Jumpin' At The Woodside

Music for a chilly winter's evening with 22 tracks spanning 69 years from 1953 to 2022, and touches every decade in between. This year's winter eve mix opens with a brief crackling fire sound effect into a cool-smooth track by Tom Misch from 2018, but a new discovery for me. Not sure what took so long. There are some new and old surprises in the mix.  I included "Junior's Farm" by Wings with its inclusion in the Natasha Lyonne series "Poker Face" on Peacock. There's also a nod to the movie "Groundhog Day" near the end with a Rachmaninoff intro to Joe Alterman's "Kelly's Blues" followed up by the film's closing song "Almost Like Being In Love" by Nat King Cole. It Runs Through Me (feat. De La Soul) - Tom Misch (2018) Change - The Revivalists (2018) Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones (1969) Hear My Dear - Tedeschi Trucks Band (2022) You Ain't Goin' Nowhere - Counting Crows (2012) in the wake of your l...

The first Christmas mix I created was over 20 years ago, and was a collection of classic holiday tunes that I've loved over the years. I initially got the idea of putting the songs together while selecting music to go with my family's old home movies that I had transferred to video. They were shot on 8mm with no sound and many of them were from various Christmases in the 1970s. It seemed natural to add some music to go with them. I actually thought I may not make another Christmas mix, because the first one contained what I felt were the ultimate Christmas songs. I arranged the songs from old to more recent, much the same way I placed the home movies on video. In 2004, I added a couple tracks, but the majority of the first mix remained the same. Later when I digitized some of my great grandfather's paintings, many of them winter scenes, it seemed like a perfect fit to use them as cover images and also honor the memory of my great grandfather. For each of the follow-up Woo...

This new Christmas mix features 25 tracks spanning 66 years from 1956 to 2022. There are classics new and old, along with a few non-traditional tunes, that have the Christmas spirit and/or were included in holiday movies. I’ll Be Home for Christmas (feat. Ellis Marsalis & Plas Johnson) - The Count Basie Orchestra (2015) Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season - Andy Williams (1963) Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town - Ray Charles (1985) God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Ramsey Lewis Trio (1961) Christmas Calling (Jolly Jones) - Norah Jones (2021) White Christmas - Ella Fitzgerald (1960) Sleigh Ride - Diana Krall & The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (2005) I Believe - Frank Sinatra (1958) Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (feat. Kenny G) - Dave Koz (2014) What Christmas Means to Me - Joss Stone (2022) Right Back Where We Started From - Maxine Nightingale (1976) The Christmas Sweater - Michael Bublé (2011) Hometown Christmas - Switchfoot, NEEDTOBREATHE & JUDAH. (2021) Christmas Mu...

Autumn Sunset II is a collection of songs in celebration of love and remembrance... a heaping serving of aural "comfort food" as cooler weather arrives, leaves are falling, and amber skies drift into evening. The mix features 25 tracks spanning 67 years from 1955 to 2022. Lay It on Me (Live) - Gabe Dixon (2022) Where Or When (Live) - Frank Sinatra (1966) Find Yourself - Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real (2017) Fire and Rain - Bobby Womack (1971) Lost in My Mind - The Head and the Heart (2011) Shy - Emmaline (2019) I Could Write a Book - Dinah Washington (1955) Darkness and Light (feat. Brittany Howard) - John Legend (2016) Little Wing - Jimi Hendrix (1967) Beg Steal or Borrow (Live) - Ray LaMontagne & the Pariah Dogs (2010) Bennie and the Jets - Elton John (1973) You Go Down Smooth - Lake Street Dive (2014) More Today Than Yesterday - The Spiral Starecase (1969) Soul Sweet Song - Tedeschi Trucks Band (2022) Tennessee Whiskey - Chris Stapleton (2015) Never Been To Sp...

For the first time in almost 20 years, I added a new volume to my Halloween mixes. The new Halloween Mix 3 includes 34 tracks and spans 71 years from 1950 to 2021. What became  Halloween Mix 1 and Mix 2 was initially created in 1999. The mix went through various incarnations before coming together in two parts in 2006 , and posted to Mixcloud about 10 years ago. As many of my mixes do, this new mix starts slow and builds to a finale, followed by a few wind-down songs. These mixes take a little time to put together, to say the least, as there aren't that many "Halloween songs" released in a given year. But, I've found there are a lot more when you place certain songs in the right context. That being said, this mix has some spooky movie/TV clips and sound effects thrown in, and some tricks and treats. I'm actually surprised the mix came out with this many tracks. There are certainly songs out there I haven't used yet, but just didn't fit in for one reaso...

Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO, in 2008 -  Dave Matthews Band w/ The Black Crowes. UPDATED - Sept. 29, 2025 I've been doing some extensive research lately, compiling all the concerts and music artists I've seen since over my lifetime. Maybe a little nutty, but what a long, great trip it's been. So many amazing memories, I should really do some in-depth posts about the times and places, but for now just wanted to get the entire history together and sorted all in one place. I'm actually thinking of building a web app/site to do this that's better than what's out there, if even for myself. What's funny is the memories I've run across. I also found that social media is good for helping track down and determine certain event dates in my timeline, or to rule out a date because I was out of town or doing something else. This will be great if I ever go back in time and need to find myself, I'll know exactly where I was and when 🙂 I've compiled these so f...

Hoping to spread some joyful noise In a world that's seemingly upside down and spinning in all directions for the worse. This year's summer mix spans 65 years with 27 tracks from 1957 to 2022, and touches every decade in between. No theme again this year, but this year's mix feels like a part II or B-side to last year's mix. Lots of classic tunes, new and old as usual; but a bit more laidback than last year, and at the same time shares a similar groove and some of the same artists. The opening and closing includes a snippet of Maxwell's "The Urban Theme" instrumental. This is the first time I've ever repeated a track from a previous summer mix, not bad for the last 17 years or so. I couldn't help it, the Soul Survivors' "Expressway to Your Heart" fit so perfectly as a follow-up/answer back to Joss Stone's "Don't Cha Wanna Ride," I couldn't pass it up. I previously used "Expressway to Your Heart" in my ...