CM13 and the Inevitable

How do you keep fresh an 8-year-old tradition? Is it possible?

Compiling Camp Mix last year had its fair share of woes, and I'm afraid the end result felt just a faint bit stale. I was reasonably proud of Camp Mix '12, especially Prime, but I knew I couldn't fool myself into thinking I could keep it up for much longer.

What we need is a break in the formula. It's something I've talked about in previous years, but those always ended up sounding similar in progression and style. And this year, I don't necessarily plan on up-ending the tea table completely. Alpha will still be heavier, Prime will still have the Trifecta, and you won't find many 80's songs outside Beta, I'm sure. No, what I'm talking about is more an overall shift in tone. As I've been getting older, my viewpoints are inevitably changing, so I shouldn't try to stay chained to the same ideas I had back in 2007. Most importantly, I should no longer be trying to be make Camp Mix for the purpose of traveling to Keller, a location from which, perhaps, we've forever disbanded.

However, this process of shifting the tone of Camp Mix will likely be a slow one, spanning the next couple of years. Camp Mix '13 will have a particular theme that I think might be obvious once you listen to it. It won't be deep or soul-defining. In fact, it's rather superficial. But I'm trying my best to adhere to this theme without sacrificing the overall quality. It's been quite difficult (this is probably the most difficult Camp Mix yet), but if I'm successful, I should have a much easier time in future years. Because if it doesn't work, this exponential growth of my expectations will eventually kill everything.

My real worry is how much time I have left. The deadline is early this year. And I've barely started the compiling process. We'll see, we'll see.