Well, it’s that time of year again… and I’m sure that you’re just as sick of Christmas music as I am! Fortunately, there are a lot of excellent, non-traditional songs that don’t suck to help us save the day from the “Jingle Bell Rock” and… well, whatever the hell it was Paul McCartney was thinking. (I mean, seriously.)
My friend Chris recently staged a play – Crossroads (or The Piano of Death) – in Portsmouth, NH. For part of his pre-show music, he put together a mix of covers with ties to our own little part of New England. So, when this week’s mix came around, he suggested taking that soundtrack and sharing it with you lovely people. Here’s Chris’ description of the process:
The pre-show entertainment for my recently produced stage play, Crossroads (or The Piano of Death), was broken into two parts. Both parts were designed to set the scene for the story that followed, and though we’re still working on putting together a recorded version of the songs that the fabulous Mary Casiello played during the live part of the pre-show, we’re happy to share now the songs we played each night to build up to Mary’s set.
When I began assembling this list, my goal was simply to build a playlist of songs by local artists I loved. The trouble was that I had too many songs to choose from. So, as I so often do in my storytelling endeavors, I set myself an artificial constraint. Because the play is about a character who becomes well known for her strange cover songs, I used only cover songs in the mix. The result was a strange but fun blend of tunes that established a mood for the audience from the moment they walked into the theater.
Hi, Everyone! Sorry it’s been so quiet around here, and that I’ve been hoarding all the lovely things that people have been sending me. This has been a tough year. I’m in the last ten-day stretch of my Ph.D., and then I plan on doing some epic catching up. In the meantime, I thought I’d put together a little mix for you. For me, it’s a great mix of things to listen to as I drive on a late, Winter’s afternoon with the Sun sinking fast. Hopefully, you’ll find it enjoyable, too! See you all very soon…
Hey, everyone, and Happy Halloween! I’m taking a moment to break radio silence, so that I can share a little Halloween mix I made with you. I’ve been kicking it around the house for a while, and it seemed like a good candidate for this week’s Mix-Tape Monday! So, here you are: One Halloween mix. And no, there’s no “Monster Mash.” You’re welcome. Have a great holiday!
Continue reading “Mix-Tape Monday: “Spooky, Scary” Edition!”
This week’s mix is full of things that I gravitate to when the air sharpens. We’ve got one of my top-three favorite Cure songs, my favorite James song, and a host of other classics of years gone by. It’s a wander down memory lane, and one that I think is perfectly well-suited for crisp, breezy days. Sure, there are hints of sunshine and warmth – it’s only September, after all – but I think there’s a few lovely bits of chill, too. And that’s what Fall is all about, right?