EPISODE 142 | THE MIX TAPE RADIO SHOW
I was contemplating whether or not I should even do a weekly mix tape this week. Not because I am naive enough to think that I have a big enough platform where it really matters what I do on my little blog, but more because the vital Black Lives Matter movement happening in America right now (and starting sparks around the world), a movement which is about so much more than just fighting back against the horrific systemic racism/fascism that sometimes gets captured on camera, it feels like the movement is at a new height of momentum & strength and posting/thinking/sharing about anything else on social media only seems to take fuel away from a fire that is important to keep burning strong.
But, since I work through a lot of my thoughts and emotions by listening to music & putting together mixes/playlists that help empty a bit of my headspace, I’ve been spending most of my headphone time this week listening to a lot more black voices than my folky/americana white dude tendencies tend to reach for, and I feel like I ended up with a mix tape that doesn’t distract from this important moment.
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MTR - EPISODE 142
{a ‘BLM-inspired’ episode}So press play on the player above or jump over to Mixcloud to listen AND make sure to have a browse thru the listenable/clickable track listing below — odds are pretty good that there’ll be a track/artist or two that your ears are gonna want to spend more time with + 5 of the 8 tracks featured below are available on Bandcamp & on this Friday, June 5th Bandcamp is doing another day where they drop their revenue share and giving 100% of all sales to the artists/labels directly (and on June 19th Bandcamp will be donating 100% of their revenue share to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund + a whole bunch of artists/labels are currently donating portions of their album sales for BLM-related causes).
The Shuffle Up’d Eight // EPS 142
If you find yourself enjoying any of the above, there are some pretty decent odds that following HI54LOFI out on the internets would not be the worst use of one of your internet clicks today (I tend to share things like the above on the regular-ish… so maybe we operate on similar wavelengths?)…
…and if you’re not sure about ways that you can help / get involved with the Black Lives Matter movement, wherever you are in the world and whatever your current situation/capabilities are, I’ve found this ‘Ways You Can Help’ card to be the best one spot stop for a collection of trusted links/information.