Mixtape Madness: Share Your Song Suggestions
It’s that time again.
Despite everything going on in the world, some things remain. The annual blog share of song suggestions for an old school mixtape gift is one of them.
Since 2004 I’ve made my mom and sister two mixtapes for Christmas, a Phenomenal Woman Mix featuring all female artists (power ballads and dance worthy, feel good tunes) and a Cafe Mix featuring easy listening jams.
For years I’ve asked for your help. Your song suggestions help me find the most diverse mix of artists and songs, as well as some truly awesome music videos, albums, and songs to play on repeat.
Why might this be the most fun year to collab on a mixtape? I don’t about y’all, but music has been one of the biggest mood lifters for me during this pandemic. Life is stressful. Why not dance some of it out, after all no one is watching if you’re really isolating. *thumbs up*
So I hope you’ll comment below and share with me your favorite song suggestions. Who are the artists you’ve discovered this year? What songs are you playing on repeat right now? What’s your fave song ever? The tune that no matter where you are when you hear it, you have to dance?
Tell me your suggestions for the 2020 Phenomenal Women and Cafe Mixes. As a bonus, I’ll draw TWO LUCKY WINNERS from everyone who comments who will win a copy of the mix cd’s for themselves. Winners and playlists announced in January.
To get started, here are a few songs that made the 2019 lists.
Phenomenal Woman Mix
Call on Me ~ Starley
Stay High ~ Brittany Howard
The Storm ~ ZZ Ward
Came Here for Love ~ Sigala & Ella Eyre
Cafe Mix
My Own Fault ~ Manny Walters
The Weary Kind ~ Ryan Bingham
Lost in the Light ~ Bahamas
Your Somebody Else ~ Flora Cash
Send in those song suggestions! Put on a playlist, share your thumbs up’s with me. Or, for more inspiration, here’s the full 2019 and 2018 lists.
Thank you for your suggestions. Thank you for your good energy. Thank you for dancing along with me and helping spread a little joy, which coincidentally, is my mama’s name. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
You Can Dance If You Want To: New Playlists and Giveaway Winners Announced
With 75 song suggestions from y’all, plus the rabbit holes I fell into while checking out new and old artists – so many rabbit holes – I present to you the 2019 Mix Tapes’ songs and artists that made the final cut.
I have a lot of fun checking out all the artists you recommend and I wouldn’t have the diversity of artists and styles without your help. So first and foremost, THANK YOU for creating this project with me.
Here are the 2019 playlists:
Phenomenal Woman Mix
- Home ~ Ella Eyre
- Call on Me ~ Starley
- Oh Heart ~ Tank and the Bangas
- You Have Been Loved ~ Sia
- Forever Young ~ Audra Mae and the Forest Rangers
- Helpless ~ The Regrettes
- Dream of You ~ Camila Cabello
- When I Wasn’t Watching ~ Mandy Moore
- Marry Me ~ Mahalia
- Stay High ~ Brittany Howard
- That Would Be Enough ~ Alicia Keyes
- Sorry ~ Mali-Koa
- The Storm ~ ZZ Ward
- American Pie ~ Shea Diamond
- Evergreen ~ Yebba
- To Rise You Gotta Fall ~ Nicki Bluhm
- Crowded Table ~ The Highwomen
- Came Here for Love ~ Sigala and Ella Eyre
- Cold War ~ Kiah Victoria
- Amen ~ Andra Day
Cafe Mix
- Shine Your Weary Light ~ Cris Jacobs
- Somewhere in My Heart ~ Aztec Camera
- My Own Fault ~ Manny Walters
- Another Story ~ The Head and the Heart
- The Weary Kind ~ Ryan Bingham
- Goodbye ~ The Sweeplings
- Clay Pigeons ~ Blaze Foley
- If I Go, I’m Goin ~ Gregory Alan Isakov
- Lost in the Light ~ Bahamas
- Waiting Here ~ Jake Isaac
- The Whole of the Moon ~ The Waterboys
- In a River ~ Rostam
- Bag of Bones ~ ZZ Ward
- All on My Mind ~ Anderson East
- I Am Easy to Find ~ The National
- You’re Somebody Else ~ Flora Cash
- Lisbon Love ~ Cameron Douglas
- The Tale of You and Me ~ Wild Child
Congrats to pals Darla, Mark, Eric, Tara, Peyton, August, Andy, Jessica, and Maggie who all had songs or artists selected for the final lists! And everyone who shared a suggestion gets a chance to win the playlists – TWO lucky winners selected!
*drum roll please*
This year’s winners are Lisa David Olson and Tara Eilers! Thank you for your song suggestions! May these new tunes continue to help you JAM ON!
Turn Up the Volume: New Playlists Revealed
A new year brings with it new playlists! With over 70 recommendations from you all, these are some of my favorite mix tape songs yet!
While not every song shared can make it onto the mix lists, I enjoyed checking out all the artists and songs you suggested, and I downloaded many to my own library for further listening.
Here are the songs that made it on the 2018 Phenomenal Woman and Cafe Mixes!
Phenomenal Woman Mix
1. Falling Water ~ Maggie Rogers
2. Pegasi ~ Jesca Hoop
3. Good Thing Gone ~ Elle King
4. Shine On ~ May Erlewine
5. Hearts Beat Loud ~ Keegan DeWitt & Kiersey Clemons
6. Only Love Can Hurt Like This ~ Paloma Faith
7. Don’t Wait ~ Maipei
8. Great One ~ Jessie Reyez
9. Light On ~ Maggie Rogers
10. Dream ~ Bishop Briggs
11. Armor ~ Sara Bareilles
12. Always Remember Us This Way ~ Lady Gaga
13. She’s Got You ~ Rhiannon Giddens
14. Best Years of My Life ~ Pistol Annies
15. Space Cowboy ~ Kasey Musgraves
16. Boy Band Hero ~ Emily Kinney
17. Shadow on the Wall ~ Ruby Amanfu
18. Something American ~ Jade Bird
19. Yours ~ Ella Henderson
20. Velodrome ~ Dessa
Cafe Mix
1. Fine ~ Noah Kahan
2. Blue Ridge Mountains ~ Larkin Poe
3. Two Blue Eyes ~ Tall Heights
4. Famous ~ Serena Ryder
5. Heart of Somebody ~ Caroline Spence
6. Kings & Queens ~ Mat Kearney
7. Slow Burn ~ Kasey Musgraves
8. Us ~ James Bay
9. Hurt Somebody ~ Noah Kahan & Julia Michaels
10. Roll the Bones ~ Shakey Graves
11. Say Love ~ James TW
12. Beyond ~ Leon Bridges
13. If I Say ~ Mumford & Sons
14. Leave a Light On ~ Humbird
15. Telluride ~ The Lone Bellow
16. Stranger ~ Sawyer Fredericks
17. The Gold ~ Manchester Orchestra
18. Everytime I Hear That Song ~ Brandi Carlile
19. Unraveling ~ Frances Cone
20. Your Water ~ Parker Millsap & Sarah Jarosz
***
Now, without further ado, the winners of the mix tapes themselves, and with great gratitude for their suggestions as I used some from each of them, the 2018 mix tape collections go to Darla from She’s a Maineiac and Mark from Swinged Cat!
Until next time, keep dancing, friends!
And feel free to share more of your favorite songs below
as the search for this year’s fave tunes begins NOW!
Phenomenal Woman Mix Revealed and Winners Announced!
Hey fellow songsters!
Thank you all so much for the many music suggestions for the phenomenal woman and cafe mix cds this season! You fantastic people gave me 58 songs to check out!
I had a literal dance party listening to all the tunes you shared.
So it’s time to reveal the final playlists aaaaaand the cd winners!!
Check em out! Did your favorite bands and musicians make the cut?
***
Congratulations to this year’s winners of the mix cds –
Amy Kennedy Fosseen and Julie Glover!!!
Happy jamming, ladies!
***
Phenomenal Woman Mix
1. Little Red Wagon – Audra Mae and the Almighty Sound
2. Wherever is Your Heart – Brandi Carlile
3. Flashlight – Jessie J
4. Dangerous Days – Zola Jesus
5. Burning House – Cam
6. Alive – Sia
7. Night Like This – LP
8. Wildest Dreams – Taylor Swift
9. Lights and Camera – Yuna
10. Glow – Ella Henderson
11. Sound of a Woman – Kiesza
12. Hold Me Down – Halsey
13. Ex’s & Oh’s – Elle King
14. Love Myself – Hailee Steinfeld
15. She’s Not Me – Jenny Lewis
16. A Change is Gonna Come – Leela Jones
17. Water Under the Bridge – Adele
18. Get Up, Get On – Jill Andrews
19. Buffalo Stars – Leila Broussard
20. Stay Gold – First Aid Kit
***
Cafe’ Mix
1. Make This Leap – The Hunts
2. Diamonds – Johnnyswim
3. Riptide – Jasmine Thompson
4. Empress – Morningsiders
5. Hold Each Other – A Great Big World
6. Accustomed to the Dark – Theresa Andersson
7. America – First Aid Kit
8. San Andreas Faultline – Sugarcane Jane
9. The Heartache Can Wait – Brandi Carlile
10. Slow Motion – Phox
11. Sinner – Jeremy Loops
12. The Crossing – Meg Hutchinson
13. The Fairest of the Seasons – Anna Nalick
14. Let No Grief – The Wild Reeds
15. Shadowplay – The Saint Johns
16. Rox in the Box – The Decemberists
17. It’s Only Me – Dessa
18. Emmylou – First Aid Kit
19. Ends of the Earth – Lord Huron
20. Gulf Coast Highway – Red Molly
21. Acid Tongue – Jenny Lewis
***
Find any new favorites?
What are you listening to now?
The Ultimate Mix CD Revealed + Giveaway Winners
I thought it was time I revealed the master playlists from the Phenomenal Woman and Cafe Mixes. Every year I create 2 mix cds as gifts for my mom and sister – a phenomenal woman mix full of upbeat dance tunes, and a cafe mix for relaxing at home. I’ve enlisted help from the blogosphere for the past several years in finding just the right tunes to add and I hosted a giveaway for those that shared ideas.
Thank you all so much for sharing your musical suggestions with me. To see all the recommendations, check out The Ultimate Mix CD Project.
Here are the winning contenders!
Phenomenal Woman Mix:
1. Shake It Off by Taylor Swift
2. Hideaway by Kiesza
3. Mother and Father by Broods
4. His Gorgeousness by The Shoe
5. Tough Love by Jessie Ware
6. Ghost by Ella Henderson
7. My Silver Lining by First Aid Kit
8. The Chain by Brandi Carlile
9. Knots by Lisa Hannigan
10. Gun by CHVRCHES
11. Coffee by Sylvan Esso
12. Wings by Birdy
13. Safe & Sound by Savannah Berry
14. Pompeii by Jasmine Thompson
15. Wolf by First Aid Kit
16. Last Bus Out by Jillette Johnson
17. Spectrum by Florence + the Machine
18. Beating Heart by Ellie Goulding
19. Higher by Lia Ices
20. Rockstar by Emily Kinney
21. Enough by The Mrs.
*****
Cafe Mix:
1. Paper Cup by The Shoe
2. Long Way Off by Gungor
3. Fare Thee Well by Oscar Isaac and Marcus Mumford
4. Kids by Emily Kinney
5. Stay With Me by Bernhoft
6. Michigan by The Milk Carton Kids
7. Li’l Red Riding Hood by Laura Gibson
8. Just Another Day by Stacey Earle
9. I See Fire by Ed Sheeran
10. Come Out Wherever You Are by Paul Cook & The Chronicles
11. Like a Dream by Francis and the Lights
12. Woodstock by Joni Mitchell
13. Somebody That I Used to Know by Madilyn Bailey & Jake Coco
14. Mull of Kintyre by Wings
15. Be Not So Fearful by A.C. Newman
16. Shadow on the Wall by Brandi Carlile
17. Poison & Wine by The Civil Wars
18. 18th of December by The Deep Dark Woods
19. You and Me by You + Me
20. Go To Sleep by The Avett Brothers
*****
There are the ultimate playlists! Happy listening.
And the winners of the cd giveaway are…
Lauralynn Elliott and Susan Dahlstrom
Congrats ladies!
***
What were your favorite tunes of the past year?
Find any new favorites from these playlists?
The Ultimate Mix CD Release Party
How was everyone’s Christmas?
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday filled with love and laughter! I’ve got more goodies coming your way!
Today’s the day I get to announce the playlists for the Phenomenal Woman and Cafe’ Mixes!
The three lucky winners of these mixes (and a bonus Dudes’ Mix cd) are:
Misty Laws, Ginger Calem, and Emma Meade!
Congratulations Ladies!!!
Out of 73 song recommendations from YOU, plus what I found trolling around on I-Tunes, behold…
The Phenomenal Woman Mix
1. Hard Way Home by Brandi Carlile
2. Torpedo by Jillette Johnson
3. From Where I’m Standing by Schuyler Fisk
4. Circle of the Sun by Serena Ryder
5. Supermarket by Leddra Chapman
6. Unconditionally by Katy Perry
7. This is What Makes Us Girls by Lana Del Rey
8. With Love by Christina Grimmie
9. My Kind of Love by Tessanne Chin
10. Every Mile of the Ride by Lindi Ortega
11. Cannonball by Lea Michele
12. Neon Lights by Natasha Bedingfield
13. Mary Go Round by Serena Ryder
14. Burn by Ellie Goulding
15. Closer by Tegan and Sara
16. What Now by Rihanna
17. Loved Me Back to Life by Celine Dion
18. The House of the Rising Sun by Jacquie Lee
19. Love Me Right! by the Swag Geeks
20. 365 Days by ZZ Ward
21. The Race by Caroline Pennell
*****
The Cafe’ Mix
1. Heart Beats by Johnnyswim
2. Radioactive by Pentatonix & Lindsey Stirling
3. My Blood by Ellie Goulding
4. People Help the People by Birdy
5. The One That Got Away by The Civil Wars
6. Basset Hound by Jillette Johnson
7. I Will Fall by the Nashville Cast
8. Beneath Your Beautiful by Labrinth & Emeli Sande
9. Everyday by Rogue Wave
10. Heart’s Content by Brandi Carlile
11. It’s Too Late by Wild Belle
12. Summer Wine by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood
13. Castin’ My Spell by Johnny Otis
14. Let it Go by Idina Menzel
15. Say Something by A Great Big World w/ Christina Aguilera
16. Please, Baby Please by Serena Ryder
17. Babylon by Nina Nesbitt
18. Ho Hey by the Nashville Cast
19. Skinny Love by Birdy
20. Give Me Love by Alex & Sierra
21. All I Want is You by Tristan Prettyman
*****
Happy listening! And a Happy New Year!
Announcing the 2013 TBR Pile Challenge and other ROW News
(amazon.com)
Hey ROW80 friends! I hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving! Mine was short but sweet since my parents came up for the holiday and spent it with my honey’s family. Everyone hit it off splendidly and I was happy to have a bit of home before starting my midnight shift for Black Friday. I did an 11 hour shift that day and worked through the weekend, which equaled about 7 days in a row. Today was my first day off, and I admit it, I didn’t write on my novel. I had a Downton Abbey marathon. It felt good to be a bum for a day. Real good.
But…exciting things are happening!
ROWmodel Awards are back!
ROWmodel of the week goes to Jessica Fritsche and her post, Know When To Fold Em. After struggling with her WIP finding hole after hole, she set it aside to go back to a different project and is a busy writer bee using this new project for her NaNo novel. She cracked out 4,000 words in one day and sounds like she’ll keep going strong! Go Jessica, we’re all rooting for you!
Honorary ROWmodel of the week also goes to Myndi Shafer for Making It Happen: Work How You Can, When You Can. You’ll never guess where Myndi sometimes goes to get her writing done. This girl’s got gumption; and she’s using it to make her dreams come true!
The 2013 TBR Pile Challenge has kicked off!
So exciting!!!! Adam at Roof Beam Reader has launched the 2013 To Be Read Pile Challenge! Haven’t participated before? You must! I love it! The challenge, should you choose to accept it, involves picking 10 books (plus 2 alternates) off your bookshelf that have been sitting there for at least a year. Books with a publication date of 12/31/11 or before all qualify. You have the course of 2013 to read your 10 books and link back a review of the book along the way. Complete the challenge and you could win a $50 Amazon gift card! I’m working on my book list now!
What titles would be on your list?
A Reggae CD Giveaway!
Looking for some new jams? I’m hosting a music giveaway with Wisconsin Reggae band, TUGG, for a FREE copy of their full cd, Come Sunrise. All you need to do to enter is comment or tweet one of the interview posts I did with the lead singer, Andrew Hughes. Part 1 is about the changing music industry and Part 2 is about social media and the music business. Chime in! We’d love to hear your voice!
Last, but not least, The Redhots are back!
Tune in this Friday for another FIERY edition of The Redhots! Marcia Richards and I are back introducing you to two REDHOT ladies you’ll want to know on Twitter! Want a hint for who it’ll be?
- The first is going to tell you how to feng shui your house!
- And the other is the founder of the largest book club in the world!
Two Redheads. Two Opinions. Keeping it REDHOT.
Share with me, my pretties! How was your holiday? How is ROW80 going? What books are on your TBR list? Could you use a new reggae cd? And who do you think our Twitter guests will be?
E-Book Giveaway and Halloween Photo Contest!
This coming Friday is the October posting of The Redhots! News, reviews, and interviews brought to you by your favorite redheads, Marcia Richards and I!
We’re excited to bring you a surprise interview by a new indie author! And, he’s giving away not 1, not 2, but 6 prizes!!!
You could win one of the following:
- Grand prize will be an autographed print book by our indie author plus a Halloween Goody Bag.
- 5 bonus prizes of a Kindlegraphed ebook from the author
Curious how to enter?
1. There are three categories you can enter one time each:
- Costume – your best ever, be it scary, cute or funny
- Outdoor decorations – your scariest or most creative
- Party room decor – you can include your Halloween tablescape, your unique pumpkin carving, and your room decorations
2. Post your pictures, up to 3 only, at our Twitter hashtag: #TheRedHots between October 19th and October 30th. The winners will be announced on Halloween!
3. For extra chances to win, you can choose to do the following:
- “Like” Marcia’s and my Facebook pages
- Tweet about the contest three times between the 19th and the 30th linking to our posts
- Subscribe to our blogs
Get Creative!
Looking for ideas on what to submit? Halloween is my favorite holiday!
Here’s some pictures I took to get you in the mood!
Spooky graveyard scenes…
Spooky Halloween Decorations Inside…
Spooky Decorations Outside!
Orange and Black Themed Table Layouts
Costumes that go together! (Rocky and Bullwinkle!)
Costumes that DON’T! (Zombie Cop and Dolly Parton)
The possibilities are endless! So get started! I’ll be watching for you over at #TheRedHots. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
(Not on Twitter? Feel free to post the photos on my Facebook page! I want to see whatcha got!)
Round 4 of ROW80: It’s All About the Learning Lessons
This week begins Round 4 of ROW80, but it’s only the second round for me. I came into ROW80 as a sponsor, which was awesome because being a cheerleader for so many of you I met some amazing new faces and you guys are a talented and determined bunch!
Jess’ Quick ROW80 Promotion: Here’s my invitation to those of you who haven’t participated in ROW80 yet but are looking for a nice little kick in the pants to get hoppin’ on your goals with a phenomenal crew of people!
You can learn more about ROW80 at its blog by founder, Kait Nolan. ROW80 is the writing process that knows you have a life. Hallelujah!
Finding the Right Fit for You:
Round 3 for me started out successfully. I was fresh back from the DFW Conference and participated in a 2 week process called Fast Draft where I, hold on to your hats, actually PLOTTED a book. Not PANTSED, but PLOTTED. Once I knew how, it was liberating! I had somewhere to go when I hit writing walls.
But then life happened. I’ve been beating myself up a lot lately. I’m disappointed that all I’ve been able to accomplish is the upkeep of the blog. I haven’t worked on my book for a month. I’m going on two years of blogging this fall and am not feeling any closer to finishing my book.
Two weeks ago I was inspired by one of my ROW80 mates to carve out time each day and get writing done. It didn’t work out. My full time job is retail management at a leading department store, and we’re preparing for the holidays now, plus a regional visit with all the big wigs. I’m putting in extra hours and still feel like I’m drowning at work. It’s leaving me totally fried when I get home. When you add in the other “hiccups” of family troubles or scraps with your partner now and again, it starts to add up.
But hey, I don’t claim the title Perseverance Expert for nothing. I still want to work on my book. I’m still excited by its story and have an idea for a second book, which is a good thing – we’re supposed to have another book planned, right? So, I’ll keep writing. But a plan that writes a little each day doesn’t work for me. Even if it’s only a small amount of time. On days that I work 12-15 hours, I’m just too dang tired. And friends and family get crabby if I write instead of hang out with them. I do want to set some limits, which is why I’m keeping my days off. My few and very precious days off are my time to get a couple of hours of writing done for the week. It’s a slower process than I’d like, but for now, it’s the one that works and I have to focus on the positive.
What works for me, may not work for you. I think everyone needs to find the right plan for their process. It’s all about the learning lessons in ROW80. I’m very grateful to be a part of it and know I’ve got people on my side. I’m sure rooting for all of you! Hope this holiday season allows time for carving pumpkins and also a little writing time for each of you!
Good Moments Matter!
Wanted to share a happy thank you to my friend Vicky, a YA author who just landed herself an agent! Congrats, Vicky, and thank you for the Joules Journal giveaway. I got mine in the mail this week, all the way from the UK!, and it was a much needed smile after a long day! New pages always inspire the written word, so here goes!
And… you can have your very own fabulous writer’s prize this week by entering my book giveaway of Michael Perry’s newest release, Visiting Tom, by commenting here! Comments must be in by end of day Saturday! Good luck!
Have a fantastic week everyone!
Jess Witkins' Happiness Project 