Blues, Part Deux


Guh. I’m still in a funk. It’s too hot to do anything. Those of you in cooler climes might think of this as your January – when you’re tired of relentless snow and ice, and I’m thinking, “Hey, who told you to live in Colorado?” Now you can enjoy a tall glass of cool and refreshing schadenfreude.

It’s too hot to go outside, and I’m tired of being inside. It’s even too hot to go to the pool, which is too hot, indeed. I don’t want to cook. I’m sick of reading. I’m sick of the kids’ ongoing destruction of the living room. I don’t want to drop $50 going to the movies. I would say that I’m crotchety, except that reminds me of the word crochet, and it is too goddamn hot to think about crochet.

So I’m sitting here at my computer – and don’t think it escaped my attention that those of you enjoying beautiful weather have fallen behind on your blog posts, DANIELLE – and trying to find something to do. Let’s talk about mixtapes.

Michael Williams at ACL is a genius at mixtapes. He understands that it’s not just a matter of throwing together a tape of your favorite songs (at least, not after the age of 15). He really knows how to evoke a particular mood with music. I am still in love with his original muxtape, but he’s put up a couple more that are also good.

I was hoping to put a muxtape together. I want to replicate my friend Sophia’s iPod. She just has the best selection of songs of anybody I know. Her children know all the words to “Sex Bomb.” It’s hard not to love Sophia.

Anyway, Sophia’s out of town, so I can’t get my hands on her iPod right now. I’ve always thought that soundtracks made great mixtapes. Among my favorites are the two Sopranos discs (which are kind of dark) and the soundtracks for O Brother, Where Art Thou? (not exactly upbeat); Animal House; The Big Chill and Dirty Dancing.

Do you have any fantastic suggestions? Any great summer mixtapes out there that we need to know about? Anything that you can count on to pull you out of a slump? Can you think of anything at all that's good about summer? Please do share in the comments. Consider it your good deed for today (so you can get back to all your naughty deeds with a clear conscience).

Comments

  1. Zucchini bread is always a good thing in summer. How about great cantaloupe and watermelon?

    It is hotter than hell in my part of the country too. ugh.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The soundtrack to Laurel Canyon, the ultimate California summer mixtape.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hit CBS.com and go to the Swingtown page. They download a weekly soundtrack of 70's songs used on the show at the bottom of the page. Nothing gets you out of a funk (or into one?) like 70's music.

    If that doesn't work, I recommend vodka & lemonade. Very refreshing. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree about the tape theory. The songs have to FLOW. Don't just throw'em on there and hope for the best. It's an art, man.

    My summer mix would include:

    "O'oh" by Yoko Ono
    "A Day Like Today" by Sundrive
    "Every Morning" by Sugar Ray
    "Afternoon Delight" by Starland Vocal Band
    "Summer Fling" by kd lang

    ... and just about anything from the 70's... what is it about the seventies???

    ReplyDelete

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