This a list of posts in my series about my music mixes. You should probably start with the introduction. The mixes themselves are listed in a spectrum order from most upbeat to most downbeat, although of course these are generalizations and indidivual tracks may buck the trend. As explained in the introduction, each mix is divided into several volumes, and each post covers one volume. So the volume subtitles are the links. Where a mix has no volumes listed, that means I haven’t gotten around to doing a post on it yet, so the inclusion of it here is just a teaser. I’m cruel like that.
Here are some phrases I use in these posts, their definitions, and links to the posts where I talk more about them (if any):
mix: A collection of songs, arranged in a particular order, that share a common theme. Can be infinitely long. Has a name which I invented.
volume: A subdivision of a mix, usually 60 to 80 minutes long. Has a title, generally drawn from one track in the volume.
mix starter: The song that inspired a particular mix.
transition: The flow from the end of one song to the beginning of the next. Very important to a mix’s integrity. The reason why you must never touch the “Shuffle” button on your player.
bridge: A short song, almost always under two minutes, interposed between two other songs that don’t have a very good transition.
hardening: The process by which the transitions of a mix, while perhaps not perfect at first, grow ingrained over time through repeated listening, until I can’t imagine breaking them. Contrasted with transitions that are perfect out of the gate.
No Reuse Rule: The rule that says that any given song can only ever appear on one mix. Well, not a rule so much as a guideline, really. There are, naturally, exceptions:- If I make mixes for other people, they are not subject to the No Reuse Rule. For instance, my Mother’s Day mix may very well contain songs on one of the mixes here; likewise for any of the mixes I made for my eldest child when they were younger.
- Also, if I were to make two different mixes for The Mother or any of my kids, I might be willing to use the same track as a previous mix for that person. Which is subtly different from the above exception (and probably worse, so then again I might not).
- Every once in a while I just screw up and accidentally break the No Reuse Rule. Generally I try to rerrange things in order to fix the mistake once I find it. Sometimes this can be difficult if the song has “hardened” (see above) in both mixes.
- Certain mixes are just different, and they’re not considered part of the main series, so they’re allowed to use the same track as one of the main mixes (but not to repeat a track on that mix, no matter how many volumes it goes). The prime example of this is the 80s My Way mix. I also have 3 “mood” mixes (which is a dumb name for them, as all of my mixes are really mood mixes) called Dreamtime, Darktime, and Pasttime which used to fall under this exception. Lately, however, I’ve been re-examining that decision, and starting to move some things around so that those mixes will also follow the No Reuse Rule. I also have a “gaming” mix which originally I didn’t consider part of the main mix series, but it has also since come into line.
- “Bonin’ in the Boneyard” by Fishbone is exempt from the No Reuse Rule. It can be on as many mixes as it wants. It’s just that good.
modern mix: A mix that was developed as a digital playlist.
pre-modern mix: A mix that was developed as a mix tape. Any pre-modern mix in this series is actually a recreation of the original.
proto-mix: A collection of songs that was sort of randomly jumbled together on a mix tape; proto-mixes were what preceded pre-modern mixes. There are no proto-mixes in this list because they were all crap.
transitional mix: The mixes that came between the pre-modern mixes and the modern mixes. They were developed as digital playlists, but not with the full rigor of modern mixes. There are 3 of these in total, and at least 2 of them are being updated to follow the moden mix guidelines.
moderately obscure band: An artist with an entry on AllMusic but no bio, and either no page or a stub page on Wikipedia.
really obscure band: An artist that can’t be found on either AllMusic or Wikipedia.
cover image: A faux CD cover generated for a mix volume out of my fevered imagination using the Gimp. Only a few volumes have this.
In addition to the mixes themselves, I also have a few personal stories of music discovery that I’ve written:
- Music Discovery Story #1: The Reject Box
- Music Discovery Story #2: Found Cassettes
- Music Story #3: Into the Groove
The mixes are arranged from most upbeat to most downbeat. I’ve tried to provide a super-short summation of what each mix conveys; these are necessarily oversimplifications and may not capture the full range of emotion the mix provides. Mixes with no descriptions or volumes listed are still under construction.
Most Upbeat
⇓ Thrashomatic Danger Mix
loud and hardcore, to work out your aggression⇓ Cumulonimbus Eleven
powerful songs that should be cranked all the way up⇓ Funkadelic Bonethumper
⇓ Creeping Rageaholic
songs that start out mellow, then break into aggression⇓ Totally Different Head
punk meets new wave⇓ FasterHarderDarker
⇓ Distaff Attitude
female vocals with attitude⇓ HipHop Bottlerocket
party mix⇓ Tsunwave Tsunami
⇓ Salsatic Vibrato
brassy and upbeat- I. Step Up Ladies
- II. King of the Monkeys
- III. South of Hell’s Borders
- IV. Hot Ginger and Dynamite
- V. Love’s a Big Witch Doctor
- VI. Dinner at Seven, Martinis at Five
- VII. The Devil in Your Eye
- VIII. Jump Into My Caddy
⇓ Solar Superposition
⇓ Apparently World
upbeat worldmusic⇓ Snaptone Glimmerbeam
happy-making mostly instrumentals⇓ Yuletidal Pools
Happy Christmahannukwanzaakah!⇓ Tripping Flibbertigibbet
⇓ Honeysuckle Bubblegum
⇓ Stumbling Locomotive
songs that roll along, sometimes after a hesitant start⇓ Sirenexiv Cola
female-fronted alterna-pop⇓ 80s My Way
my tribute to 80s music- 0: introduction & explanation
- I: There’s a New Wave Coming, I Warn You (1979 – 1981)
- II: And Now You Find Yourself in ‘82 (1982 Part 1)
- III: On a Wavelength Far From Home (1982 Pt 2)
⇓ Fulminant Cadenza
rock and alternative with an operatic bent⇓ Cantosphere Eversion
inside-out songs⇓ Paradoxically Sized World
inspired by LittleBigPlanet- I. The Whole World Is Yours
- II. Burning Holes Right Through the Dark
- III. Are the Stars Out Tonight?
- IV. Darkness to the Light
- V. If You Can Remember the Tune
- VI. I Can Dream the Rest Away
⇓ Midnight Synthesis
darkly sparkling synthwave⇓ Bleeding Salvador
mid-tempo featuring surreal lyrics⇓ Penumbral Phosphorescence
mid-to-high-energy goth music⇓ Eldritch Ætherium
music to inspire gaming creativity- I. The Chase of the Black Beasts of Zephirus into the Caverns of the Demon King
- II. Welcome to the Lost Road across the Empire of the Daggers of the Dead
- III. To Moon and Stars: Heart of the Lord of the Undermountain of Gilead & Ashkeeper
- IV. Tales Around the Desert Crossroads between Aribeth and Anauroch, over the High Seas, beyond the Druid Grove
⇓ Candy Apple Shimmer
shimmery, ethereal, but still upbeat, dreampop⇓ Gramophonic Skullduggery
mischievous songs with an old-timey vibe⇓ Moonside by Riverlight
jazzy lounge⇓ Loungeomatic Dangly Mix
⇓ Pasttime
⇓ Slithy Toves
slinky, sinuous tunes ranging from mellow to mildly upbeat⇓ Primeval Rainlands
⇓ Ataraxic Rattatto
⇓ Zephyrous Aquamarine
desert island inspired chill-out⇓ Smokelit Flashback
druggy trip-hop and dreampop with a noir feel- I. Fortune Teller Eyes
- II. In a Half-Lit World
- III. Sniff Me Out Like I Was Tanqueray
- IV. This Labyrinth of Poems
- V. In My Dream I’ll Catch You
- VI. Snow-Coated Thought Cage
⇓ Classical Plasma
an orchestral melange of classical, neoclassical, and soundtrack music⇓ Incanto Liturgica
celebrating chant, both religious and ethnic⇓ Mars de la Morte
⇓ Irie Vibrations
⇓ Porchwell Firetime
folksy songs which tell a story⇓ Tumbledown Flatland
western-tinged songs with the feel of a lonesome prairie⇓ Dreamtime
surreal and psychedelic music that suggests a dreamlike state⇓ Dreamscape Perturbation
surreal dreampop with a mildly disturbing vibe⇓ Smooth as Whispercats
alterna-pop with a smooth jazz feel⇓ Dreamsea Lucidity
lofi and trip-hop with a pschedelic bent⇓ Mystical Memoriam
pretty instrumentals that suggest magic and memory⇓ Plutonian Velvet
creepy alternative with unsettling lyrics⇓ Phantasma Chorale
creepy, childlike music inspired by the soundtrack to Coraline⇓ Darktime
dark ambient tunes that suggest nyctophobia⇓ Rose-Coloured Brainpan
downbeat with a nostalgic feel⇓ Darkling Embrace
love songs with dark overtones⇓ Shadowfall Equinox
contemplative and autumnal- I. Mystery Dwells Deep
- II. This Town of the Dying
- III. Five Fathoms Below You
- IV. It’s Dark and It Looks Like Rain
- V. Keep the Dark Inside
- VI. The Hungry Ghost That Lingers
- VII. The Garden, by Moonlight, Turning Dark
- VIII. Oceans of Storm Clouds
⇓ Numeric Driftwood
to drift off to sleep by- I. Sail on a Silver Mist
- II. Did I Dream I Dreamed About You?
- III. Shadows Fall So Blue
- IV. Hints of Lilac Light
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