Ah, the beautiful mix tape-a collection of songs that have been gathered and unearthed from one’s music collection in order to achieve any number of purposes. We say: mix-taping isn’t just a skill, it’s an art. Dare to disagree with us and we’ll send you to the High Fidelity School of Hard Knocks.

But assuming you (like any good-natured, intelligent, semi-conscious music listener should) know and understand the value of setting a variety of songs in a distinct order in lieu of manifesting something greater, we’re putting out a call to arms.

Starting this month, we’re going to be holding an occasional contest testing our readers’ skills in mix-aping and stretching horizons. We’re starting simple, too: We give you a theme, you send us your list of 10 songs in the order you’d want them mix-taped. The winner gets his or her mix tape (and DJ pseudonym) published in Friday’s A&E section, along with a nice prize.

After being inspiried by the Utes’ massacre of UNC on Saturday night, we’re putting out our first mix tape calling for our football team: Throw us your best pre-game pump-up mix for the boys, and we’ll send you away with the prize. Not only will the winner of this week’s contest get the aforementioned prize, but we’ll be sure to hand off a copy of your mix to a few of the guys on the team before this week’s matchup against UNLV.

Keep in mind, though: not all the guys on the roster listen to the same music, so if your mix consists solely of cock-rock or Tupac, you’re gonna get cut from the team. Make sure to keep it in the right order, make sure to mix it up, and make sure it’s solid.

Mail your entries to [email protected] All entries are due by Wednesday at 5pm.

Good luck!