Mixtape #124: It's an April thing

Songs for Portrait of a Body (In Pieces)

Side A

1. Disintegration Loops (1.1 Excerpt I) by William Basinski
2. Footsteps in the Distance by envy
3. Damage Control by The Faint
4. €30,000 by Emperor X
5. Baby by Ariel Pink

Side B

6. Strong by Tesla Boy
7. Every Star Shivers in the Dark by Lael Neale
8. A Great Design by Black Marble
9. Saturday by Desire
10. dlp 1.3 by William Basinski

Spotify

Liner notes

The fourth month of my novel in pieces is now complete, mean there are twelve parts published so far. A third of the way through this mildly terrifying tightrope walk.

The April chapter is about dealing with and healing from trauma, and how you can’t outrun it, outlast it, or ignore it.

Here’s a quote from April (part three), on being trauma forward:

24.

It’s not a day for DIY so I resolve instead to work on my watch list. Mad Men is dragging some. Too many flashbacks, not enough copywriting. Don Draper is what I like to call trauma forward. As in people who lead with their trauma. People for whom their unresolved pain informs every decision. The trauma forward are walking open wounds, time bombs who tick ever louder until they self-destruct so hard they take out entire city blocks. You’ve probably met a few. Like vegans, or racists, the trauma forward tend to make themselves known. There are also the trauma inward. That’s where your trauma works in stealth to undermine your core infrastructure. Like plaque. Or The Dam Busters. The trauma inward are harder to spot, but when they self-sabotage, it’s just as devastating. 

The songs this month aren’t trauma specific, but they detail ups and downs. Highs and lows. Resolve and relapse. Plus I chucked in a few bangers. After all when the trauma forward aren’t setting the world on fire, they’re a pretty fun time.

If you’ve yet to read it. Now’s a great time to start. You’ve got twelve chapters to get stuck in to. That should kill most of the morning. The first chapter is here. And there are some great mixtapes to go with them. It’s free to read and free to listen.

You can sign up here:

Roll on May.

Until then,

Dan