What kind of mixtape do YOU need?

I have the same personality type as Oprah.

Rock n’ Roll Wonderland Friend, in the lyrical words of Seals and Croft, Summer Breeze Makes Me Feel Fine.

Sometimes, the kind of music I need is the sound of a summer breeze sifting through the screen door.

It’s one of those rare, cool summer days. The kind of summer day where something other than ice cream sounds good for dinner. The kind of summer day where the over-worked AC can rest and you can crack the windows in the morning and enjoy a somewhat mosquito-free evening.

As someone you could never stand the sound of silence, I now embrace it.

My mind can sometimes feel like my over-worked air conditioner on a hot day…. it’s always running.

Sitting in silence is an invitation for my thoughts to reset.

A brain breeze.

A moment to rest and for new ideas to flow.

However, on road trips, I can never cruise in silence.

Forgive any writing errors. I’m only human. Born to make mistakes.

Last weekend, I took a quick road trip to Kansas City to see the Timeless Mucha Exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum. An artist who not only had a massive impact on the fashion and theater world, (thanks to the actress, Sarah Bernhardt, who hired him for her marketing materials) but whose drawing style would be copied by future artists who created music posters and manga animation drawings.

There’s the saying Home is Where Your Heart Is and the illustrations of Alphonse Mucha made me feel right at home.

His stylized paintings of women with whipping long hair transported me into the glamorous world of fashion. Like a hypnotic trance, Mucha used a strategy through his play of lines that draw the eye.

I see how other artists would mimic this style to create psychedelic concert posters for bands like Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and The Grateful dead. The art is like music; it has the ability to pull you in.

For the road trip, I revisited old playlists that felt homey and fun.

Speaking of, my “mixtape edition” radio episode, Sports is a Mixtape, was an unexpected homerun.

I didn’t share the track list.

Maybe listeners are craving a bit of more spontaneity in their life?

So I created another “Mixtape Edition” of Electric Radio Club titled The Martian.

The week prior, the summer heat was unwelcoming. One insanely hot evening, I embraced my dimly lit living room and watched the movie, The Martian, about an astronaut stuck on Mars.

In a world where a majority of society seems anxiety-filled and stressed out about future goals, deadlines and accomplishments, the film had a lot of relatability despite the fact that it takes place on another planet.

To me, the film was about getting over “survival mode” and embracing life’s problems bit by bit.

I realized I needed a playlist that was fun and upbeat to tackle life’s everyday problems….even if it was for something like vacuuming dog hair from the couch cushions.

To listen to the new “Mixtape Edition” of Electric Radio club, click here for The Martian episode. The track list not included…..but it’s damn fun one!

Mixtapes are a lot like vacations. You know where you are going but you don’t know who you’ll meet or what you’ll see.

Listen to The Martian

For the next radio episode, I want to know, what kind of mixtape are you craving?

Let me know in the comments.

I understand that everyone is going through something different but the common ground of music can serve many.

All for now. Stay inspired!

Joi

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