12playlists-blog

[12playlists-blog]

A guest #12playlists post

A colleague of mine, Rupert Hodges, is putting himself out of his comfort zone to help others and he asked the #12playlists gang to help out. Here’s Rupert’s story...

“Life’s a challenge. But it is all relative.

Friday 13th March, 2015: Red Nose Day. I sat, in tears, watching people from the UK and across the world accept, struggle and overcome the challenges that are presented to them. I wondered what more I could do. And so, I decided to try and do 52 challenges in the next 12 months. Any money collected would go to charity.

So far, completed challenges have included:

·       Learn a little Hindi (“Mera naam Rupert hai!”)

·       Learn to do embroidery as part of a community project celebrating the Magna Carta.

·       Do the 5:2 diet and post the low cal. meal pictures on Instagram

·       Walk 150000 steps (about 115km) in 5 days.

·       Collect 30 books for local hospital library.

 Still to come:

·       write a blog post for #12playlists

·       swim in 5 London lidos in 5 days (when the weather warms up –thanks, Mum)

·       50 keepie-uppies

·       eat the snake from a bottle of Vietnamese snake wine –not sure about that one.

·       More to come…

 Any money raised goes to Comic Relief. www.justgiving.com/rupert52challenges

 So, Gemma Critchley set me the playlist challenge on the topic of …“Challenge”. It is a great theme, the reality and experience of really living. All the songs are personal favourites that connect to the strength required to recognize a challenge, overcome it and come out the other side. They might make you cry, smile and/or cheer!

Here’s the mix:

Jolene – Dolly Parton     –“And I could easily understand, how you could easily take my man, but you     don’t know what he means to me, Jolene” – what can you say? Hope, fight,     “Ultimate Country”.

A Boy named Sue –Johnny     Cash – “Some gal would giggle and I would get red, and some guy’d laugh     and I’d bust his head” – funny, desperate, “tough love”.

Winner Takes It All –     Abba  - this song means something entirely different to what I     thought when I was a teenager.

Papa Don’t Preach –     Madonna – “Papa don’t preach, I’ve been losing sleep” – classic pop.

Fighter – Christina     Aguilera “but in the end I wanna thank you, ‘cause you made me that much     stronger”

We Shall Overcome – Pete     Seeger – it can’t all be superficial pop.

Yes – Mcalmont &     Butler – “yes, I do feel better, yes I feel alright” – reclaiming solid     ground.

Nothings Gonna Stop Us     Now – Starship – “and we can build this dream together…”

Nessun Dorma – Puccini -     no idea what it is about, but can’t help but be uplifted by it.

We Are The Champions –     Queen – “no bed of roses… no pleasure cruise…I consider it a challenge     before the whole human race, and I ain’t gonna lose” – damaged by over     familiarity, but worth another listen.

Uprising – Muse –“they will     not control us, we will be victorious” 1of 3 anthems.

Eye of the Tiger –  Survivor – “just a man and his will to survive” ultimate soulful rock. No apologies.

Cheese! Enjoy.

Rupert

You can donate to Rupert’s Comic Relief #52challenges here.

[12playlists-blog]

#12playlists 12: FESTIVE

12 months in a year, 12 playlists in our mixtape challenge… Handy coincidence or conclusive evidence of that Christmas magic working its way into the hearts of mixtapers everywhere? Whatever you believe, we’re at the end of 2014’s #12playlists challenge. We’ll save the nostalgia for the December roundup, and crack on with setting the theme for our final mixtape of the year. Our final #12playlists mixtape theme is:

FESTIVE

For some people, December seems to take on a magical quality every year. Regardless of faith/religion; it’s hard to deny that people tend to seem a bit happier, kinder and more inclined to spread some cheer (or at least come to the pub). Glitter and lights are everywhere and there are excuses to spend more time with old friends and people you love. Also: presents. And cheese. Lots of cheese.

Conversely, this time of year can also be pretty divisive. Some people can’t stand Christmas or the festive season and the corporate rubbish and greed that comes with it. Some people choose to not observe it at all, whilst others just plain hate it.

Either way, whether you’re a bah humbug type or you get on the mince pies on 1st December, chances are that you have a musical connection to this holiday in some way.

So, December’s #12playlists mixtape challenge is thus: put together 12 songs that show how you feel about the festive season. It could be a collection of Christmas songs you love, or an hour of noise that puts you firmly in the non-Christmas camp. Any format is fine: Spotify playlist, blog post, YouTube playlist, lastfm post; just pick 12 songs that relate to the theme and share your playlist with the rest of us.

Post a link to your playlist on Twitter, tagging @12playlists or using #12playlists. Whether you’re a #12playlists veteran or you’ve never made a mix before, everyone is welcome to get involved. We can’t wait to hear what you come up with.

Also, as an added bonus we’re going to be counting down the days to Christmas by sharing one mixtape each day from this year’s submissions with our Twitter followers as sort of mixtape advent calendar. This idea was reverse-gifted (i.e. nicked) from those inspiring folk over at the 405; if you like decent music, you should check them out:

http://www.thefourohfive.com

Day one of our festive advent calendar was Gav Hutchinson’s World Cup playlist from June this year, follow us on Twitter @12playlists for more:

http://open.spotify.com/user/gavhutchinson/playlist/06Y46E4sKDCB6KsWxiUlrb

Happy festive mixtaping!

[12playlists-blog]

#12Playlists #11: November round up: DARK

The dark nights have sent most of the #12playlists gang into hibernation this month as we only had a couple of submissions on our November theme of DARK. As always, it's about quality not quantity though, so have a listen and see what you think. Paul Sturgess came through with a list of electro bangers all themed around darkness, reminiscent of shady corners of clubs under the cloak of nighttime: http://www.last.fm/user/timberford/journal/2014/11/28/6bmbuh_%2312_playlists_%E2%80%93_%2311_dark Gemma Critchley started off with songs and bands containing the word dark, then she branched out into evocative songs that conjure up images of dark wintry nights: http://open.spotify.com/user/gemstgem/playlist/1J1W6aJl67nNoWC8b6dpeC If you've done a dark playlist, it's not too late to get involved; just post a link to your list on Twitter, tagging @12playlists or using #12playlists. Our December mixtape brief is coming soon...

[12playlists-blog]

#12playlists 11: DARK

I love November. It feels like this weird twilight zone where it never really gets light and you're sort of cocooned in a pleasant, inky fog. As blackness descends and our mixtaping year draws to a close, our penultimate theme for #12playlists is: DARK This is another of those brilliantly vague themes that can be interpreted however you please. Colour, mood, weather, sentiment... The musical world awaits. Rules, as always, control the fun. One mix, any format, 12 tracks, shared on Twitter using #12playlists. Next month's theme is going to be pretty much the exact opposite, so if you're feeling gloomy, now's your chance...

[12playlists-blog]

#12playlists 10: Halloween

Trick or treat?

Halloween is around the corner and we have a treat and a trick for you.

The treat is that you get to make a 12-song playlist around the theme of Halloween songs and get access to other folks’ frightfully good mixtapes to fuel your Halloween party vibes.

The trick is that we’ve been a bit slack, so you only get 15 days to do this one (sorry).

From the obvious (Thriller) to the obscure (The Goblins’ Susperia soundtrack), there’s loads of scope to get creative with this one. Bonus points to anyone carving a mixtape pumpkin and sharing their pic of it on Twitter alongside their mix using the hashtag #12playlists.

Usual rules apply: 12 songs, any format (Spotify, YouTube, blog, list, CD, tape, etc.), share with us on Twitter by tagging @12playlists or using #12playlists.

Now, go check under the bed, turn out the lights, put on your favourite horror film and get spooky!

[12playlists-blog]

#12playlists 9: SPACE

We've just re-entered the earth's atmosphere after an intergalactic journey through the musical universe... Or something.  Thanks to everyone who contributed to this month's #12playlists theme of SPACE. Strong turnout and ace theme! Jon Murray took us on a playful journey to the outer limits of our skies with a playlist that featured a song from a Sesame Street character... Paul Sturgess set gravity on our craft to zero, giving us an ethereal soundtrack to float around in space to. Dreamy!  Gemma Critchley blasted off with a mix of interstellar classics, with this month's first sighting of seminal 90s alien anthem; Spaceman by Babylon Zoo. This month, we had a mix from the inspired and inspiring Vinny, who engineered the soundtrack the next mission to Mars, if time travel were part of the mission and if we could take it back to the 90s.  Alex Currie put things into hyperdrive with an eclectic mix of tracks, featuring everything from dub step violins to Star Trek theme tunes. If outer space had a low-lit indie dive bar (maybe on Tatooine?) you can bet it'd Tom Hooper would be DJing there, spinning alternative interplanetary jams and quasar classics.  Safely back on earth, we're now looking to the next mixtape challenge. The theme is: HALLOWEEN! Brief coming soon, join us if you dare...

[12playlists-blog]

#12Playlists - #9 Space!

Apologies for the break in transmission as we bring you a slightly delayed brief for Playlist number 9. We've had a good think about the theme for September, and it represents not only a giant leap for 12playlists, but one giant leap for-Not sure where this is going.

It's SPACE!

We want you to collate the usual 12 tracks based around the final frontier: the universe, planets, sci-fi, aliens, astronomy, life beyond the M25....space. The full works.

"I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords"

It goes without saying that there's quite literally a lot of ways to go with this topic, and we look forward to seeing how it is interpreted.

What is mandatory though is that you refrain from utilising any of the back catalogue of this lot.

(I actually watched the first 58 seconds of this and it was, impressively, even worse than I remembered).

Good luck playlisters, remember to tag your efforts on the usual social networks with #12playlists and follow the Twitter account!

[12playlists-blog]

#12 Playlists - #8 Carnival and Festival Season Roundup

As Bestival draws the UK festival season to a fancy dress clad, euphoric party of closure, here is a roundup of all the playlists made around theme 8.

Paul Sturgess curated a typically up-and-coming medley of artists who performed at this year's Festival Number 6

Gemma Critchley went for a bold double A-side, Now That's What I Call Outdoor Events extravaganza consisting of Festival tracks she'd heard IRL and straight-up carnival party filth.

Patrick Connor also went down an autobiographical route of putting together a dozen songs he's enjoyed over a distinguished festival-going career.

Tom Hooper imagined what a festival would be like of 12 artists he's never seen live, and in some cases will now struggle to do so.

Hannah Evans opted for a triumvirate of seen at a festival, would like to see at a festival and finally, would like to see at a carnival. Why restrict yourself to fact or fiction?

Thanks for tuning in and new brief for September coming very soon!

[12playlists-blog]

#12Playlists World Cup roundup

There were some cracking efforts for our World Cup themed playlist for mixtape number seven. I’d like to use some clever football terminology for this rundown of last month’s efforts, but being in the presence of some proper football LADS, I’ll just bow out with a muttered ‘Scenes!’ and carry on quietly with the roundup…

Paul New's chronological history lesson of past world cups through song is nothing short of superb: http://feralchicken.tumblr.com/post/93416358502/12playlists-7-world-cup

Hannah Evans kicked off with a World Cup playlist of two halves (and by halves I mean artists): http://t.co/9lnE6WX05J

Paul Sturgess went Brazilian for this lista de música: http://t.co/VHahrl7Cf6 #12playlists #mixtape

Tom Hooper was clearly in heaven with this mix of music and football, and the accompanying blog post makes for a handy summary of the tournament for those who didn’t tune in: http://t.co/XsQCjz0M95

Gemma Critchley was (once again) running late but sounding… Tenuously linked to this month’s theme. She came in with a bunch of songs about the world, and about cups: http://t.co/8dRA9hPjEf

Gav Hutchinson’s ‘90th minute World Cup drama’ narrative was a fitting way to end the round up. http://t.co/z06FAKtxZ7

Patrick Connor was deep into added time (September) with his World Cup mixtape: https://patrickjconnor.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/12playlists-07-world-cup/

They think it’s all over… It is now! (Sorry).

The next theme is Carnival and Festivals, find out how you can get involved here: http://www.tumblr.com/Z9qyfo1NA3fEE

[12playlists-blog]

#12playlists - #8 Carnival & Festival Season

Believe or not It's August. We've had an amazing summer of sun (so far) and we're right in the middle of festival season.

The upcoming bank holiday weekend hosts Europe’s biggest street festival, Notting Hill Carnival. Over 1 million people will attend, incredible.

Meanwhile Reading & Leeds will hold their simultaneous rock & pop festivals. Wikipedia claims Reading festival to be "the world's oldest popular music festival still in existence".

Also this month:

Boardmasters, V, Kendal Calling, Beacons, Green Man, Jabberwocky, Creamfields, End Of The Road, Wilderness and loads and loads of others.

So let's have some playlists relating to our fantastic of lineup of live music we get each year during festival season. Some ideas:

Bands you first discovered at festivals

Bands you'd like to hear at a festival

Bands that you really 'got' at a festival

Music with a festival/carnival related title/artist name

If you're new to this we'd love you to submit an entry. Just choose 12 songs and share them via your social media network of choice. We’re on Facebook and Twitter and don’t forget our hashtag #12playlists.

[12playlists-blog]

MONEY and RAGE roundup

So. Summer has us in it’s sweaty grip and for one reason or another (festivals, hayfever, World Cup tears) we have been a little slack on the #12playlists front.

We have two roundups to do, May’s roundup, which was MONEY and June’s, which was RAGE. So, here goes:

MONEY

Paul Sturgess http://www.last.fm/user/timberford/journal/2014/05/25/637opd_%2312playlists_%E2%80%93_%235_money Paul was first to splash the cash with an eclectic selection, asking the big questions like ‘What would you do if handed a million?’ (Spend it on a #12playlists party, obvz).

Tom Hooper http://swashbucklingstuff.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/12playlists-5-money/ This month, Tom brought bangers exploring the extremes of wealth and poverty, including one of the best songs ever written about going on the rob (Hustler by SMD).

Paul New http://feralchicken.tumblr.com/post/87239034182/12playlists-5-money Paul has been imitating his mixtaping art with a month of paper-chasing and went down the route of getting paid (or not).

Hannah Evans http://l1stenup.tumblr.com/post/87303944648/12playlists-money Our resident non-tweeter shared another awesome and eclectic list of green-tinged tunes. Props for Shania Twain.

Alex Currie http://o-t4ng.tumblr.com/post/87529526756/5-money-12playlists#_=_ Alex got his rocks off and his scrilla on with a riff-heavy ode to the mighty buck. Second feature for Shania Twain this month, too. #Royalties

Gemma Critchley http://open.spotify.com/user/gemstgem/playlist/7HsBmSfdqR6JfY06l8sN5E Late payment charges left, right and centre for this one. A pop cash register stuffed with cheddar. Obvz featuring Work Bitch by Britney.

Patrick Connor

https://patrickjconnor.wordpress.com/2014/08/31/12playlists-05-money/

The pitfalls and negative aspects of money were arranged into this playlist.

RAGE

Hannah Evans http://l1stenup.tumblr.com/post/89576593573/12playlists-rage First off the blocks with a list of things that drive her mad, Hannah brings some awesome pop and legit reasons to go spare. Also features Wiley, DeRulo and Avril which by default makes it ace.

Tom Hooper http://swashbucklingstuff.wordpress.com/2014/07/01/12playlists-6-rage/ For June’s mixtape, Tom went short and sharp (like his temper, perhaps…?) with a 16 minute, 12 song playlist. Excellent use of caps lock to convey his rage. Sorry, RAGE.

Paul Sturgess http://www.last.fm/user/timberford/journal/2014/07/01/64tylb_%2312playlists_%E2%80%93_%236_rage Paul shows off his attitude problem with some moody electronica. My personal fave of this month’s selection. Think narky Jon Hopkins and Fuck Buttons in a right mood.

Gemma Critchley http://t.co/Ea5JrfaAnn Gem went tunnel vision with this month’s theme, channelling all of her rage at one single target: people who don’t press buttons at pedestrian crossings. OH THE HUMANITY.

Patrick Connor

https://patrickjconnor.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/12playlists-06-rage/

Rage? Anger? Au contraire said Patrice with this fury-busting mixtape of calming music.

Anyway, England have lost all the sport, Glasto is over and it’s probably going to rain for the next six weeks so you really have no excuse not to get involved with our next mixtape challenge; the theme for which can be found HERE:

http://t.co/VMVdcFRdta

Happy mixtaping!

[12playlists-blog]

#12playlists - #7 World Cup

The World Cup, or Copa Mundial if you'd prefer, comes around once every 4 years, allowing the globe to gather together to watch what is without question the most popular sport in the world. Korfball, you will one day have your time I'm sure.

This instalment in Brazil has been pretty controversial due to the outcry and protests against what many Brazilians feel has been an irresponsible outlay of public money considering the enormous costs.

However, as far as footballing matters go, this year's tournament has seen huge upsets, a refreshingly attacking and vibrant set of matches, the underdogs upsetting the form book, and some familiar protagonists back to their familiar best....or worst.

So, you're approaching the mixtape, the ball is at your feet in the 89th minute and you're 30 yards out.....what do you do?

The safe square pass: Represent 12 (or more) of the 32 countries who lined up in this year's finals.

The ambitious chip over the backpeddling keeper: Try and compile a dozen songs with football terminology (as tenuous or otherwise as you dare) contained within.

The impossible Hollywood Rabona pass: Include songs that reference footballers....it honestly might be possible.

Ignore the ball and lunge in with both feet into your nearest opponent: Assemble 12 songs that convey your disdain for the whole bloody thing.

Go off piste and think outside the (penalty) box...

As usual, post your mixtapes and explanations to your social media website of choice and include #12playlists in the link!

[12playlists-blog]

#12playlists 6: Rage (directed towards a machine optional)

For month 6 (and apologies for the slight delay in releasing the brief - you are well within your rights to get angry) we want to pursue a different theme to anything we've explored before and challenge you to create a 12 song playlist to do with things that annoy you or even make you angry.

Does vanity bother you perchance? Or having just one single expression?

This can be anything from a dozen of trivial annoyances, artists who you can't stand but have made songs you love, terrible releases from previously dependable acts or things that are genuinely worth protesting about (something that is potentially poignant on the 25th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre), the ongoing trial into the Hillsborough disaster, or Game of Throne's ludicr-NO SPOILERS PLEASE.

So get enraged, get passionate and articulate using the power of song your many, many grievances, We won't blame you for moaning, promise.

[12playlists-blog]

#12playlists 5: MONEY

A little later than usual, the theme of this month's #12playlists challenge is inspired by the fact that we all get a day off because the banks are shut. This month, we want 12 songs from you that are based around the theme of: MONEY Whether your mix is based on being loaded, being skint or just songs by people called Rich(ard), there's loads of fun to be had with this one. Just make a playlist on Spotify, YouTube, LastFM, your blog or wherever you fancy and share it on Twitter: @12playlists #12playlists As M.I.A. So eloquently put it: "All they wanna do is 🔫🔫🔫 and a 💰💴💵💷💶💳💸 and take your money..." It's time to make it rain!

[12playlists-blog]

#3 Water - A roundup of the Posts

As is tradition, if you can have such a thing as that for an initiative that has been going for 3 months, here are the mixtapes that were compiled in response to the water theme for March:

Jon Murray making me want to buy some new denim

Paul Sturgess picked 12 songs that saw the rain falling into the ocean

Sion DRINK Thomas DRINK included DRINK Kendrick DRINK

Gemma Critchley got as eclectic as usual in what is definitely a pool party of a water playlist

Hannah Evans kills it yet again with an out of the box selection

Paul New took us down rivers, out deeper still and then all the way into the ocean

Rob Flood is ideally named to tackle this challenge. His mixtape is possibly the first to include a selection by a 2 year old and gains big points for that!

Alex Currie went for water crashing against the RAWKS

Tom Hooper went on a voyage with his dozen

Patrick Connor combined water and graphics coding in a fashion that only he really could have

Andrew Paterson took the eclecticism of Gem and went up another notch

Danny Sturgess put together a beautifully tranquil, sheet of glass of a water playlist

Theme 4 is Sleep. Get your playlists on the Twitter and/or Facebook page and follow @12Playlists to have your efforts Retweeted when you include the #12Playlists hashtag.

[12playlists-blog]

2014 #4 – Sleep

Here we are, April 1st and the fourth theme for #12playlists is Sleep.

Sleep is a funny thing really. We spend around a third of our lives in a state where our consciousness is practically suspended. Some people love it, some people really struggle with it.

As with many things in life, music plays its' part.

Some experts say music can help people get to sleep more easily. Certainly parents have been singing lullabies to their babies for centuries.

Here are a few ideas for playlists that immediately spring to mind:

Songs with the word sleep in the title

Songs about dreams

A playlist of bed time stories

Songs your flatmate used to play that prevented you from sleeping

Music you use to wake you up

Anyway, there's loads of ways to interpret this one, so we're really looking forward to what everyone comes up with.

As always to take part, all you need to do is curate 12 songs into a playlist using Spotify, Youtube, Soundcloud or any other means. Preferably such that you can share it with everyone on your social media network of choice.

We're on Facebook and Twitter and don't forget our hashtag #12playlists.

[12playlists-blog]

#12playlists roundup 2: L.O.V.E.

It's March? How did that happen?! We must have been so Drunk in Love following February's L.O.V.E. playlist theme that the roundup of your amazing mixes got delayed. Sorry!

Anyway, without further ado, here are the mixes you made:

Paul Sturgess went narrative on us and devised his very own cinematic love story. We love this creative concept!

Paul New showed us what happens to your ideas of love when you grow up in rural Scotland... Resulting in a rollercoaster variety of songs.

Katy Brooks brought us a list of tracks as lovely as love itself.

Danny Sturgess went literal with songs featuring the word 'love' in them. Shoutout to Danny for the awesome love hearts graphic for this month's challenge.

Tak Fung took a trip back in time with a 90s-influenced list of love songs over on the 12 Playlists Facebook page.

Alex Currie looked at being in and out of love.

Bob Flood gave us a playlist from an actual wedding - super cool.

Tom Hooper covered off love with a playlist featuring everything from indie to grime.

Gemma Critchley came in late with a roundup of the love songs her parents used to listen to.

*EDIT*

Hannah Evans brought out the big guns with 12 straight bangers on the subject of the L-bomb. Goodness knows how that got overlooked, it's rad AND it has videos. Enjoy! 

Which was your favourite? Did you discover anything new as part of last month's challenge? Fall in love with a new band?

If you liked that, get involved with March's challenge. The theme for March is water - dive in!