Mix It Up!

Mix It Up: Independent Radio Stations

 

Music, as you may have noticed, is a huge part of my life.  Whether I'm singing myself, or listening to carefully crafted playlists, or dancing to someone else's mix, I find that music speaks to a very primal part of me.

As with everything, however, it's easy to get in a rut.  Even with 27 GB of music in my iTunes, I tend to listen to the same few bands over and over.  It's not that I don't enjoy the music I have, but I feel that when I do this I am reinforcing a message of sameness rather than positive change to my subconscious mind.

If you're in the same boat as me (welcome!), how can you find new music?  There are music suggestion sites like Pandora, and hopefully you have a few musically-minded friends who like to expose you to new music as well.  One of the easiest ways to find amazing new musical, however, is to listen to the radio.  I particularly recommend independent radio stations!

The main difference between an independent radio station and a standard one is that the DJ gets to pick what they want to play.  KEXP (90.3 FM in Seattle, 91.5 FM in New York, and on the web streaming live at KEXP.org) is a great example -- they don't have a list of Top 40 songs that have to be played every hour, freeing them to host shows like Wo' Pop (modern global music) and Positive Vibrations (reggae and modern Jamaican sounds).  I have found SO many new bands from listening to KEXP, and there are very few shows on the channel that I don't enjoy.

You can also listen to local college shows -- while they tend to have a shorter broadcast range and more unusual time slots, they are almost always run by students with a burning passion for music.  Who better to learn music from than someone whose life revolves around it?  So the next time you're looking for some new sounds in your life, mix it up and find an independent radio station.  Keep the tunes coming!

(As usual, I have no affiliation with any products or companies mentioned!)

Mix It Up: Karaoke

 

Maya Angelou knows why the caged bird sings, but for me it is not because I long for freedom but simply because I have to.  I find singing to be one of the most beautiful forms of artistic expression because it combines my love of language with my love of music.  I have always been one of those people garnering sideways glances at the bus stop as I hum to myself, and I can't ever wash the dishes without singing folk tunes to pass the time.

Singing is not only beautiful, but it has long been a major method of cultural communication.  In the British Isles, the Druids transmitted much of their lore through verse and song, and even now a musical group or even a single song can easily become the anthem of a movement or a decade.  Singing taps into personal memory, as well; Jimmy Buffett songs inevitably bring back fond memories of lazy summer days in high school biking to the beach with my best friend and boyfriend.  

More than anything, singing can be just plain fun!  If you're looking to mix it up and bring your singing out of the shower, karaoke is an awesome way to do so.  Many bars and restaurants have karaoke nights now, where you can get up in front of your friends (and strangers!) and belt out "Hungry Like the Wolf."  For those who aren't quite up to singing in front of a crowd, Sony's SingStar or Rock Band by Harmonix are popular options for your house that don't involve buying a karaoke machine.  One of my friends in particular does amazing metal renditions of popular songs!  

The next time you want to sing, get your friends together and mix it up with some karaoke!  Who knows, you may be the next big thing on American Idol...

(As always, I have no affiliation with products or companies I've mentioned.  Photo by Wonderlane from Flickr.com's Creative Commons Photostream.)

Spring Cleaning Week: Go Digital

 

One of the hardest things to let go of in the modern era is the desire for physical objects.  Many of us were raised when everything we owned existed in the real world.  When I wrote papers in high school, I turned them in as pieces of paper to my teacher.  By the time I was in college, emailing them to the professor as an attachment was completely acceptable in many of my classes.  It can be a difficult mental adjustment to make, but going digital is one of the best ways you can reduce clutter in your home.

The two easiest things to go digital on are music and photos.  The advantages of putting both on your computer are staggering.  You can take them anywhere (my iPod holds 30 gigabytes -- more than enough for a year's worth of photos and my entire music collection), store them safely offsite with one of many online media storage options, and crop/make playlists/alter to fit your needs whenever you like.  

To go digital on your music you will need various things depending on what format your music is currently in.  For CDs you'll need a computer with a CD drive and a music program such as iTunes.  For tapes, records, minidiscs, and other formats, you can sometimes buy a cable that will permit you to link a player with your computer, but you may also have to investigate a company that specializes in media transfer.  Another great option if you don't have that many CDs in the first place is a site like the Zune Marketplace which allows you to listen to music and even keep the songs you like for a reasonable monthly fee.  It's a great solution to keep yourself clutter free once the majority of your music is digitized.  I use both the Zune Marketplace and iTunes for most of my music needs now!

For photos you will need a computer and a scanner.  Easy enough!  Just scan the photos that you want to transfer to ones and zeroes, and save them in your favorite photo editing/sorting program.  You can easily keep them online on a site like Flickr or Picasa as well if you don't have the storage space on your computer.  Now you can stack all your old pictures into small, efficient boxes (buy archival safe containers!) if you want to keep them, or recycle them if you don't.  

Today, mix it up and look at what you own that could be compressed into a digital format!  Now think about what you can do with all that space...

Mix It Up: Establish a Bedtime Routine

 

When most people are children they will do anything to avoid having to go to bed.  Strangely, as they get older, that attitude does not always change.  Although research now shows that sleep is crucial to regenerating the body and brain for optimal functioning, people still deprive themselves of regular rest.  This can lead to difficulty processing language, loss of creativity, lower impulse control and judgement, and even hallucinations and decreased lifespan ("The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Brain and Behavior" by Sarah Ledoux, 2001).

Despite the title of this post, you don't actually want to mix it up TO sleep better!  Rather, creating a predictable routine is the key to a better night of sleep (or day, should you work a late shift).  Recent research has shown that playing about 45 minutes of a sedative music before bedtime results in significantly better sleep quality in older adults (age 60-85), and may do so in younger adults as well.  (Sedative music has less to do with the actual style of music, and more with the tempo.  Slower rock music is better than uptempo classical.)

Other useful tools you can incorporate into your bedtime routine are:

★Going to bed at the same time each night

★Not reading in bed (this was a hard one for me to accept, but the excitement and interest generated by reading keep your brain active rather than relaxing it)

★Avoiding alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine

★Drinking a calming herbal tea such as chamomile or valerian a couple of hours before sleep

★Exercise regularly

Mix it up by not mixing it up, and establish a bedtime routine that will see you waking in the morning well-rested and (hopefully) hallucination free!

Music Suggestion: The Streets

When people want to learn more about other cultures, travel is usually the first thing that springs to mind.  Wikipedia is probably a close second, followed by food.  One of my favorite ways to explore other cultures, however, is through their music.  

Even just the instruments used can tell you a lot, from the lute-like ngoni of Africa to the similarly lute-like (yet completely different sounding) biwa of Japan.  However, for me it is the lyrics that truly reveal the heart and soul of a culture -- do they revolve around faith, or family, or status?  Are they about being adrift, or are they rooted in home and community?

The Streets, aka Mike Skinner, is a hip-hop performer from Birmingham, United Kingdom.  His songs, especially on his first two albums "Original Pirate Material" and "A Grand Don't Come For Free" are full of stories about working-class Britain, as well as the ups and downs of his later fame.  His music bears only a passing resemblance to American hip-hop -- primarily in the syncopation and mostly spoken-word lyrics.  Rather, his background music is lush and varied, and his songs have a much more positive outlook on life -- including one actually titled "Stay Positive."

I also deeply appreciate his use of language, and even when I occasionally have to look up the meaning of a particular piece of British slang I find the songs easy to both understand and empathize with.  If you would like to learn more about at least a small slice of British life, I can highly recommend The Streets.  Mix it up, and listen to music from the other side of the world!

(As usual, I have no affiliation with The Streets or their studios/producers!) 

Music Review: Whiskey Chimp

 

Music is an incredibly important part of our lives.  It simultaneously defines cultures and permits us to transcend them.  Seventh and eighth grade band students at a school in Madison, WI were asked to answer the question "Why is music important in your life, and to the world as a whole?"  I urge you to read all of the great responses, but three that especially struck me were:

 “Music is an outburst of the soul.” – I. B.  

 “Music is important to people’s lives because it makes things better when things aren’t going right in the world.” – T. M. 

“Music is important because it helps you express yourself in ways that you can’t with normal talking.”– S. L.

I have a huge fondness for traditional American music -- bluegrass, folk, and yes, even country.  Whiskey Chimp is a band that can only be described as "hilarious bluegrass," and they truly have something for everyone.  From slow ballads asking the Grim Reaper to take a holiday to quick-witted stories about moths to parodies of "masculine behavior," Whiskey Chimp manages to to combine fantastic musical ability with a true sense of humor.

If you are looking for a new (and very funny) form of expression, mix it up and check out Whiskey Chimp today!

(Standard disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Whiskey Chimp or their studio in any way, and my folks purchased their album for me at a show!)