12 Mixtapes in 12 Months
I did it, gang! Thanks so much for coming along for the ride! This has been one of the most rewarding creative experiences for me, personally, and I think it's really cool that a few of you seemed to enjoy it as well.
If you missed any along the way, HEY, I redid my website to prominently feature this thing I poured hundreds of hours into this year. Please check it out! Share it with a buddy! I'm really, really proud of all of these, and I think it'd be cool if more people found some cool tunes from their good friends.
Hey if you hate Christmas music, this month's email is going to be bad for you. Sorry! Got your back in January.
I might take January off in terms of mixtapes (might not?), but I'll definitely be back with some fresh playlists for you shortly after. I've got too many good ones in the tank.
I'll be making two physical copies of December's mix, Peace on Earth, once we're allowed to leave our apartments. Hit me up, as always, if you want it. <3
Peace on Earth
Created for late Christmas Eve.
For me, there's no better part of the Christmas season than Christmas Eve. Just feels like there's some magic in the air. I'm sure it's residual anticipation and joy from childhood fantasies and scans of the sky, looking for Rudolph, but I cherish that feeling every year.
My ideal way to spend the final hours on Christmas Eve is in the dark with only the light of the tree, fireplace, and moon. I like to have a drink in hand as I stare outside at the gentle snowfall. For this mixtape, I crafted what I'd consider to be the ideal soundtrack to that experience (fireside crackle not included). It's gentle, reverent, beautiful.
I adore Christmas, and I especially love the idea that it's a time to reflect on the possibility of "Peace on Earth, good will to men." There's no more peaceful an evening for me than Christmas Eve. I hope this mixtape brings you that feeling.
There's a lot of Jesus songs here, not because I consider Christmas especially religious, but simply because the songs are beautiful and carry with them a message of peace and hope. I'm not reinventing the wheel here, either. Most of the power players in the Christmas carol zeitgeist are here, but I'd like to think I've curated them in a way to bring something special your way.
If you've ever seen A Christmas Story, you might remember the final scene with the parents sitting alone, toasting their glasses of wine as they stare out at the winter weather. I think it's one of the most romantic scenes in cinema history, but I'm a big old softie for Christmas. That's what I wanted this mixtape to be.
Love you all. Hope you enjoy! Merry Christmas!
Join Me: Listen to a Different Christmas Mixtape From Me!
If you read the above blurb and thought, "Umm ok, but I like my Christmas music a little more fun and cheesy and varied," boy do I have the mixtape for you!
I made this one a few years ago for my very good friend Maicy Jo Schwartz as part of the UCB Mixtape Exchange I ran in New York. I still love it and listen to it a few times each year when I want a dose of cheer.
Check out A Christmas Mix For You.
RIYL: Christmas, joy, sincerity, fun
Other Christmas Records That I Love
(that you might love too!)
The Believers' Christmas With The Believers - A long lost Christmas jazz album from 1986 that has perfect iterations of six absolute classics. Best part? It's a free download on archive.org. Do yourself a favor and download it, or if streaming is your thing, play it in archive.org's native player!
Celtic Christmas III - It's not Christmas season in the O'Callahan household unless we play this Windham Hill compilation. It's a little new-agey and cheesy, but this is a nostalgia pick for me. Just listen to "Circle of Joy" and tell me it doesn't rip. You can't.
Christmas on Death Row - A perennial classic pick for one of the best Christmas records of all time. This one is worth it alone for Nate Dogg & Snoop Dogg's "Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto," but it is jam packed with smooth, soulful renditions of several classics.
Soul Christmas - In my mind, outside of Phil Spector's A Christmas Gift For You, this is the best Christmas compilation of all time. Every single song is a treat, and it'll make even the biggest of Christmas music haters swoon. It's a real party starter.