I loved making mixtapes when I was a teen. I'd find out how long the tape actually was (it never quite matched what it said on the package) and time each song I wanted to use so I would fill up the most space, and then I'd time how much space to put between the songs... all so there'd only be a little silence at the end of each side before it flipped. I'm not sure how I got this way. But I took a lot of pride in my work.
So it's become a tradition of mine, these days, to put together a Spotify playlist for a couple of friends on Christmases and birthdays, and I love putting just as much effort into their cover images as I do with the song choices. This one, obviously, is a Christmas mix.
Another Christmas mix, less obviously. A little tribute to the old Oregon Trail game, in which we used to delight in making things as hard for our travelers as possible. It also, in this case, seemed a fitting summation of the year most of us had.
You wouldn't think it to look at it, necessarily, but this combining six or seven images, and probably a dozen adjustment layers, to boot.
"All I want is my fair share." When I was a kid, I think the Peanuts Christmas special may have been my least favorite in the regular rotation. Now it's possibly the only one that speaks to me.
(Record scratch) Yep, that's me. And I would kill to have a coat this rad right now.
We're just normal men... We're just innocent men.
We hear the wilderness, and it hears us.
I suppose there is, really. But it sounds cool.