My Playlist

After months of dealing with a hacked Google account cutting off access to this blog, and whatever other garbage has been thrown at me, I am finally able to write a new post. I honestly can't even think of how to begin this, or how to write, or how to do anything. My brain has been consumed by grad school and work and other bullshit that is going on and I need to remember to just stop, breathe, and do something cathartic. I find writing really cathartic, and even though I'm not good at it, at all, it still helps me feel better. Music also helps me feel better...hence this post. I have been working on a Spotify playlist on and off since early September and I'm really excited to finally share it.
I constantly (...not that constantly...occasionally is probably a better word) get asked what my favorite music is. "What do you listen to?" "What genre do you like?" "What's the cool jams?" Fuck if I know. It's pretty cliche to say that you listen to "everything" but I really do. With that being said, I think electronic-based-alternative-whatever is my favorite genre. Is that a genre? Anyway, genres don't exactly exist anymore so I thought I'd explain my favorite type of music through...music. Wow.
I spent WAY more time than I should have making this playlist flow, and sound smooth and consistent from beginning to end. So, if you need some new and not-so-new music to listen to, or a playlist for some sort of activity, this might be for you.

Here are some activities which I think would go well with this type of sound.

1) Star-gazing

2) Working out...but sort of low-energy work-outs...like stretching. Yeah. Stretching.

3) Sexy time. I mean...to be honest, it's all pretty sexual, hip-gyrating stuff. Go for it.

4) Looking at a city from the top of a skyscraper

5) Staring aimlessly at spreadsheets or computer programming. I can vouch for this.

6) Drinking a hot toddy, or mulled wine. I was going to say tea but this is too vibe-licious for that.

7) Being on an airplane. It's good cloud-watching music. Or drowing-out-screaming-children music.

8) Painting? Probably. I haven't tested this.

9) Drugs? Again, probably. No comment.

10) Meditating

So, overall this is a pretty dark, vibey, playlist. I think if anything this group of songs is a really easy stepping stone for a lot of people into the world of electronic. For a lot of people, myself included, "electronic" is a pretty intimidating genre with a lot of sub-styles, weird sounds and robotic notes. Even after listening to all types of electronic music for years, I really couldn't tell you how to categorize things. I guess this playlist would be like deep house for dummies? It's deep house mixed with bass mixed with god knows what. REGARDLESS, it's a really good mix of vocal electronic. I think you guys will like it. I know I do.

Summer Playlist

There's something about summer music that's different than all other music. I think it's a weird combination of sun, bonfires, mosquito bites and all that crap that defines the appropriate music. For example, I would never listen to Bon Iver in the summer. That is strictly autumn music and everyone knows that.
So for your summer enjoyment I constructed a summer playlist! How exciting! There is mix of brand spankin' new music with some of my old favorites. I even did the thing when the songs should seam well together and sort of flow, you know? I spent far too much time on this. I even made a list of things you could do while listening to this playlist:

1. Roast marshmallows

2. Grill all the foods (even peaches)

3. Go for a drive in a convertible (preferably next to a coastline)

4. Find the best sunglasses for your face shape

5. Inspect your moles for irregularity in shape and color

6. Skip through a field

7. Pick non-poisonous berries

8. Kill wasps

9. Attempt to climb a tree for the first time in years and get stuck halfway up

10. Have a pool party...or crash your neighbor's...or a stranger's

Enjoy!

SHAZAM!

A couple months ago I finally got an iPhone. Praise the Lawwwwd. Honestly, one of my main objectives when getting my iPhone was so I could try out Shazam. The amount of times in my life where I have been like WHAT IS THAT SONG is absolutely ridiculous. Also, remember the thing where you Google random blerbs of lyrics that you sort of remember?..never worked.
WELL no more, my friends. This app has honestly changed my life. I'm now officially that psycho person holding their phone up in the Gap trying to figure out what the hell is playing. Or, while driving, which is always a super safe idea.

Whatever. I've found some pretty awesome things. Sharing time!

MaLLy & The Sundance Kid - Good One (feat. K.Raydio)

Holy shit. Within the first two seconds of hearing this I wanted to know what it was. I'm not sure if this guy has just snuck under the Minneapolis radar for a while or what's going on but I sure as hell have never heard of him. Amazing. Really amazing. This song needs radio play NOW. The rest of his album is equally as great from the little bit I've heard but this track is definitely my favorite so far. Hopefully we'll be hearing his name around a little more in the future.

James Blake - Retrograde

This is another song that hooked me in the first two seconds. Is he a producer or what's going on here? I can't really figure it out but I did end up listening to basically his whole catalog on Spotify and I'm hooked. That special part of my heart that is reserved for electronic-y jazz-y music is happy. His name has popped up in some of the music that I've listened to before but I can't find anything of his that sounds familiar? So maybe I'm hallucinating or mistaking him with James Blunt (I'm definitely not). Anyway, this is good. Listen.

Update: Figured it out. I've heard "The Wilhelm Scream" before but I think I just assumed it was Aaron Neville in outer space. Classic.

St. Vincent and David Byrne - Who

When I first heard about this collaboration I thought it was a joke. I mean, it kind of is. This is weird shit. St. Vincent's voice is the creepiest most awesome thing ever and coupled with David Byrne's... whatever...it's just...I have no idea. This will never get out of my head though. That's what makes it successful, right? Example: It's A Small World

So I'm not really sure what direction this post went in, or what the point of it was originally? Oh yeah, Shazam. Cool. Get that app. It's free. Isn't it? I hope I'm not paying for this or I'm back to Googling lyric blerbs.

WWSCD?

This isn't going to be the most uplifting of posts. I'm having sort of an existential crisis in combination with a personal/friendship/relationship crisis in combination with 90% confidence that my medication is in the wrong dosage. So overall, I'm a mess.

I get bouts of depression randomly and I when I'm like that I have no desire to do absolutely anything except lie in bed, eat a ridiculous amount of anything, cry, watch television and when my eyes burn from too much TV, listen to music.
Generally, I'm able to mask any sort of sadness/depression with laughter and really obscure humour so when I get smacked in the face by crippling depression I don't know what to do. This is when I resort to my adolescent teachings. Thankfully, my adolescence was ruled by the OC and Gilmore Girls, both of which had insanely awesome soundtracks and music-loving main characters. My depression leads me to ask myself, WWSCD? What would Seth Cohen do? Answer: Death Cab.

All those male-lead bands that ruled music in the mid-2000's were really on to something. Who knew. There's something insanely relaxing listening to a guy with a floppy haircut singing close-eyed into a microphone about how he will never be happy again.
Anyway, I don't really feel like making a full post about each and every song because to be completely honest, they're all about the same and REMEMBER I'm depressed. *eats entire package of oreos*
Just like listen to the O.C. Mix Volumes 1-419845 and you'll be set.

What's your favorite music to listen to when you're depressed?
Are you never depressed? WELLL LA DEE FREAKING DAHHH GOOD FOR YOU.