✨JUNEBUZZ✨
In reality I don't want to spend too much time repeating myself, because my Instagram post really summed up everything I feel about hitting a quarter-century. I took myself on a side hiking trip to Cloudland Canyon on my way home from Bonnaroo and listened to this playlist while staring at the most beautiful sky I’ve ever seen - so thankful for the universe’s gift to me! Read up on my birthday adventure and thoughts on a handful of tracks below.
I hope you enjoy some new tunes and the perspective of an optimistic 25-year old! |
My favorite month of the year wouldn’t be complete without a banging playlist to take with me on all of my adventures. This mix is filled with a variety of sounds, moods and genres - perfect for my fluid gemini personality. Consider it my birthday gift to you, because who doesn’t need some groovy tunes filled with summer vibes?
Typically I try to write a birthday blog post recounting ‘how it feels to be so-and-so age’ since that’s the quintessential question everyone gets asked when they turn a year older. However, I thought I’d do something different this year and tell you what it sounds like in stead. So, I made a mixtape with 25 tracks (which I could totally spin to represent each year of my life if I really wanted to) but it’s more fun to just have you listen and see how it fits into your life as it is! In case you’re curious, here’s where you can read about my thoughts on 23 and 24.
When I first heard this track it put such a huge smile on my face - and it reminded me of the way I felt the first time I heard Aer. Carefree, summer cruising, light and happy tunes. Turns out Carter Reeves is half of Aer and this is his first single on his solo project - awesome! Loving the whole EP so far, and can’t wait for another bite.
Classic classic classic - I love this song so much and I jammed out so hard when Moon Taxi covered it at both Shaky Knees and Bunbury Music Festival. It’s so powerful and especially meaningful in the political climate today. Always stand up for what you believe in, think for yourself and don’t become another brick in the wall.
"Addicted to the shindig” may be the number one chili peppers lyric that describes me, and this song is their favorite to open with. They kicked off their Bonnaroo set with it, and the custom painted RHCP hat I made for myself proudly bears “Can’t Stop” under the bill. If that doesn’t prove I was meant to be at that set on my birthday eve, I don’t know what does!
This remix is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites - it’s jam packed with synthy melody and lyrics that speak to my soul. To me, it means that when you open your heart to love and new experiences, you will always feel it all again in new moments throughout your life. That love will always be with you. And I can’t wait for the day I finally get to hear this heavy beauty banger live and direct!
This track has summer anthem written all over it. Big G and Pell make the perfect duo and I totally lost it when I heard it dropped at Bonnaroo! That saxophone just sends me sailing into a sea of happiness, paired with Pell’s groovy hip hop flow, it totally belongs on this playlist and will amp up just about any summer situation you can think of.
This mix has so many more tracks for you to discover, but those are the highlights! Let me know if you found something new that you enjoyed - music is my favorite thing to talk about. And it may give me some ideas for future mixtape posts. Until then... keep dancing!
Comments
What would life be without stress? I've come to realize that, while unmonitored stress is harmful, stress itself is a necessary tension - an inescapable layer of inner emotion. Humans are intricate beings, and we naturally crave balance and equilibrium. Our nervous systems each have over 100 billion neurons that fire all day every day. No matter what, there’s always something triggering your internal and external feedback loops. There’s always something (or someone) that could use your attention. But, when life starts to pile up, we push things to the back burner as they slowly eat away at our minds. Life is so complex and constant that the stress that comes with it can be detrimental if you’re not paying attention. Underlying stress affects more people now than ever, and half the time we don’t even know the damage it’s doing. It actually changes our behavior and causes negative thoughts to run through our minds, causing negative words to come out of our mouths, causing a negative lifestyle over time. It’s interesting how we feel the need to hide our stress and internalize it, like it's a secret we don't want others to find out. We try to deal with it on our own but, more often than not, that internal energy festers and bounces around and can eventually cause hypertension, mounting anxiety and who knows what else. That negative energy needs somewhere to go, and often it manifests through words and actions that have nothing to do with the actual cause of the stress. I sometimes wonder why there are so many mean people in the world (and on the internet), but maybe I should be helping those people recognize that stress has turned them into someone they never wanted to be in the first place. HELP IS NEVER FAR AWAYIf all of this is starting to stress you out, you've come to the right place. This post is all about channeling inner anxiety and stress, recognizing it as a good thing, and using it as motivation for outward progress. I often re-read this post from Bassnectar's blog about Indicators; “An Indicator – your mind is letting you know that something in life needs your attention.” Stress is very much an indicator, but sometimes it’s difficult to pinpoint the cause. And it’s rarely singular; when multiple types of stress collide it becomes this sort of negative feedback loop and that could take some serious attention to detangle.
SUGGESTION #1: SELF-CHECK
SUGGESTION #2: FIDGET TOYSDon’t roll your eyes at this one just yet - while fidget toys are becoming a fad with children in school, I’ve become an advocate for them since I have firsthand experience that they can serve a really great purpose. Even though they are criticized for being more of a distraction than anything, I think that’s exactly what we need sometimes. If you’ve got loads of extra nervous energy, or if your brain is moving faster than your reality, fidget toys can be a great outlet to channel or expel that energy while keeping you focused on the task at hand. I have a fidget cube, basically a six-sided cube with a different texture or tinker feature on each side. When I was working Bassnectar Atlantic City, my mind was racing because I wanted to be on my A-game. I had a zillion things I was internally juggling, and I kept my fidget cube clipped to my belt loop the whole weekend for easy access. It helped keep me grounded and focused, and allowed me to release my extra mental energy in a healthy way. I’ll never work an event without one again! If you can relate to that ‘extra’ energy feeling or have anxiety in certain situations, you should definitely look into getting one. SUGGESTION #3: FIND A NEW OUTLETI was inspired by my friend Kevin Leahy, another Ambassador, who was talking about how great it is to try new things. I wholeheartedly agree, and believe that forming new habits is especially helpful for balancing your mental health (so is reconnecting to things you used to love to do!). It’s good to keep our mind and body guessing - and trying something new is a fun motivator for breaking a cycle you might find yourself in. I remember when I first discovered rock stacking. It’s exactly what it sounds like; just find some rocks and try to balance them on top of one another. It’s a meditative practice in many cultures and it also connects you to the Earth, creates art, and teaches patience and intent. It’s kind of like a nature puzzle, and you can’t really be taught how to do it - you just have to feel it out for yourself. But doing something new and learning as you go is the whole point - it’ll kick start your critical thinking and maybe even evoke a deeper connection you didn’t know was there. I highly recommend rock stacking (and have no shame sharing that my room is full of rocks I started collecting because I’m a weirdo - I even named some of them and rearrange the stacks regularly). Other possible outlets you could try out: painting/drawing, writing/journaling/blogging, photography, swimming, volunteering, running, meditating, tennis, hiking, jiu jitsu, reading, cooking, hula hooping, yoga, slacklining, gardening, water aerobics, learning an instrument, jewelry making, crafting… the list goes on and on! Jump in already 😃 The bottom line; tune in with yourself. Recognize when you’re stressed, learn how to best channel it, and be better prepared for it next time. I really can’t stress this enough - you have the power to make your stress work for you rather than against you! Don’t let it take years off of your life, don’t even let it ruin your day, just begin recognizing it and redirecting it in a productive way. Life is too wonderful to spend it being worried or distracted by negativity. Give one of my suggestions a try sometime - your inner self will thank you! RELATED POSTSHave you felt it? There's been... a whole lot of nothing going on with this blog. Why haven’t I been blogging in the last year? It’s been arguably one of the best years of my life, with plenty of stories to tell and lessons to pass on. So much to tell, in fact, that it gives me anxiety to think about how behind I am on all the plans I had for this blog. The truth is, without it, I wouldn’t be in my position in life. I wouldn’t be working for my favorite artist and self-employed and feeling like a fantastically accomplished 24 (nearly 25) year-old. So why have I neglected it for so long? Why do I have countless lists of ideas and drafts and concepts with nothing to show for it? Where did my drive to write and share go damnit? I refuse to let this blog sink into the depths of the internet never to be seen again. Even if I have to just start wherever I start, and let go of all the unpublished ghosts that haunt me. Whatever I have to do to move on, I’m doing it. Right now, actually. Just sitting down with my laptop and writing whatever dialogue comes to my mind. It’s the healthiest thing I used to do. Self expression, especially for a girl with so many people in her life and few that I actually confide in, is vital. I can’t keep all of my emotions inside me. I don’t feel like expressing them verbally much of the time, and I’ve always been able to better put things into words once I have ample time to process, record and edit. So, I’m recognizing that I want to change. I want to reform this habit, this urge to publish weekly sometimes even daily. I want to build my own content again, and talk about the things that are important to me now. Maybe reviewing restaurants isn’t the best use of my time, maybe you’d rather hear about the places I go or the people I meet or learn something new from me (webinars are a serious possibility in the future!). I’m going to do my best to talk about things that will hold some actual weight. And I do love food, so I’m sure I won’t be able to help talking about the great places to eat and drink around Atlanta. I’ve been doing a lot of photography too, so photo blogging could be a new type of series for me. I still have a lot of opinions about music and lyrics and the special meanings it brings to my life, so Musical Commotion will surely see a comeback. I'm still exploring so many new places and I want to share all of it and inspire you to get out there yourself! Mostly I just want to get back to what makes me happiest (like taking pictures of clouds). This outlet is a great place for me. I’ve put work into it’s style, it’s personality. It’s time to give it the attention it deserves. It’s good to recognize when you’re neglecting a major part of your life. I look forward to filling the void I feel with my own words and my own guidance, and hopefully it will connect with you as well. Eclectic Avenue: Season 2... coming your way this summer. RELATED POSTSA POP OF COLOR IN AN ENDLESS SKY OF MUSIC
|
3. Volunteer for a good cause. Camp Nerd Fitness 6. Do at least 20 random acts of kindness. {20/20} 10. Do at least 10 new watercolor paintings. {7/10} 11. Try 15 new recipes {3/15} [Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry] 14. Get a tattoo piece started. 27. Go to five different kinds of fitness classes. {1/5} Yoga 45. Go to two new music festivals. {10/2} Music Midtown [9.17.16] 46. Go to at least 10 concerts. {21/10} Neon Indian [10.4.16], Pretty Lights [10.7.16-10.8.16], GRiZ [10.22.16], Bassnectar Halloween [10.31.16], Safe In Sound [11.19.16], Wick-It the Instigator [12.23.16], GJones [12.30.16], Bassnectar NYE 360 [12.31.16] 47. Try 15 new restaurants. {20/15} PM Cafe [10.6.16], Porch Light [11.11.16] 56. Watch 10 classic movies that I haven’t seen before. {5/10} 79. Publish 100 posts on my blog. {64/100} 63, 64 81. Submit at least 10 articles for publication somewhere else. {3/10} Safe in Sound Fest Lands in Atlanta (GoodMusicAllDay) |
Wooo! So many more adventures happened in between these photos, but here are the highlights! I feel so much gratitude for all the shows I've been able to go to. It was truly a musical and magical year for me, I'm excited to see where I end up next! I've got about a year left in this challenge, so I think it's time to kick it into high gear and be massively productive in the months ahead! Who's in?!
Writer, stargazer, believer in human beings. Die-hard rock and roller with an insatiable urge to dance my way through life.
ARCHIVES
December 2020
October 2019
April 2019
August 2018
April 2018
December 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
January 2017
December 2016
September 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015