Welcome to the Mixtape Corner

 
 

This is a cozy little section of the site dedicated to playlists.

While I’m still critical of Spotify and all that the streaming model entails, I am not immune to a good playlist. I guess when you spend all day listening to music (regardless of platform), your brain just automatically starts to categorize and sequence things in a way that makes sense.

I have around 600 playlists on Spotify, and if that sounds like a lot, you’re right! I don’t use them all, but they have each served a different role in my music fandom at one point or another. Some playlists are decade-spanning compendiums of an artist’s work organized chronologically; others are goofy jokes based on some superficial connective tissue. Some of these I listen to every week, others are an attempt to capture a specific time and place in my life. The point is that my Spotify sidebar is long and full of playlists, so I created this as a place where I can share some of my favorites and discuss them in short form.

 
 
 

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Mixtape #10 - Pokémo
Mixtape #10 - Pokémo

If I told you that there are dozens of emo songs that mention the Pokémon franchise, would you believe me? Because it’s true, and since 2019 I’ve been painstakingly collecting them in this playlist. I don’t know what it is about Pokémon that proves to be such a good pairing with inward lyrics and guitar tapping. Maybe it’s just a timing thing, after all, the franchise is so pervasive, it’s basically been unavoidable for the last 30-ish years. Maybe something about the obsessive collecting is a natural fit for people who would rather stay inside than go out and socialize, maybe the audience for each is primarily comprised of dork-ass nerds. Whatever the case, this playlist collects every midwest emo song I’ve heard that either mentions Pokémon directly in the lyrics or is simply titled after something in the game. Happy hunting.

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