Joshua's weblog

I have spent much of this year in ways that are very different than I have in the past. One thing that hasn't changed, though, is that I have spent a good bit of time listening to music. Where I do it has changed -- walking, rather than cycling; at home, rather than at the club. But either way, it has remained constant that bits and pieces of what I listen to have lodged themselves in me.

Over the past few years, I have found myself more aware of the projections that people around me cast on me -- and, occasionally, if I am so lucky, of the projections that I cast on them. I have a mixed relationship with these projections: they often reveal things about me or others that I wouldn't have had access to otherwise, but on the other hand, I sometimes find myself frustrated that what is projected onto me can be so bright as to temporarily blind the reality of who I am.

In each of these yearly mixes, I get to do more of the enjoyment of projecting -- in both directions. Whatever I hear in this mix is probably not entirely what the artists of each song wrote; what I hear reflects me, too. And whatever you hear in this might or might not reflect the moments that made up my year. All three of us -- the original artists, me, and you -- get to be in it together, though, whether we like it or not. With some luck, we'll each find something new in ourselves, and maybe even in each other.

Please find attached the soundtrack to my 2024.

It's the end of 2022, and we're here. Wait a second... where is here, anyway? We all made it together into this Great Time of Finding Out, and we are in it together as we watch to see what happens. I feel like every year it's hard to know what's next, but this year it feels extra hard to know what's next. Do we have to know? We are going somewhere, anyway, I suppose; here's an hour of music from along the way.

Please find attached the soundtrack to my 2022.

2020 has been a year that seems unlike any other that I can remember, along so many different axes. I have to imagine that I'm not the only one who feels that way, either; for me, at least, it seemed like everything kept changing at every instant, and nothing remained consistent at all, even from week to week. The feelings associated with each of these moments were constantly morphing, too; as a result, so was the music I listened to. Last year, I worried about whether the mix was too "dark"; well, could anyone be blamed for that, this year? I decided not to concern myself with what it looked like this time, and just go through the list of things that resonated with me.

Please find attached the soundtrack to my 2020.

This compilation is the first of what I hope to be a series of "Joshua's picks from the year". Some of these tracks did not come out this year, and some of them did not even come out recently; the important thing about them is that I discovered them this year! In this CD-length mix, my goal is that everybody who listens should pick up something new that they didn't know that they loved, and many should also find a track that they really quite dislike: if everybody loves everything, then I'm not being pushing my listeners out of their comfort zone enough, and if everybody hates everything, then I'm not giving anybody a reason to listen.

In this compilation, I've mixed together a range of music from a variety of genres, feelings, and tones. 2018 was a year full of so much, and I hope that in here I could present some of the gamut that it spanned. Please join with me, then, in the soundtrack to my 2018.