Creating the perfect mix tape is the Holy Grail for any hipster. A good mix takes time, thought and ingenuity. It isn’t something to be bought or sold; it’s a priceless work of art to some fans. But times are changing.

Alexandra Patsavas, music supervisor for “The O.C.”, makes a living creating pre-fab indie mixes for teens across the country. Since 2003, Patsavas has been exposing your little sister and your roommate to bands like Pinback, the Walkmen, Doves, the Futureheads and Seth Cohen’s favorite, Death Cab for Cutie.

The indie-centric music of “The O.C.” is a crucial part of the show’s dynamic, often described as a character unto itself. The show has a reputation of promoting bands that don’t have commercial radio play, let alone exposure on network television.

“Josh (Schwartz, creator and executive producer of the show) always intended the music to be an important part of ‘The O.C.,” Patsavas says. “His interest and my interests are both in indie music, so it just evolved naturally”

Patsavas explains that there’s much more to choosing a song than hitting “shuffle” on her iPod.

“I make (compilation CDs) of about 15 songs that complete ‘The O.C.’ sound, and I go to the producers and editors and play those for them,” she says. “I also pitch for scenes. When the final product is shot and edited, I look for songs that are appropriate and have that emotion.”

Finding the perfect song is more than finding a good song with “The O.C.” sound, there also has to be the perfect moment for it on the show.

“There was one song I had high hopes for, ‘Brighter Than Sunshine,’ by Aqualung,” Patsavas says. “But the moment wasn’t there. We’ve never played the Shins on the show, which is surprising, and even though they’re an amazing band, the moment just hasn’t presented itself.”

But the job isn’t always as sweet as it sounds. In addition to choosing the songs, Patsavas has to go through a complex clearance and licensing process.

“All the great ideas in the world are meaningless if you can’t clear them on time and on budget,” she says.

Patsavas prides herself in being able to get some very hard-to-license bands, such as Beck, the Beastie Boys, Bright Eyes and the Faint, but she admits that sometimes problems arise.

“Once in awhile, but not often, bands refuse,” she says. “Some bands refuse to do TV at all.”

While these bands might feel that being associated with “The O.C.” lowers their “indie-cred” and/or makes them look like sell-outs, Patsavas disagrees.

“If the music is great, playing it is only better for the band and for music as a whole,” she says. “Why shouldn’t we use the great stuff?”

“The O.C.” is not lacking bands that want to be on the show by any means. Patsavas says she receives about 100 submissions a day — and she listens to them all.

“I try and keep current and listen to all the submissions,” she says. “I don’t want to be the one who misses the next Beatles.”

Patsavas also says she tries to keep current with music by getting on mailing lists, reading different Internet zines, subscribing to CMJ (a magazine and online music service ) and going to shows. Two weeks ago, Pastavas and her three music coordinators, producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and some of the cast attended the Coachella Valley Music Festival in Indio, Calif., which featured about 100 of the hottest indie bands.

“My life is just like any other music geek, but with a lot of legal work,” she says.

So how does a music geek get a gig like hers? Patsavas started out in concert promotions at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she promoted concerts for the university board and often worked with members of Northwestern’s A&O Productions.

She later started her own promotion company before moving to Los Angeles and working at the Film/TV Department at BMI. In 1998 Patsavas started her own music supervision company, The Chop Shop, which she still runs. She met Savage, co-executive producer of “The O.C.,” when she was working on the show “Fastlane,” and that’s how Patsavas landed a job at “The O.C.”

“(To be successful in music supervision) you have to really love music and have a love of catalog,” she says. “You have to be able to dig into the catalog and appreciate all eras and genres.”

Many students on campus are fans of “The O.C.” mixes.

“I have a friend who’s really obsessed with them,” says Weinberg senior Allison Ross. “I have the first two soundtracks, and I think they feature a lot of great bands.”

Students also are supportive of some of their favorite bands being on the show.

“I think it’s cool that a lot of the bands are ‘indie’ or whatever,” says Medill sophomore Samar Ghias. “I don’t think it’s selling out. It’s just getting the music out there and that’s always a good thing.”

Warner Bros. Records also wanted to get the music out there, expressing interest early to the show’s producers in creating a soundtrack series.

The latest installment in the series, “Music from ‘The O.C.’ Mix 4”, was released last month and features Beck, Sufjan Stevens, Modest Mouse and Matt Pond PA. As of today, the four “O.C.” mixes have sold more than 1,000,000 copies worldwide.

And in case you’re an “O.C.” fan with an inquiring mind, Patsavas confirms that Death Cab for Cutie is indeed Seth Cohen’s/Adam Brody’s favorite band in real life and on the show.

Medill sophomore Carrie MacQuaid is a PLAY writer. She can be reached at [email protected].