52 Weeks of Mixtapes
Week 2
Welcome back to 52 Weeks of Mixtapes, my second music series for The Low Major.
Every Sunday, I’ll publish a mixtape of music centered around something - a feeling, a time, a person, a place. We’re running on vibes here. Each playlist cover will be a photo or an edit that’s my own work. This shit’s organic.
Two (self-imposed) rules for this project:
Each mixtape will never be more than an hour - usually in that 45-60 minute space, long enough to run with it, but I’m not gonna brute-force any level of length. Quality over quantity, as they say.
I’m also going to try to avoid reusing artists within the same mixtape and tracks within the same month. Sometimes songs are good enough that it’d be silly to not touch on them again, so you might see some old friends.
I’ll link to the playlist, talk a little bit (like, one sentence) about each track, their ordering and why they were included, and that’ll be all. Pretty simple, and hopefully enjoyable for you.
let the cold light my way
below zero temperatures, even colder windchills, and the warmth of connection
1 | Forest Green | Big Red Machine | 5:49
Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner do a very specific sort of feeling so well that it hurts, and these slightly more synthetic tracks are a great opener for a playlist that needs a bit of a transition into the acoustic.
2 | Smoke Signals | Phoebe Bridgers | 5:25
My introduction to Phoebe Bridgers, and probably should have been heeded as a sign of her staying power - fantastic tune that never fails to spark all manner of emotion inside my muted heart.
3 | Garden Grays | Wildcat! Wildcat! | 3:33
About as upbeat as this one’s gonna get, but I love the energy this one carries, a nice little shot in the arm before we slide a bit.
4 | Even The Darkness Has Arms | The Barr Brothers | 3:51
A song that just feels so strongly of winter that there was no way it was not making the cut. Lovely little tune about the anxiety of sentiment around a little bluesy rock.
5 | Patience | Low Roar | 5:45
The instrumental here is beyond gorgeous - as we move into the “Side B” of this playlist, we’re absolutely dipping our toes into post-rock and ambience, the sort of music that stretches for minutes, taking you on various odysseys to carry its point forward.
6 | Vagabond | The Horse Thieves | 7:04
Sparse piano-driven instrumental that makes no mistake in drawing and quartering you emotionally - but it’s a perfect song to establish the feeling of being just a little lost.
7 | Faded From The Winter | Iron & Wine | 3:18
Lurking under a consistent guitar melody, Sam Beam does his best to emanate a perfect sound for this time of year - slightly hidden under everything else, but present if you’re willing to peer through the cover.
8 | A Good Land, an Excellent Land | Tiny Leaves | 7:53
Another fantastic instrumental - sparse, but beautifully arranged, such that it swells, ebbs, and flows as if it is the swirling gusts of snow drifting across the city, up and down, tangled in an eternal dance, twinkling piano leaping up and down the scales.
9 | Wash. | Bon Iver | 4:59
This is winter, to me. No better song for this sort of feeling, when it’s cold as all hell and you want nothing more than to cozy up and let the world pass you by for a while.
Enjoy the list! I’ll see y’all next week.