October’s New Fall: The Brave Got Stung

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of traveling to Ithaca, New York to visit my sister at Cornell. And as my favorite traveling book Vagabonding, (and every experienced traveler knows), one should be a traveler not a tourist. So I spent over 10 days in the woods, sitting in law libraries, and exploring the trails and minds of New York’s prestigious campus. Sucking out all the marrow of life, I tried ‘living’ and not ‘visiting’.

Now, since returning back to Arizona I’m left with are those memories, and this beautiful playlist curated by my sister that truly epitomizes all that Cornell gave me. “The Brave Got Stung” is a mix worthy of accolades and (IMO) something every passenger should listen to while landing on Ithaca’s propeller plane runway. Pull yourself out of the present and rush down the Ithaca gorges.

TO HEAR MORE AUTUMN THEMED PLAYLISTS, CLICK HERE

Motivation Monday 10.27.14

Ahh, Monday’s. The bane of all workers’ existence. Until you hear this playlist (I hope). What we have here is a playlist that combines powerful lyricism, upbeat chillstep, and some of my favorite past/present/future artists. Also, a huge shoutout to my highschool friend and now up-and-coming intellectual (who can blow your mind in one conversation) Eddie Wellz – who is featured on this playlist in the intro. If you like what you hear, go check out one of his music video, by clicking here. There’s something unique when you find an artist who raps in a true flow state; something you find in every Eddie Wellz track.

Enjoy and Conquer your Monday. 

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Previous Motivation Mondays 

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Unanswered Questions

I’ve been thinking about questions that have no answer quite often lately. Maybe it’s the whole quarter-life crisis thing…but at least I have you all as a beautiful community of readers to join in on the conversation. Today I want to present to you a new project I’ve been thinking about for some time now called “Unanswered Questions”. Read and join in the conversation by clicking on the picture of the creepy eye below.

CLICK ON THE PICTURE!

October’s New Fall: Foggy Fall

Welcome to part 2 of October’s New Fall, a project made of Fall playlists from the best music curators in my circles. Today’s mix: Foggy Fall by Shauna Williams. I was going to say something brilliant about this Fall mix, but she says everything you need for a description:

You know that morning fog that rolls in slowly and heavily, that looks so fall-ish-ly perfect that you hope it doesn’t dissipate before you finish sipping your freshly brewed coffee? Here’s a playlist for that.

Big thanks to Shauna for pulling out my heartstrings, dicing them up into little bits and pieces, and then leaving me in Arizona to cope by myself. At least I have Cartel Coffee Lab to serve me a hot cup of coffee. Cheers to a magnificent mix.

If you’re looking for the other parts of October’s New Fall
Check out the Introduction or Part One.

Track List:
Summer – Hayden Calnin
We Don’t Eat – James Vincent McMorrow
A Lack of Color – Death Cab for Cutie
Her Morning Elegance – Oren Lavie
Cigarettes – Hey Marseilles
Salt – Justin Paul Lewis
Concerning the UFO Sighting near Highland, Illinois – Sufjan Stevens
Duet (ft. Stephanie Briggs) – Penny and Sparrow
Hypericum – Gem Club
Torrent – Ásgeir

October’s New Fall: Comings & Goings

Welcome to October’s New Fall, a new seasonal project where I’m showcasing some of my favorite music curator’s Fall playlists. Today, we have Comings & Goings, a mix by Will Miller.

There’s nothing more classic about Autumn than the changing colors of landscapes. Comings & Goings swipes you off your feet, throws you into a car filled with your friends, and places you smack dab in the middle of a Fall Break road-trip, passing technicolor landscapes along your way. As the first playlist of October’s New Fall, it appropriately starts the road trip away from Summer and towards the deeper caverns of Winter.

Enjoy each moment. Enjoy each mile.

If you want to know immediately when the rest of the playlists appear, hit the Subscribe button on the top right of the blog!

October’s New Fall

Over the course of the next few days I will be unveiling one of my favorite projects this blog has ever completed: October’s New Fall. At the beginning of the month, I reached out to some of my favorite music curators and had them compile 10 song playlists that best described their feelings of Fall and of the new season. So keep an eye out!

However, today I’d like to mention how incredible this month has been for new music. Some of my favorite bands have produced magical albums and singles that only confirm why I love watching artists mature with their music. Because I know Spotify is increasingly used by my listeners, I’ve made a playlist you can subscribe to that has these new albums and tracks!

Click below to access the playlist & make sure to subscrbe!

Motivation Monday 10.20.14

It’s been awhile since my last Motivation Monday Playlist, but this one’s a doozy. Packed full of remixes of my favorite songs, I challenge anyone to use this during their next workout to see major improvements in motivation. Good luck falling back asleep after pressing play on this one.

Tobias Jesso Jr. – Just a Dream

A slow weekend means fast thoughts. Tobias Jesso Jr. provides a soundtrack in video and audio that fits the mood. Oh, and that sickening piano is all you’d ever desire from a voice that sounds like butterscotch. As usual, La Blogotheque gifts us another raw look at what music should always sound, be, and feel like in the video below.

My Favorite Books

Ok ok ok, I know this is a music blog….but part of the reason I love the music I do is because of a certain number of mind-blowing books. I curated a quick list of books that I think you should go check out. Right. Now.

Check out my favorite books by clicking here!

Youth Lagoon – Montana

Songs, like ideas, hold immense power when you put them within the context of your life. It’s why you can hear the same track over and over and never feel attachment or enjoyment; but then one day you hear that same song and it overcomes your every thought. Stronger than any virus, it physically shakes your body. Often you feel more pain, and sometimes joy, from hearing the song than an actual injury or comedy skit.

I’d be lying if I said that Youth Lagoon’s song “Montana” has not plagued me the last four days. So much so, I couldn’t listen to any other music (resulting in a lack of posts on here). I spent a whole day traveling from Ithaca, NY to Phoenix and now, “Montana” has already vaulted to my top 25 played. There’s a weird feeling that the next time someone asks me in a job interview, “What’s your biggest weakness?” that I’m 100% saying “Montana” by Youth Lagoon (and then, realistically, my cognizant view of my own mortality).

And if saying “words can’t describe this song” was trite enough, I truly can’t tell you why I love this song. It’s probably because I don’t love this song, I feel this song. One of my favorite quotes by Nietzsche describes “Montana” perfectly:

“we listen to music with our muscles”

Listen to this song with your whole body. Pull out the ear-cover headphones and silence your worldly distractions. Because people, this is what it’s all about.

Listen to this first: 

 

Read this second: http://pitchfork.com/features/directors-cut/8687-youth-lagoon-montana/

 

WATCH THIS THIRD: