I’ve been thinking a lot lately about love. How we fall into it, how we express it, how we fall out of it.

What if there is someone special in your life and you want to tell that person how you feel? You could say it with flowers.

You could say it with food:

You could say it in a card. But for me, I’d rather say it with music. Music hits the soul.

LOVE, LUST and even just a little bit of LIKE take us through a wide range of emotions. Those feelings are captured perfectly in a song.

It’s funny, I was thinking about this and then not long after I saw an interview Charlie Rose did with the utterly brilliant Lin-Manuel Miranda. Lin-Manuel was talking about his love of the Mixtape. As a side note, the fantastic Broadway hit, “Hamilton” started off as some what of a mixtape which has taken on a life of it’s own. Lin-Manuel told Charlie that he used to make and give all of the girls he liked Mixtapes. He carefully considered each and every song. As he reminded me, the genius of mixtapes is that you HAVE to play the songs in order. There is no skipping around, no “shuffling”. There is an arc to the songs. It starts out fun, free, hopeful, even. Then the 4th song. Well, the 4th song is KEY. It is the clincher. It says EVERYTHING. There should be an arc to the arrangement he said. A beginning, middle and end. I was so inspired I made one of my own. Ok, not on an actual tape, because they barely exist anymore!!!! I did however find a picture.

I made a virtual mixtape. It was fun, emotional and challenging. Amazing,  it was not hard to find just the right songs to capture the wide range of emotions you have when someone pops into your life. I hope  you enjoy and feel inspired to make your own and share with that special someone. As for me, maybe that “someone” will read and listen…….

Remember, play in order…..

Big Bad Handsome Man: Imelda May

“Fire Bug” JD McPherson

My Heart’s Like a Kick Drum: The Avett Brothers

Misty: Ella Fitzgerald

The Very Thought of You: Sara Vaughn

Wrong to Love You: Chris Isaak

You Go Down Smooth: Lake Street Dive

Sail Away: David Gray

Just What I Needed: The Cars

Don’t Make Me Dream About You: Chris Isaak

Another Story: The Head and The Heart

Little Lion Man: Mumford and Sons

I’m Sorry: Hothouse Flowers

No One Is To Blame: Howard Jones

So there you have it. You can say it with candy

But I think the sentiment gets straight to the heart with a SONG………

Go make your own mixtape and send me the list. I wanna listen……