Year of Magical Thinking.

Wow this has taken me a lot longer than I thought. Apologies again.

I wanted to use a title from on of my favorite books for the next mixcd I made. If you haven't read it "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion is amazing. She is one of my favorite writers of all time. She writes with such placid, matter of fact, honesty that you feel so detached from her narrative. But this is how Didion pulls you in.

While the book is about grief, the title is such a contrast to the death she experiences. Like Kurt
s "Everything is Beautiful But Nothing Hurts" mantra there is a sadness to this way of thinking. Circa wikipedia (such a reliable source. I kid) the title refers to thinking "that if a person hopes for something enough or performs the right actions that an unavoidable event can be averted". I tend to agree with this analysis, especially as I continue to comes to terms with my own grief, the beginning of a quarter-life crisis, and yadda yadda yadda.



Despite all my complaints about my current situation, I tend to hold on to an optimism that even the worst of days cannot shake. I mean hell, I'm young, funny, a stones throw away from an amazing city with a strong future ahead of me. I can't complain all the time. Not all the time anyway.



So when making this Cd, all I could come back to was "The Year of Magical Thinking" for myself and for her. This person sent me an amazing MixCd last year and has been a strong support system. I am still listening to that Bon Iver song more times than I would like to admit and your commitment to writing has inspired my own ventures.



The track list that I ended up sending was a lot different than the one I initially made. I had troubles coming up with a cohesive sound. At times I felt as if the songs were too light, too heavy, didn't have a strong mix of contemplative and upbeat sounds. I went through several blank Cd's because the perfectionist in me struggled to fully get the "year of magical think' mix to sound like a year of magical thinking mix.



After adding some songs, deleting others and rearranging the track list like crazy I am more than pleased with the "Year Of Magical Thinking" collection. The songs are meant to be a mix of upbeat, apprehensive, low and restorative sounds. Because any path to happiness is often paved with a few setbacks.



My continued year of magical thinking has it's low moments but the strength in knowing that everything will work out has been all the strength I need. And for some reason I wanted to share this same sentiment with her:





The Year Of Magical Thinking:



1. Higher Than The Stars- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

2. A World Apart - Vedera

3. While We're Young- Department of Eagles

4. Fader- Temper Trap

5. This is Twice Now- Lydia

6. Place to Belong- Little Dragon

7. Walk In The Park - Beach House

8. Fall Hard-Shout Out Louds

9. Misplaced- Acorn

10. The Ghost Inside- Broken Bells

11. Solid Ground- Maps & Atlases

12. Sort of Revolution- Fink

13. Mouthful of Diamonds- Phantogram

14. Falling Out of Trees- Barcelona

15. Just a Boy- Angus & Julia Stone

16. Little Lovin'- Lissie

17. Big Girl, Little Girl- Sia

18. Stay the Same- Bonobo



I added a Beach House song to all of the tracklist because seriously the band is amazing and everyone needs to check them out. Walk the Park is one of my favorite tracks by them and I suggest everyone listen to the whole album. I can send out copies if needed. But Misplace by Acorn, Sort of Revolution by Fink, and Stay the Same by Bonobo are stellar tracks as well. They have all calmed me in some way or other.



This mix is the edgiest of them all. Based on the tracklist I recieved last year from her I knew that I could add a Phantogram and Lydia without embarassment. Often times I am embarassed by the songs I listen to because they can be weird as hell sometimes. But a Little Dragon here or there never hurt anyone and they are a fun band.



I hope that this mix is a nice chill mix of suprises and of course magic. Though getting to the final product was difficult I am in love with the results. I hope you are too.



Becks.