Nothing Gives Easy, Easy Gives Nothing.

I used to write a short blurb about the mixes on which I am working. Just a little something to help connect the thoughts I am having with the music or perhaps the reasoning behind certain song choices. I began to feel like I didn't really have much to say about these playlists any more, at least nothing which hadn't been said already. After a long hiatus I decided to give it another go when a friend of mine expressed how she enjoyed my ramblings and was missing them. Here we go...

This Spring Mix-Tape is overdue. I have been working at it on and off for about two months. I kept getting "mixer's-block." (it's a real thing) and would simply abandon it for a while, hoping that some sort of inspiration would strike the next time I picked it up again. Only it never really did. I had compiled a list of great "Spring" sounding tunes which I was certain would fit together and feel like the way I wanted to express the coming season. Only it didn't.

Winter usually bums me out pretty hard and this past season has been no exception. The thing I usually enjoy most about Spring is that it feels like I'm waking back up. Coming back to life. A trite analogy, I admit, but it holds true regardless. However I don't seem to be hitting the upswing like I normally would. The weather is starting to turn around but I am not following suit. I remain feeling reclusive and complacent while the world continues to bloom all around me. (I am aware I sound like an advert for Zoloft.) There is nothing particularly "wrong" with me. There is no great "life event" that I am preoccupied with, nor is there anything beyond daily responsibilities like work and home preventing me from being more present or social. And still I am tired or sad or apathetic or any number of feelings. And unfortunately, simply recognize these things does not free me from these bonds, these feelings, which hold me here. I tell you it is wildly frustrating to be able to see the good all around you and not feel like you can be any part of it.

I now realize that this is the reason I was not been able to complete this Mix-Tape. I kept trying to force it to sound like I knew it "should" sound. The way I would prefer it to sound. The way others might expect it to sound from me. But ultimately not the truth. I got maybe three songs in and kept hitting a wall. They were bright and cheery and full of energy. All the things I knew it was time for. But every time I tried to move forward from there I couldn't seem to take the next step.
It wasn't until I took the whole thing apart and began to include the songs that I had actively been hitting re-play on that it actually started to come together. It now plays out much truer to what I am personally experiencing.

There are bright, high notes. Beautiful moments of inspiration and aspiration. Joyous melodies, radiant and carefree. There are reflections of feeling lonesome and inconsequential. Languid lyrics disguised by bits of bubbling, effervescent pop. The recognition of responsibility for my behavior and its effects on those who care about me. Soaring orchestral highs, panicked and sharp, paired with desperate, pleading pacing. The thoughts of helplessness and frustration that come from not being able to change those feelings and actions despite my acknowledgment of them. Lush and gorgeous arrangements, soft and full like a down blanket that now tangles around my limbs and holds me still in my place.

I know this seems perhaps a bit weighty for a silly Mix-Tape but I am not stellar at expressing myself and I rely heavily on music to communicate feelings I may not otherwise be able to. So for those who know me this may make a bit more sense. Tracks five, six, seven and eight are when it really gets down to it. Ten and thirteen are absolute standouts and track 11 is of particular importance to me.

I hope you enjoy this effort. I hope you can connect with something on this playlist and that it helps you in some way. Mostly, I hope this Mix-Tape helps me connect in some way.


StereoType Presents:




Fortune Telling.

Download via DropBox

I've Got All The Time

 


StereoType Presents:

I Can Wait

Download via DropBox

Let's Make The Most Of It

StereoType Presents the Spring 2014 Mix-Tape:


About Everything

Download Via Dropbox

We've Got So Far To Go.

Perhaps I've procrastinated too much in releasing my second Spring Mix-Tape 'cause it's been in to Nineties for the better part of a week. Did I miss Spring all together and jump right into Summer? Meh. At least my allergies have gone away. At any rate you get new Spring-time tunes. Roll down the windows and breathe deep.

StereoType Presents:

The Push & Pull







Download via Dropbox

Can't Explain Why I'm Still Standing Here.

Sometimes I don't feel like an active participant in my own life. Too caught up in the past or fantasizing a future without actually moving forward. I need to be more present. Here's to the right now.

StereoType Presents :

Name Your Scars.

  

Download Via DropBox.

I Am Ready

 I think the reason I'm so drawn to the Spring is the idea of change. The renewal that comes like a belated birthday gift. I'm due for a reset. I am ready.


StereoType Presents:

Out From Inside.

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I am fine.

Spring Forward

A couple days later than I had promised but perhaps even more appropriate considering daylight savings just cost me an hour out of my day. Spring forward my ass, I was all excited to see I had woken up at a reasonable hour (8:45am) on a Sunday only to find out that while I slept, I had time traveled into the future. Hateful! And yet again, yesterday was gorgeous amd sunny and today is overcast and meh. I had to make myself shower and get dressed (albeit at around 2 pm) just so that I didn't feel  act like a complete piece of crap all day. Playing this Mix-Tape certainly helped brighten my mood as the sun was being uncooperative.  Maybe it can do the same for you.  More over, this mix is a highly personal and much needed pep talk to myself. Note to self: "It's always darkest just before the dawn." With that I present you with my Spring Mix-Tape # 2. Enjoy.

The Limit Does Not Exist

Download via MediaFire 

This mix is mastered in such a way that if you place it in a playlist with Spring Mix-Tape # 1 : Infinites, it will play seamlessly from one to the other, as one continuous mix. Yay for my crazy!!!

A  HUGE  thank you to Miss Vida for the inspiration for the title. She kindly let me borrow it and I think it fits my purposes just perfectly.

I am currently working very hard on SOS 2012 but who knows, there may just be another few more mixes before then, I have a lot of great tunes that need to be heard.

Leaps and Bounds

Like so many times in the past nature is not cooperating with my Mix-Tape weather requests. Here it is, Leap Day and I'm all ready to use it as the spring board for change and instead it's dreary and miserable outside. To be fair it seems the first actual day of Spring around here isn't until March 20th but I'm impatient and would much prefer to see the Sun. Alas I cannot control everything so I suggest listening to this seated under a hot lamp for at least the time being. Then, when the elements are more agreeable, take it out for a nice long walk. At any rate, enjoy.

Infinites

























Download via MediaFire


Be sure to stay tuned for our Spring Mix-Tape part 2. Coming soon-ish.  Available Now!

Nothing Can Take Away These Blues

It seems I only update this blog to bring you mix tapes as of late. Oh well. Today I bring you my Spring 2011 mixtape in the hopes that it will actually bring about the spring. It's been nothing but dreary days and thunderstorms in my neck of the woods for weeks and I'm beyond over it. This kind of weather seriously brings me down. It's all I can do not to put "Nothing Compares 2 U" on repeat and stay in my sweats all day. Well thankfully I've resisted those urges at least long enough to assemble some songs for the impending warmer days. When the sky is blue, the grass is green and everything is new and fresh again ....




Enjoy

Like Falling in Love

Download via MediaFire

So The Days Float Through My Eyes

If there's one thing I am certain of myself it's that I wear my music like a mood ring. A tricky thing, really. Does the ring turn the color of the mood you're currently experiencing? Or does your mood change to better match the color of the ring? I'd like to think that we have more control over our emotional state than most people give themselves credit for. If life is a series of choices, then I'm making an active decision to enjoy mine a bit more. I'd very much like to embrace the changes I see are necessary in my life rather than struggle against them. To be the change I want to see. Trust me, it's harder than it sounds.

I think that's why I enjoy this time of year so much. I am so in awe of the seamless transition from Winter's cold and dreary wet to the bright and beautiful Spring. Everything in nature seems to know its place. All of the tiny pieces fall in line behind the scenes to create the bigger picture. It always seems so effortless to me. I'd like my life to be more like that. I'm not expecting the changes to be quite so effortless, but I'd certainly like to facilitate them as best I can. That's where this mix comes from. Facilitating change. Making the mood ring as blue as I can get it. Enjoy.





Shift

(Zshare)

1. "Each day you draw a new line, this is the last time."

2. "It's hard to leave all those moments behind."

3. "Traces of something I long to feel again."

4. "You just can't go back no more."

5. "Past and present -- they don't matter not if you just sort it out."

6. "You cant carry it with you if you want to survive."***

7. "Shake the frame of this house, distress the wood, make it shout."

8. "Let's face this night and see it through."

9. "We are constantly uprooted from them."

10. "I'll tell you everything I know, any little thing I know."

11. "This is what the world is for, making electricity."

12. "Yes, I see you open wounds in everyone I dated."

13. "But something seems to beat in me, I just don't seem the same."

14. "You don’t need eyes to see if someone's got a heart of glass."

15. "This might just buckle under all of the weight."

16. "'Cause we are always trying to be strongest at our weakest points."

(To ensure these tracks play correctly, highlight all tracks in itunes, right click, select "get info" , click the "Options" tab and make sure the box is check for "Gapless playback" and it reads "Yes")


*** a HUGE thank you to Daniel for introducing me to # 6 artist and for making the incredible album art for Shift. You know me all too well.

Get Up, Get Out, Get On With It.

Spring has always been my favorite season for any number of reasons. Everything is bright, vibrant, refreshed. A time when the world beats with a pulse that pushes everything onward. That's what I was hoping to convey with this mixtape. I wanted it to sound fresh, and cool. Retro, but renewed, so I combined music that's been around for a while with music that sounds like it's been around for a while to give it a bit of a modern sheen. I highly encourage you to put on your headphones and Run, Dance, Live, Breathe, Love, Groove, Hop, Skip, Jump, Shout, Shine, Climb, Rejoice, Recharge, Create, Commit, Affect, Change, Discover, Remember, Laugh, Push, Play. Enjoy. Move. Forward.






1. Apartment - Fall into Place

2. Prince and the Revolution - Raspberry Beret

3. M.I.A. - Paper Planes (DFA Remix Edit)

4. Kate Nash - Pumpkin Soup

5. The English Beat - Save it for Later (12" Mix)

6. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends (Radio Edit)

7. The Hush Sound - Molasses

8. Vampire Weekend - A-Punk

9. Tegan and Sara - Back in Your Head (RAC Remix)

10. Klaxons - As Above, So Below (Justice Remix)

11. New Young Pony Club - Get Lucky

12. Phoenix - Consolation Prizes

13. Mobius Band - Digital Love

14. BC Camplight - Blood and Peanut Butter

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Purchase these artists ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 )