Things have been all over the place in the last month, to the point where you wouldn’t believe me. First and foremost, around the time of the last post, I took a new job. Thinking I would have some time in the week off I took between jobs I was planning on posting. However between Dr. appointments and my sheer exhaustion (I have been going through some crazy health stuff, which included a change in diet and a sleep study) it didn’t happen. Now that things are settling a bit, I just recently decided to join the crew at 40oz robot and contribute to their blog. You guy should check out the lastest post here.
So what does this mean for hummingtunes? I am still figuring it out. One of my favorite things to create mixes and one way or another I will still be working on that. The rest is just up in the air.
For the time being, you should definitely check out my friends at 40oz robot. They have a wider range of music than what I talk about, and you do still get me.
I really planned for this one to come out sooner however there were a ton of new artists on this one that I actually really liked and I just wanted to make sure I gave you guys a mixtape per my high standards .
When I first looked at Saturday’s lineup, it was the least lacking for me, however after putting this together, I see the appeal (and why Saturday single day tickets sold out). Discovering new artists is always awesome and most of the artist in this are new to me. I will say Saturday seems more like the blues/bluegrass/mellow artist/International day than anything.
Playlist:
Stomp//The Stone Foxes Tighten Up//The Black Keys Fake Tales of San Francisco//Arctic Monkeys Mona Vegas// Starfucker How Glad I Am//Greyboy Allstars Radio Daze//The Roots 1977//Ana Tijoux We Got More//Eskmo White Knuckles//OK Go You’ve Changed//Sia Kill You To Call//Nicki Bluhm
A lot of the music is listened to when I was a child was whatever my Mom would listen to until I was 11 and my Mom met my Dad. She had decent taste in music, Carly Simon, Fleetwood Mac, Steve Miller Band, Paul McCartney, Elton John, just to name a few. I remember car rides singing along to the radio and knowing a majority of the songs. However this band, more particularly this song, has just stuck with me over time.
I always got excited when my Mom would play Steely Dan. I would also specifically request her to play this particular song anytime she played Steely Dan. I didn’t know the name of the song (or the band), but I would specifically say, “Hey Mom, could you play the school song?” She always would, my mom is just awesome like that.
Day 30 – Your Favorite Song at This Time Last Year
I have known this song would be the song I would pick for this category. I knew this from Day 1. Reasoning is to me it is just an awesome song. I remember hearing this song for the first time, not knowing who Sleigh Bells was, and being completely blown away. I wanted to turn the volume up with I heard this song. I wanted to bask in the glory that comes from this song. It was just amazing on so many levels to me.
I listen to this song now, and I am still completely blown away. How could one song come jam pack with so many amazing melodies? How could Alexis Krauss have such a light, dainty voice, and be backed by such harsh tunes? How could this entire thing work for a band? I personally have no idea, but the thing is that it works and it’s amazing.
When you hear this song, crank up the volume on this. It’s just better louder.
Ok, in NO WAY can I play this like Stevie Ray Vaughan, but I can play a very basic version of this song on the piano. Sad, I know, but still something I can do. I never really learned the piano properly, just me messing around on one when I was younger. I have always wanted to learn though. Just never really had the opportunity.
Day 27 – A Song You Wish You Could Play
A John Mayer song??? Yea I know, not really helping me in the credibility department, however listen to this song. It is probably one of the most amazing songs to listen to on the guitar and I wish I knew how to play it. The melody is just too amazing to not want to learn how to play. Watch him play the rift in the middle. He is that kick ass and this is why women swoon over him.
Day 28 – A Song That Makes You Feel Guilty
I honestly don’t think a song can actually make me feel guilty, however this song is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. To me, it is just an all around feel good song I enjoy listening to. Nothing more, nothing less.
So yea, I’m slacking again. The reality of it is I have been unable to multi-task. So I think this is quite excusable! So here is it.
I am giving you 3 Outside Lands Mixtapes! Today you get the first. You get the next two when I finish with them.
I decided to break it up day by day because there are too many good artists to consolidate this three day adventure into one 11 song mix. Really guys, this lineup is about as close to a dream lineup that I can get. And I am so excited I get to go and spend 3 days in bliss, even if I am missing out on a Roller Derby tournament (sorry honey). I am also experimenting with other music players. The first one I am looking at is Grooveshark. While I can’t seem to get information about the number of plays like I can in 8tracks, you definitely get a lot more manipulation with this one. I also built this mixer in Mog, not iTunes so if you have a Mog account you should find me (username is hummingtunes). As always, feedback is much appreciated.
Playlist:
E=MC2//Big Audio Dynamite Australia//The Shins Cradle//The Joy Formidable Very Busy People// The Limousines Mamacita//Collie Buddz Alkaline (Remix Featuring Othello)//Lotus Houdini//Foster the People When I’m Small//Phantogram Blessa//Toro y Moi Mild Confusion//Tamaryn The Youth//MGMT
There are two ways I can go with this, the literal, or the more meaningful route. It isn’t a bad thing either way, considering there are a lot of songs that make me happy and I continue to listen to songs that I listen to when I am happy. To be honest, I don’t know the difference between this and Day 3, but we digress (as David likes to say).
Anyway Foster the People is a recent band discovery thanks to me going through the Coachella lineup for my mixer. Funny enough, I am going through their album as we speak working on my Outside Lands Mix (surprise). This entire album is a great summer album I have been enjoying throughly. I’m still pissed I didnt get to see them live at Coachella, but hopefully in the coming month when I go to Outside Lands I can rectify that one.
There are very few artists that I listen to when I am angry. Partly because I want to sort out my thoughts and really get a hold of my feelings before I do anything rash. However there is one artist that I always listen to that actually helps sorting out my thoughts. Fiona Apple.
I actually have no idea how Fiona and my anger seem to walk hand in hand, but I did come to this realization in college. It wasn’t a bad thing, her songs just seem to let out all of my frustrations with a situation. I would put in one of her CD’s, crack it up as loud as humanly possible (sorry neighbors) and just lay on the floor and think. It was really liberating for me but a super mellow approach to my rage. Then again, I have the tendency to really get in my head on things, so it made perfect sense to me.
Playing catch up!!!! I do have to give a shout out to my Dad, who turned 50 years young last week. We celebrated this weekend by playing some Disc Golf at Golden Gate Park, lunch at Taqueria Cancun in the Mission, Bi Rite Ice Cream, and a Giants game. Sometimes families are the best!
Day 17 – A Song You Often Hear on the Radio
This one seemed like a no brainer. Every time I turn my radio on, this song is on within the time frame of my destination. I actually like this song a lot though, so when it does come on, I listen and enjoy. It’s catchy and fun. Kayne kinda pissed me off though when I saw him perform this song at Coachella. Katy Perry was in the stands when it came on and he didn’t even ask her to come on stage. Again, Kayne show… ugh.
Day 18 – A Song You Wished You Heard on the Radio
This band SHOULD be on the radio, and for some reason they aren’t. I wonder why because their songs are catchy and awesome. They put on a hell of a show at Coachella this year, and yet not radio play. Maybe it’s almost better since they are so awesome. They already have a big following. Anyway this song is so beautiful to listen to, so I just had to share. They did a remix for the official video, which is a little underwhelming, but still decent.
Day 19 – A Song From Your Favorite Album
It is really hard to pick just one favorite album. I like many albums for many reasons. In light of this, and the fact that I committed to purchasing my friend Outside Lands Ticket, I am going to go back to the album that started me digging deeper into music back in college. This album does have a special place in my heart because without listening to this album, I would not have progressed into music like I did, and humming tunes would not exists as it does. I also need to thank Zach Braff and Garden State for introducing me to this band to begin with.
I am actually super bummed about this one when I finally came the the conclusion that I no longer like this song. Partly because I LOVE Vampire Weekend. However thanks to the Holidays and that stupid Honda Commercial, I can’t listen to this song anymore.
It always seems to happen, a song comes on to use on TV or the Radio and all of a sudden you can’t run away from the song because it is around you everywhere. Over the last few months, I have noticed a lot of my personal favorite bands (Passion Pit, Vampire Weekend, The XX, Miike Snow, just to name a few) have had songs used as a commercial for whatever they advertisers are promoting and it kills the song for me. Radio just plays the same 30 or so songs and kills of them too. Even the oldies station in SF that I just discovered plays the same 30 artists. Where’s the variety? Where’s the depth of actually introducing people to GOOD music? I can name at least 30 bands that should have music played on the radio, and they don’t. Thank god for sites like Pandora, and Last.fm where you can actually get variety when it comes to radio. And thank god for smartphones and aux cables so I can actually hear them in my car.
On a lighter note, the weird day I was having yesterday passed. I feel a lot better, although I am sorry if I got a little dark in my post. It happens from time to time.
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