The Gallery Stage Mix Tape Hits 5,000 Songs!

You know the old cliché. Some attribute it to Elvis Costello, others say he ripped it from someone else, but he made a lot of sense when he said that writing about music was like dancing about architecture. His point, obviously, is that at some point you just need to listen – to engage. When we launched True Tunes back in the 80s, with the goal of connecting people with music that might change their world, it was easy enough to play that music in our store, or in the club between bands. But the magazine – our biggest and most influential tool for the propagation of this conversation – was silent. We never even got to make one of those flexi-disc record pages like Guitar Player did. No, the only way for our readers to actually hear the music we were talking about was for them to call our toll-free order line and ask us to play it over the phone! (We did. Often. Desperate times call for desperate measures.)

But now, though we have nothing to sell, and no actual revenue coming in other than our fledgling Patreon program, it’s as easy as a CLICK for you to hear the music we are writing about on the site or talking about on the podcast. We do this in the form of a specially curated weekly Spotify “Mixtape” playlist inspired by the mix discs I (JJT) used to make to play between the bands at the Gallery Stage at the Cornerstone Festival. For over two years we have updated this mix with around 40 songs every Wednesday. And when we update the list we copy the previous mix into a now MASSIVE archive list, making sure not to add any duplicate songs. That list just passed 5,000 songs in length. It would take over 350 hours to listen to the whole thing. If you listened for eight hours a day you could listen for almost 44 straight days without hearing a song repeat. That’s a LOT of music!

But why is this significant? This little mixtape (the weekly one more than the archive) is actually a critical component of the emerging True Tunes plan. For one thing, it’s fun to be listening to a blend of old and new music from a diverse range of genres that you know others are also listening to. It is also a great way for like-minded seekers to discover new talent and for artists to find new fans. It is also a way for folks to remember artists and songs they loved from the past but maybe haven’t thought about in a while. And someday, if we are all able to gather together for a live event, a playlist like this could end up playing a major role in helping us know who to book!

But mostly, we do this because it is the embodiment of what we have long been talking about. The songs are included based on their truthfulness, soulfulness, and relevance, not based on the marketplace they were sold in. When major things happen in the world, we can respond musically. When holidays come around, we listen together. We may not be in the same room, but we can rock the same tunes.

So, if you happen to have a LONG road trip coming up, free free to lock in the 5,000 song ARCHIVE LIST and hit SHUFFLE. You will be amazed at the diversity. But the real priority is for you to find, follow, subscribe, and share the WEEKLY TRUE TUNES GALLERY STAGE MIXTAPE! Let’s move the needle in the right direction… together.

And remember, when you discover an artist you love, follow them. Read about them in their bios. Sign up for their email lists. Order music from them. Join their Patreon or Kickstarter programs. Spotify and other streaming services are an awesome replacement for radio, but a terrible replacement for supporting the artists you believe in by actually buying their music. Please do take the extra time to do that.