Archive for December de 2009
ninth annual holiday mix
Posted by Lil Miss Hot Mess on December 27, 2009
I’m proud to announce that I’ve finally put the finishing touches on my ANNUAL HOLIDAY MIX!
For those who may not know, this is like my holiday card; it’s my cheesy tradition that I do ever year where I let myself get sentimental. I’ve been doing it since my senior year of high school, when I named it “Seasons of Love” after the song from RENT. (There’s too much to say about that now, so I’ll pass.) Don’t worry: it’s not actual holiday music. I originally thought of it as a mix of music that would “evoke the spirit of the holidays” (words of a 17 year old), specifically “love songs and lullabies.” It’s the romantic in me. Well, it’s evolved over the years, but still fits roughly into this theme. I think I’m officially out of my “over-investment in folk” (as Anne called it). I’ve stopped stealing all of my music from Logan. You will not find Dave Matthews Band on this mix. Like last year, there are a lot of Torch Songs (or Torch Songs light). And in some cases, it’s even gotten a little more upbeat. Last year’s also felt more political, but maybe that’s just the mood I was in then. Basically, it’s music I’ve been listening to this year or music that I wish I were listening to more often.
This year, I decided to also put together a bonus dance mix. Really, it was an excuse to continue my unexpected devotion to Lady Gaga and to proselytize on her behalf. I like the regular mix to be something you could fall asleep to (it’s often my plane music), or help you get your work done, or play in the background of a dinner party. But sometimes you just want to shake it to the ground, especially to the love songs that would otherwise break your heart. ANYWAY! I did it in 2004 (I think) and one of my professors told me she worked out to it at the gym and it made my day. (I hope you’re still on this list!) So it’s time.
Okay, enough chatter and justification. Just DOWNLOAD IT, and burn it or put it on your iPod or listen on your computer or whatever! And, new this year — you can also STREAM IT! Yes, that’s right! I have gone way beyond 2.0! Preview it, listen at work, whatever. (Note: detailed instructions are at the bottom of the webpage.)
Oh, and please be sure to check out more music by some of these artists — especially the indies or the ones you’re less familiar with!
Mary Christmas
Posted by Lil Miss Hot Mess on December 25, 2009
- Categories: wow!
- No Comments
Thanks to Joie Rey (@gmail.com) for the photo!
Happy (half-assed) Holidays, Mary! I’ve been a bad little blogger lately, but I’ll add it to my list of New Year’s resolutions. Here’s to more hot messes in 2010!
My three favorite winter holiday songs after the jump:
Nothing Compares
Posted by Lil Miss Hot Mess on December 5, 2009
- Categories: wow!
- No Comments
Lately my Morning Song has been Nothing Compares 2 U — the Sinéad version. I was brought back to it after reading Holcome Waller’s blog and listening to his gorgeous rendition. It also made me think of the version that the Young@Heart choir sang (which sadly, I can’t find on the internet, but do mark your calendars because it’s screening on PBS and there will be free screenings in San Francisco and Oakland this month — seriously, I’ve never cried so much as I did during this movie.) Here’s a live version of Sinéad, or you can click above for just the song:
My previous Morning Songs have been “Home” by Edward Sharpe (posted earlier), and Lady Gaga’s new “Bad Romance” (which I trust you’ve already heard). But I’ve been trouble sleeping lately, and “Nothing Compares” is just a nice way to ease into the day.
What’s your Morning Song?
Stupak, single-issue segmentation, or solidarity
Posted by Lil Miss Hot Mess on December 3, 2009
- Categories: politics
- 3 Comments
As usual, I’m frustrated. I’m frustrated by the state of politics and equally frustrated by the state of activism. I just read two articles on the Stupak amendment and the state of the feminist movement, and they both have me a little irked. They’re both worth reading, but raise frustrating questions about the current state of affairs.
The first was a pretty decent piece by Barbara Ehrenreich, published at Salon: “Slap on a pink ribbon, call it a day.” In it, she looks at the culture around the pink-ribbon Breast Cancer “Awareness” movement, specifically how it seems to forgo science in favor of the medical industry, and how it dilutes a potentially broader movement for women’s health, including affordable healthcare and access to abortion. She writes: “When the House of Representatives passed the Stupak amendment, which would take abortion rights away even from women who have private insurance, the female response ranged from muted to inaudible.”
And here’s a passage I find particularly compelling:
It’s not just that abortion is deemed a morally trickier issue than mammography. To some extent, pink-ribbon culture has replaced feminism as a focus of female identity and solidarity. When a corporation wants to signal that it’s “woman friendly,” what does it do? It stamps a pink ribbon on its widget and proclaims that some miniscule portion of the profits will go to breast cancer research…
While we used to march in protest against sexist laws and practices, now we race or walk “for the cure.” And while we once sought full “consciousness” of all that oppresses us, now we’re content to achieve “awareness…”
An on-point and concise, if not earth-shattering, analysis. Her own experience with cancer, though, definitely lends depth. And her suggestion that this new movement may actually support the medical industry — possibly even to the detriment of women’s health — is heartbreaking.
“You didn’t put it there…”
Posted by Lil Miss Hot Mess on December 2, 2009
- Categories: words of wisdom| wow!
- 2 Comments
“…But you have no choice but to respond. We have to make do with what we’re given.”
(wise words from Bobby)
Honey, if you don't trust me,
then I don't trust your taste.
Be My Friend!
