a mountain of song: Seasonal Sounds

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Seasonal Mix-Tapes

I love making mix-tapes.

ok, so technically they're mix-playlists which I make into mix CDs (because I refuse to get an ipod adapter for my car- there is just something about having to change the actual object making the music... I would have a tape deck if I could, but apparently they don't put those in cars anymore...) but the sentiment is the same. I still spend days (or weeks) gathering the songs and then hours putting them in the 'right' order, checking transitions from song to song then whittling them down to fit within the required 1.3 hours (another reason cds/tapes are superior to playlists- having to make them fit a specific time limit forces you to cut the fat!)

I enjoy making mixes for the car in general, but I've developed a habit over the past few years of making seasonal mixes that bring together all the random stuff I've been listening to. As I get songs stuck in my head I pop them onto an ipod playlist entitled "Spring 2012" or "March-May 2012" or just "Now!" I love listening to the mixes the day after I make them (and usually on and off for several weeks after that...) but theres nothing like finding "spring 2008" at the bottom of a pile and popping it in the player. Its like my own personal time machine, with every song bringing me back to a particular moment in my past.

With that said, I just finished up just one such random mix for the car ride home for easter. As promised it is a fairly random mix of songs I've had in my head over the past few months, some old, some new, but all attached to something I'm going to have fun remembering in a few years when I find it in my glove compartment :o)

Perhaps unsurprisingly (what with the pervasiveness of the internets now-a-days) I actually managed to find links to every song (with the exception of my friend Phil's 'Zombie Smooth' but hey there's a link to download the album, and its free, so go for it!). Play the whole list or select one at random!

Enjoy!

Easter Mix 2012

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Classifications of Systems

My sister once asked me how I would classify (aka organize) music if I could do it exactly the way I wanted... At the time I said by imaginary environments (like Elliot Brood would go in the 'saloon town' category and 'Portland' would expand to include all bands that sound like they should live near The Shins or The Decemberists...). I would still most certainly keep that as a type of classification, but I would also add another: weather.

Today was grey and cloudy- not quite raining, just that kind of sitting-in-a-mopey-cloud kind of day that makes you feel melancholia (though not sad) and spacey (though not slow) and (for me at least) buzzy with creativity... the kind of weather that always makes me want to listen to music and paint. Today my band of choice was The Decemberists. All of The Decemberists. Every CD, every EP, all in a row, all day long. (Even The Tain, a thirteen minute epic of story-telling genius). And it was awesome.

[sidebar: I absolutely love listening to The Decemberists and so much of that is because they always make me feel like making things- painting, drawing, sewing, building... and in such a way that I actually do make things! Today it was a big painting of a whale with a living room in its belly. Tomorrow? Who knows- but its a great feeling to have and even better to know all I have to do to bring it on is whip out a certain discography...]

So in the category of cloudy (but not rainy), cool (but not cold), and laid-back (but not sluggish) kin-o-days I put forth The Decemberists, entry number one. Add to the list as you see fit.