Love, February Day 4

Every few months I get this itch – a need to create a playlist that fits a really specific theme or idea in my head. It may be something as simple as doing a deep dive into one group’s discography, or as complicated as trying to pick songs that capture a particular feeling or moment in time for me. I haven’t done an end of summer playlist in a few years, but when I go back and listen to my old ones, I’m immediately transported back to that moment in time.

Summer ’09 is a particularly special one for me, a mix of Bollywood and Michael Jackson, with a lot of contemporary pop and rock mixed in for good measure. It transports me back to my summer abroad, riding the train between London and Brighton, red eye flights booked 24 hours prior, taking the tube to my aunt’s home. Or there’s the Summer ’06 mix, which takes me to the summer after high school, Dresden Dolls and Snow Patrol and whatever pop and alternative was playing on the radio those days. I remember driving around with the music turned up, feeling so strange, no longer in grade school but not really a university student yet, somewhere between childhood and adulthood. The world was getting bigger, and the future was unknown, but at least I had my songs.

I miss the days of burning CDs, trying to fit as many tracks on that disc as I could. Finding bootlegged live performances, and demos and alternative versions of songs I loved. There was something so intimate about making a mix – it was a calming ritual. I probably made a new one every two weeks in high school. I have dozens of them at home, just sitting in a binder in the closet. I can’t get rid of them, they were such a part of who I was and who I am.

Don’t get me wrong – I love that I can stream the latest Epik High album as soon as it’s released, and doing deep dives on artists is much easier with their whole discography available in a few clicks. It’s also easier to discover new artists, and rediscover old loves. But there was something about making a mix CD that made you really stop and listen to the music. You had to be particular, choose with care, make sure that each track flowed nicely into the next, especially if you were making it for someone else. It was such an intimate act of sharing – this is what I love, I hope you love it too.

Love,
February

Song of the Day: Flowers by Miley Cyrus

Never got into Miley, but this song is a bop. And if the rumors that it’s about her ex are true, so much better. As Beyoncé reminds us all: “best revenge is your paper.”

We were good, we were gold
Kinda dream that can’t be sold
We were right ’til we weren’t
Built a home and watched it burn