Monday #MotivationMix with Co-founder Katie - and a Confession!

Confession time: Revealing my music selections is very intimidating for me. Actually going into record/CD stores when they existed was really nerve-wracking for some reason. I was never one to make mix-tapes and envied others who did. And I loved listening to their compilations when mix tapes and then CD were burned. As for actually making a mix tape - never happened. Hence, me, a co-founder of Tin Shingle, never (ok once, but I think I buried it in the blog and maybe “forgot” to categorize it) submitted a Motivation Mix to this series.

Until today, when Sabina gave me permission to submit my favorite albums that keep me motivated to take on the world and my fears! It was listening to one such album that I realized something about myself - I listen to albums on repeat. I really like hearing a continuous sound and beat throughout the hours of working until I’m finished with what I am doing. Helps to keep me focused. I usually work with words - typing emails, articles, to do lists, that sort of thing. So I can’t listen to podcasts and heavily worded songs that get me distracted (I’ve recently diagnosed myself with Podcast-Envy because my other realization was that I don’t listen to podcasts because I don’t have a commute where I am sitting still for long periods of time, and I don’t listen to anything while walking the dog because one time I was accosted so I keep my wits about me, and the rest of the time I am talking or listening to my kids).

 

So here is my first contribution to this series! My very special albums that I listen to when I am working on different things:

 

 

Avicii

Wake Me Up

Sounds That Move Me: A constant, hard beat. A techno-vibe that normally is not my style.

 

Ok, nobody told me that the “Wake Me Up” song was on an album that is essentially a mix-tape of awesome from Tom Bergling, aka Avicii, the DJ/producer! Initially I sought out the Wake Me Up song from Aloe Blacc because I only hear it in the car on the radio, and I practically fly out of my seat when I’m listening (it helps that our Audi station wagon has a turbo engine, because picking up speed in the car quickly is really fun). When I went to buy the album that the song was on, I learned of this multi-artist setup. So because Avicii is a Swedish DJ, there is an…I’d call it a techno-vibe, but I am not sure what the real musical terminology is for it. Normally this sound does not appeal to me, but I totally embraced the album after I learned that “Wake Me Up” was not well received at first because it was too folksy for that crowd. I was so blown away by the DJ to put out an album like this, that I listen to this album to get me out of myself and into a powerful place.

 

Meghan Trainer

Title

Sounds That Move Me: High pouncing sounds on the piano, the upbeat bop, and Meghan’s own accent that is very tough. I had no idea she was white and blonde.

 

Oh man, I had to overcome a fear of cold-calling businesses to sell ads. In addition to co-running Tin Shingle, I run a local blog called A Little Beacon Blog. While my Tin Shingle world is email and tweet based, the local world is very in-person based. They may have a sign on the door that says “no solicitations”, but they actually respond well to people who walk in to introduce themselves. I was only emailing businesses at first, and now I dial them up. Plus, I put on my fancy shoes and walk into their stores to say hi. I need Meghan Trainor’s beats to keep my confidence up and to keep me grounded in my light-hearted side. Her songs are so funny, and so truthful. They make me feel young, and that what I am making is AWESOME. I listen to the Title album while I am jogging to help my fly down the road, and then on the day that I need to make sales calls.

 

Alabama Shakes

Boys & Girls

Sounds That Move Me: The base guitar behind Brittany Howard’s voice.

 

This album is just good for slowly kicking ass. If I want to do an amazing job without getting too emotional or freaked out to take me off-course, I can listen to Alabama Shakes to keep my ideas crisp and fresh.

 

Steve Martin & Edie Brickell

Love Has Come For You

Sounds That Move Me: Steve Martin’s banjo, Edie Brickell’s voice, and Edie’s uncanny ability to write songs that I swear Steve Martin penned, because of their odd wit and rhyme. 

 

The twang of the banjo is so soothing to me when I am over stimulated with things to do. When I know that I have a lot on my plate, and don’t know what to focus on first to actually get done, I put on this album. From the first pluck of the banjo by Steve Martin, I am instantly soothed and can start.

 

Mumford & Sons

Sigh No More

Sounds That Move Me: The ghostly voice of Marcus Mumford, and the constant drumbeat of their deeply worded songs and blend of folk instruments including the banjo and mandolin.

So I put this album on when I need to crank out our Tin Shingle newsletter, #SmallBizGoodness, and my fingers need to fly. You can find me at a coffee shop in an intense work session listening to Sigh No More as I tighten up teaser copy, edit an article, email edits back and forth, or put together an image if needed. While pausing between thoughts, I have been known to almost conduct the music, I love it so much. I also listen to this album while running inside on a treadmill (normally I run outside weather permitting). During the winter treadmill runs, Mumford & Sons was my album of choice to run farther than planned on a treadmill. And yes, I did move my hands when running, oddly, as it’s a time for ideas to come into my brain, and the music helps me open up and hear those ideas.

 

Beach House

Teen Dream

Sounds That Move Me: The repetitive guitar strumming that move through a song and windy voices. 

I usually reserve this album for the weekend and not for work. My husband and I started listening to it when we would drive up a mountain to visit our friends in Cold Spring, NY. So I associate it with relaxing in the car with my husband through the woods. But, if I need a slow album to carry me through a mode, such as writing an emotional article, then I could listen to this album to keep me in a deep place until the article was written or a graphic design done.

 

Got a playlist you want to share that helps you rock your business or your job? Submit it to editorial@tinshingle.com. Include your list of songs or albums, why you like them and information about your business.