbook for her and I.  I also built my popular Twilight Saga soundtracks on Mixwit.

I hate to see the site go since I was a big fan of the site and saw a lot of potential in it.  I wish the best of luck to Mike and Radley, and any others involved in the project in their future ventures.

Finally after what feels like months of reading I have finally finished the entire Twilight Saga.  I finished reading Breaking Dawn about a week ago and must say I loved it.  And alas much like when I finished the other books in the series I have also completed my interpretation of a soundtrack for it.  Up to this point I have completed my twilight soundtrack, New Moon soundtrack, Eclipse soundtrack, and now finally Breaking Dawn.

As in almost all of my mixes lyrical content play a serious part in the scheme of things, which is why the music featured is somewhat diverse.  However after reading my Twilight soundtrack review, you’ll know that the Twilight film has quite a diverse soundtrack as well.  Another interesting thing to note about my Breaking Dawn soundtrack is that there are a number of return artists on this mix.  I didn’t do this on purpose or because they are preferred artists, it is just that I simply found songs that fit the story perfectly that happened to be by the same artists.  The returning artists on this mix include Nine Inch Nails, Matchbook Romance, Thrice, The Birthday Massacre, Stabbing Westward, and Lullacry.

Finally like in my Eclipse soundtrack I was able to pay homage to Stephenie Meyers’ playlists, as well as the Twilight film soundtrack, by including a track from Muse.  As most Twilighters will know Meyers is a huge fan of Muse and frequently used their songs on her playlists for her books.

This soundtrack was originally featured in its entirety on the mixtape sharing service Mixwit, but when it closed down the soundtrack was lost.  Below is a complete track listing followed by a playable version of the soundtrack I created on imeem.

1. Thrice – The Lion and the Wolf
2. Lullacry – Heart Shaped Scars
3. Jakalope – Feel It
4. Spill Canvas – This Is For Keeps
5. Lacuna Coil – Within Me
6. Trust Company – Hover
7. Matchbook Romance – If All Else Fails
8. Thrice – Send Me An Angel
9. Graveworm – Ceremonial Requiem
10. Birthday Massacre – Red
11. Nightwish – End of All Hope
12. Stabbing Westward – Angel
13. Fiona Apple – Better Version of Me
14. Muse – Ruled By Secrecy
15. She Wants Revenge – First Love
16. Coheed & Cambria – The Reaping
17. Nine Inch Nails – Another Version of Truth

Listen to my Breaking Dawn Soundtrack

After what seems like weeks since finishing the third installment in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga, I finally got around to completing my soundtrack for Eclipse.  As previously mentioned, part of my reason for reading the Twilight books was to create a soundtrack for each of the books after reading them.  Since the start of the series I have created a Twilight Soundtrack, New Moon Soundtrack, and now Eclipse.

In my previous soundtracks I focused on the lyrical content more than anything and I have yet to stray from that formula.  However, I was able to add two more factors into this mix that I had hoped to be able to incorporate at some point while creating these soundtracks.

First, I have always wanted to use one of the bands that made up the Seattle sound or grunge scene of the early nineties. Since the books take place in and around Seattle I felt it was only fitting.  Fortunately for Eclipse I was able to finally achieve this with Alice In Chains’ Grind.  The song was just dark enough and edgy enough to fit the rest of the sound of the soundtrack and still stay somewhat on theme.  The mood of the song I feel is perfect for the rise of the newborn vampires in Seattle and the news surrounding the multitude of murders taking place in the area.

The second was an ode to Stephenie Meyer’s soundtracks and her explanation that Linkin Park was the band she had in mind when writing chapter 7 of Twilight. Meyer explains on her website that in the scene where Bella is listening to music to drown out her thoughts she is listening to Linkin Park.  I have kept that in mind throughout creating my soundtracks, the problem is that Meyers’s soundtracks have never been lyrically relevant.  My hope was that at some point I could use a Linkin Park song that would fit into the scheme of my lyrically driven mixes.  For Eclipse I was able to use Linkin Park’s Easier To Run obviously related to the disappearance of Jacob at the end of the book.

As I have done with the other soundtracks I have tried to keep all of the songs on the soundtrack as lyrically and thematically relevant as possible.  This soundtrack was originally featured in its entirety on mixtape sharing site Mixwit, but unfortunately Mixwit shutdown in late 2008 and the soundtrack was lost.  Below is the track listing in the exact order in which it appears on my mix. Below that you will find a playable version of the soundtrack including every track that is available from imeem.

1. Alice In Chains – Grind
2. A Perfect Circle – Pet
3. A Static Lullaby – The Art of Sharing Lovers
4. Eve 6 – Think Twice
5. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – Your Guardian Angel
6. The Divine Madness – Closer
7. My Chemical Romance – Vampires Will Never Hurt You
8. Nonpoint – In The Air Tonight
9. Rise Against – Everchanging
10. Haste the Day – Long Way Down
11. Sparta – Taking Back Control
12. Evanescence – October
13. Linkin Park – Easier to Run

My Eclipse Soundtrack