The Best Songs for Your Halloween Dance Party Spooktacular

October is here, and for anyone with a bit of a penchant for the macabre, that means it’s time to celebrate Halloween. This global celebration that honors the dead has its roots in other seasonal festivals like Samhain (pronounced sah-win) and Día de Los Muertos, which mark the end (or “death”) of the warm harvest…

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Loud Drums and Gritty Guitars

(Press play to listen listen on Spotify.) This playlist is predominantly chasing a vibe that I got obsessed with recently in the song “Plastic Skeletons” by Jealous of the Birds. They’re building off of a sound that was finely cultivated in the early 2000s as a more tightly-controlled version of what alt rock was working…

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Upbeat Songs to Keep You Going

(Press play to listen listen on Spotify.) Last month, I shared a mix of some of my favorite protest music in honor of George Floyd. We’re into July now and the resistance continues in full force. June’s Pride marches highlighted intersectional oppression (in New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, and elsewhere). More and more projects…

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Fight the Power: Protest Music to Honor George Floyd

(Press play to listen on Spotify.) The violence done to people of color on a daily basis in the United States of America is horrific and unacceptable. The murder of George Floyd at the hands of police is just one of the most recent expressions of the racist brutality that law enforcement exerts against black…

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Work From Home Music

This is a playlist for working from home. It’s music for the front line workers, those building on the assembly line, delivering packages to our doors, repairing our utilities, healthcare providers on break. It’s a playlist for getting the laundry done. It’s background music for all the conversations we get to have with friends and…

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24 Relaxing Acoustic Guitar Songs

Sometimes it’s important to chill. Many of the playlists on The Next Mix have been something for people to dance to. Something to keep joy and movement alive through these long dark nights. This mix is a little different—something to wake up with slowly in the morning, something to meditate with, something for staying home…

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Dance Music To Take You Back in Time

Shakira and J.Lo performed at the Super Bowl halftime show. Mulan is coming out in March, quickly followed by The Secret Garden. Time is truly a flat circle. And everything comes back around. This playlist is a mix of things from the past year, and from a few years ago, and songs about songs from…

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The Origins of Psychedelic Rock

Press play to listen while you read along. Psychedelic Rock is a genre of music whose origins lie in the early 1960’s. This music became the soundtrack for the hippie counterculture and went on to influence punk rock, metal, and alternative rock music as we know it today. This article and accompanying playlist is an…

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A Playlist for the Winter Solstice

Press play to listen while you read along. Some people believe in God. Others don’t. Some people share ritual practice in community. Others find meaning in individual contemplation. But all of us experience the passage of time. In the northern hemisphere, at this time of year, we’re welcoming shorter, colder days. We acknowledged our ancestors…

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Folkstep: Folk Music You Can Rock Out To

Press play to listen while you read along. A new genre of American folk music emerged in the last couple of decades. It draws on the work of many artists, but no one band can claim credit for its invention. Basically: It’s folk music with a beat that you can rock out to. For lack…

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