FESTIVE: A Mixtape!
5 December 2012, 11:01
Happy holidays! It’s the most, wonderful tiiiiime, of the year! So of course, I had to make you a mixtape to celebrate.
It’s so tricky to find good Christmas music. I tried to avoid anything you’d hear at the mall, & only included classics that have either really stood the test of time, or have been remixed & reworked to within an inch of their lives!
This mix contains treats from the likes of Fiona Apple, The Beatles, Smashing Pumpkins, Ella Fitzgerald & The Ramones. There’s even some dubstep Brenda Lee. I think you’ll really like it. At least, I hope you do!
Listen to this while drinking a mug of hot chocolate or doing something similarly cozy…
I love you!
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NOSTALGIA: A Mixtape!
20 November 2012, 10:22
I made you a nostalgia mixtape. Press play!
In 1996, I had a musical awakening. I was 13 years old, & I didn’t know it yet, but the music I was starting to feed into my ears would change my life forever.
The internet already had me in its clutches: as soon as we had a modem, I could hardly step away. I loved chatting, & did it all day & night. One day, I met a boy from Arizona. He was 17 years old & a lot cooler than me. It started the way all great internet friendships start: I lied about my age, saying I was 16, & we started talking obsessively. I remember him telling me crazy stories about getting carjacked in Phoenix, but mostly, we chatted about music.
He’d ask me, “Have you heard of this band?”, & when I said no, took it upon himself to give me a musical education. He’d email me a song at a time, which took approximately an entire day to download on my 33.6 modem. We started with Korn & soon progressed to the likes of Marilyn Manson, Metallica & Pantera.
I’ll be forever thankful to that boy — who, by the way, is now a preacher with several children! — for introducing me to something different than what was playing on the radio.
In 1996, the Spice Girls were at the peak of their popularity, & I couldn’t understand the appeal of the “zig-a-zig-ah”. My veins coursed with loathing & teenage angst, & I wanted — no, needed — music that spoke to those feelings.
I spent hours browsing in record stores, & then I’d come home & assail my ears. My father was always banging on his floor with a slipper when I played music after they’d gone to bed! Even so, they encouraged me, buying me Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Cure & Siouxsie albums for my birthday. (Best parents ever!) I was looking around for music that I could identify with… & I found it.
The Cure introduced me to lush soundscapes & depths I felt like I could swim through. Marilyn Manson led me into a world of psychedelic lunacy, mania & unapologetic self-expression. I think I listened to Antichrist Superstar so much that it is part of my DNA. I identified with him so closely & still respect him so much as a musician & person. Courtney Love showed me that it was okay to be pissed off. She wasn’t trying to be beautiful & perfect, & through her I learned that there were other things women could aspire to.
As much as I can appreciate a good pop song — & I do love happy, feel-good, upbeat music — I owe such a massive debt of gratitude to my teenage idols, because I feel like that music saved me.
Even though I was a weirdo at school, discovering people who felt the same way I did — even if they were rockstars on the other side of the world — made me feel less alone. It gave me hope. It allowed me to see beyond the boundary of New Zealand, a tiny little country at the bottom of the world. It made me think that maybe it was possible to have an interesting, fulfilling life; to do something different.
It reminded me of what I already knew: that rampant, loud, & extreme self-expression was important; that I should never stop talking about what was true for me; & that I should never pretend to be someone else just because my existence made people feel uncomfortable.
Oh, & it taught me to appreciate the magnificence of a man wearing a dress!
All that being said, I hope you enjoy my weirdo nostalgia mix! I loved making it so I hope you 
listening to it!
Wearing extra-thick eyeliner today in tribute,
P.S. Thanks to Mercury retrograde for allowing me to glide down this nostalgic river! (I finally started reading The Long Hard Road Out of Hell a couple of days ago, & finished it last night… I never wanted it to end! But clearly, it is bringing everything back… Mazza forever!)
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END OF SUMMER: A Mixtape!
12 September 2012, 14:34
Like it or not, summer is drawing to a close. I’m pretty excited about it, actually: I’m having a major hat moment, & I’m loving the crisp, fresh air in the mornings. It feels promising, like a new beginning.
I made a little mix to ease you into the autumn. There’s no real theme, it’s just a selection of songs I’m enjoying at the moment. I hope you like it!
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LOS ANGELES: A Mixtape!
1 June 2012, 08:48
As we speak, I’m jetting my way across America, heading to Los Angeles to meet with my Virgo partner-in-crime, Nubby Twiglet. Girl holiday ahoy!
I made you a mixtape so you can feel like you’re there with us, & of course, you can follow my updates on Twitter & Instagram (username: galadarling)! I hope you enjoy it… It’s very dancey!
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WORKOUT: A Mixtape!
9 April 2012, 08:12
Need motivation to get to the gym? Simply take one dose of Gala’s prescribed remedy — this mixtape — & you’ll be lacing up your running shoes in no time! These are serious booty-slapping tunes… & there’s even a cooldown at the end! (Does this bitch think of everything OR WHAT?!)
Having said that, if you have a pronounced allergy to anything involving sweat-wicking clothing, this is also great for dancing around your bedroom, giving you a vigorous start to the working week, or for doing high-energy grocery shopping!
In sweaty solidarity,
P.S. 8tracks has an iPhone app, which means you can listen to your favourite playlists on the go! (I use it all the time.) Download it & enjoy!
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