What's A Good Playlist To Listen To While Social Distancing?

It’s been a strange few months hasn’t it? Reports of the spread of “Murder Hornets” (incidentally the name of a new-wave avant-garde punk-jazz folk band I was in when I was a teenager - I played the hydrolauphone, kazoo and, occasionally, spoons), a plague of locusts in East Africa, that Australian barbeque that got out of control, the volcano that went off in Asia, cinemas boycotting Universal Pictures and, of course, the decline in sales of a particular Mexican beer brand. “Strange” doesn’t really cut it; cinemas boycotting Universal Pictures’ films?! “Apocalyptical” might be more apt.

So here we are, the majority of us self-isolating from all the nastiness outside: floods, earthquakes, fire and that Mexican beer that seems to be going around. Many have lost their jobs, some might lose their homes. Wages furloughed and economies ruined. We all assumed that when society started to collapse it would be like Mad Max and we’d all be fighting and killing each other over fuel, but instead it’s over toilet paper and hand wash that smells like cotton candy.  “Two men enter, one man gets the Charmin Ultra Soft.”  Thanks to a brave few, and also some others that have been forced to, there are still people out there working, keeping the wheels turning: firefighters, medical staff, delivery people, people who work in factories which make cakes. To all these people: thank you.

 

 

It’s hard to keep sane under these conditions - some would argue I was mental before all this anyway - but thankfully music has kept me relatively grounded. “Seems like a good time to create a digital mixtape for others to play” I thought, stupidly believing that there may be some people out there who would be interested in listening to such a thing. But nevertheless, I present to you my digital mixtape: LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONA, VOL. 1. It’s a journey that’ll help you break on through to get to the other side. There’s some punk, pop, ambient, dance and lots of electronica: something for everyone. There’s even a nice Easter Egg for fans of the 90’s TV show Millennium. And yeah, it’s all inspired by the craziness of the Corona virus, dealing with seclusion, conspiracy theories, life, death and everything in-between.

It's available to listen to RIGHT NOW FOR FREE on Mixcloud here: Mark's Musical Malarkey Presents: Love In The Time Of Corona Vol. 1 

Alternatively you can listen to it through the handy widget embedded at the bottom of the page.

Now, normally in a blog such as this I would list all the songs and explain why they were included but I think the titles and / or themes of the songs will speak for themselves. I’ll list the tracklist below but I urge you to go in blind instead, you may find it more rewarding.

 

 

The tracklist:

Keep safe, keep sane, and remember: as long as we’re here, there’ll always be music.

- Mark Anthony Finch