Playlist for every occasion

Commute playlist - I love staring out the window of a car/bus/train and pretending I’m the lead in a movie and this is the opening scene as the title credits pop up in the corner (fade up to a wide shot of a train rolling over a landscape as we slowly zoom in to see a young woman looking out the window of the third car). And I can totally pull off staring blankly out of a window.

The Candles and Bath Salts mix - You're home, maybe getting in the mood. Get some smooth music - John Mayer, and maybe Jason Mraz too - and let the mood happen.

Rainy day compilations - A mix of dreamy acoustic and melancholy alternative tunes to accompany the sound of drizzling rain.

Les filles qui chantent en français - Sing along, ingest a box of macarons, and pretend you're in a Sofia Coppola commercial.

NYC mix

For my Future Husband mix

Road Trip playlist - This is radically different from stuff you would play when you drive alone. This is socially acceptable music that's great in the background, with the occasional group sing-along thrown in, pop, rock, ballads, anything from the 90's.

Being productive mix - For when you have deadlines to meet and need to stay focused.

Holiday Harmony - Stuff to listen to while you decorate the Christmas tree or bake gingerbread cookies.

"Chrismassy music that isn't about Christmas" mix - People who work in retail will appreciate it.

ULB (or "Universally loved bands") mix - One Republic, Coldplay, Radiohead, Muse, Maroon 5, The Smith, The Fray, The Killers, you know, bands who, at any party, you could remark "I love *insert band*" and you're guaranteed to hear responses like "We do too!", you know, bands who everybody likes or claims to like.

Sing Me To Sleep playlist - Songs to help you wind down and drift off. "Wonderful" by Gary Go will lull you to sleep.

Good morning, sunshine - Waking up to music is as awesome as falling asleep to it. I'm not much of a morning person, but when I've got some great music while I'm still on autopilot, it's made early mornings so much better.

"Beautiful" mix - Includes tracks like, "What makes you beautiful" by One Direction, "Beautiful" by B2st, the same title by Christina Aguilera, "Beautiful Soul" by Jesse McCartney, "What makes you different makes you beautiful" by Backstreet Boys, "Just the way you are" by Bruno Mars, "Nothin' on you" by B.o.b, "You are so beautiful" by Junsu, "Fireworks" by Katy Perry... you get the gist. Because admit it or not, you like to be told.

Adventure: The soundtrack - Music to accompany your adventures and travels in a foreign territory.

The Unrequited Loved mix

Winter Pick Me Up mix - Upbeat songs to beat the winter blues.
Study playlist - Fact 1: Without decent music there's no way you'd get through your homework, essays and revision. Fact 2: Songs with lyrics distract the part of your brain which you use to repeat things to yourself when you're learning. The Solution: Lyricless compositions, film soundtracks and piano covers.

All Nighter mix - Unlike the Study playlist which is a bit too relaxing (because it was to help creative juices to flow), this soundtrack should consist of mid-tempo music to help you power through the wee hours. I recommend a mix of late night ambiance and study break freak out material, with broadway music like "Defying Gravity" from Wicked.

The Jazz Age playlist

Cry, baby - Tear-jerkers. Sob, let it out. Hurt right along with the music.

Old School R&B mix

Modelling playlist - Throw on some heels and walk around like you mean it. Perfect for when cleaning out your wardrobe.

60's Lounge - Inspired by Mad Men and Pan Am soundtracks.

Girl Power - Butt-kicking, girl power anthems by Shania Twain, Destiny's Child, Pink, and Christina Aguilera. Maybe something from the Charlie's Angel soundtrack too. 

Nostalgia mix

Weekend Walk About mix - Music for you wanderings.

Work out playlist

Coffee Croons and Tea Tunes

New Age Pianists mix - Yiruma, Yuhki Kuramoto, David Lanz, Keiko Matsui, Jon Schmidt, Keith Jarret, and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Kpop mix - Because the Korean wave is taking over the world. Get with it.

British Bands mix

First Love mix - The audio equivalent of a romance novel.

Getting Dressed mix - A list of high-energy songs to get you psyched for the night out.

Party mix

"I know all the words to" mix

"Be Impressed With My Music Taste" mix - I might be alone here, but I'm constantly around hipsters and music snobs who listen to my playlist, and immediately judge me on my music taste. ("Is that Kpop?!") Now, though, I'm ready for them with my "awesomely interesting intellectual music". Staples of these playlists are MGMT, Belle & Sebastian, Pink Floyd, Grizzly Bear, Regina Spektor (both popular and yet well-respected as indie still. Go figure.) Including also any big artists who did side solo projects like Thom Yorke of Radiohead.

Midnight in Paris

Today was a wonderfully rainy day, so naturally, I decided to snuggle up with Lulu the cat, download swing jazz music, and give Woody Allen another chance. And I'm glad I did. Midnight in Paris (2011) is a charming and sentimental film about a struggling novelist, Gil (Owen Wilson), a man who, like moi, also thinks rain makes everything beautiful, wanders the streets of Paris, and at every midnight, an antique car pulls up and transports him to the 1920's era. He encounters Cole Porter, Josephine Baker, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, T.S Eliot and Salvador Dalí (sexy Adrien Brody). And with his new found love he is further transported back to the 1890's Moulin Rouge where they meet Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gauguin, and Edgar Degas! Oh my goodness, I love Edgar Degas! With so many funny lines by famous (dead) artists, writers, surrealists, I give this movie a rating of all the stars Vincent Van Gogh ever painted!


After the movie, I got thinking, I'd like to visit one of those "nostalgia shop" the modern characters talk about. And I'd also like to have a 'Midnight in Paris' moment too. Paris in the Jazz Age really does sound enticing, as does Paris in the 1940's - that's probably the one I'd pick. But I'd also be intrigued by Vienna circa 1900, London in the 1590's, first century Rome and New York City in 1960's. 
So, what is historical era would you like to visit?

Muse: Ashley Olsen

Sydney has started to shown first signs of heats waves during the day, and I dread about dressing for summer. (Forecast of almost 30 degrees this weekend!)  I've been noticing, this summer over in the northern hemisphere, in particular Ashley Olsen, although she's pretty awesome every season, really in her groove and the perfect example of cool, elegant summer dressing. While there is more than a subtle nod to clean, effortless, nineties minimalism, there is also enough quirkiness and fun to keep things interesting. Here are some examples of her awesomeness this summer.