You see, I really enjoy discovering new music. I have a system to constantly expose myself to new stuff. So, twice a year (around my birthday and half-birthday), I release a highly curated mixtape of the absolute best 80 minutes of music I've heard in the previous 6-month period. I call it "jorthits" (pronounced JORTH-its). I'm quite selective of the tracks and extremely particular about the song order. I burn them onto discs and give them to my friends and family. I would love for you to enjoy these musical works of art just as I have. Use the form below to request one and, like magic, it'll show up in your mailbox presently. Free of charge!!!
I've made the creative choice to not provide you with tracklists for the following mixtapes at this present stage. You can pick your favorite(s) based off the cover photo, number, rough time frame, and brief description of each. Then, send me a request using the form. I have an intimate and unique personal relationship with every edition and I love answering questions about the context behind each one.
(springtime, 2021): My last spring and summer of high school. This mixtape is more a collection of all the best music I listened to throughout high school (almost all of which is majorly upbeat and highly produced). However, near the end, you get more of what I was listening to during that last summer before college. Still joyous, but quite a bit more melancholy. I try my best to give my tracklists a certain sense of flow, while roughly maintaining chronology.
(autumn, 2021): My first semester of college. Here, I started off the semester feeling rather lonely and, while staying rather highly produced, the tone of these early songs is slightly less blindly optimistic than even the end of the previous edition. As I make more friends and start to get used to college life, I get more comfortable and the songs return to the joy of the older stuff while maintaining a certain sense of uncertainty and apprehension about the future. Featuring my first sniff of Midwest Emo as a genre (you'll see how important this becomes later).
(springtime, 2022): My second semester of college. I gotta say, the tracklist on this one is far less married to a certain genre or style. We've got some variation here (all within the confines of indie rock, of course). Quite optimistic and upbeat, for the most part. I became more comfortable with stylized songs that invoke a sort of floating, dreamlike sense within the listener. Continued the pattern of including longer songs, started in the last edition. Many of these tracks are the kind that will take you on a journey. This is my dad's favorite edition.
(autumn, 2022): This was a bit of a lonely few-month period. New house, neighbors I didn't know, and back home working on my papers. I would see my high school friends occasionally, but there was plenty of empty space in there. I filled that space with some of the most niche indie of my repertoire so far. The music featured here is less produced and more analog (and not just because it's more indie). This is a good choice for you if you want to be exposed to more "niche." Not every track is that niche, of course. A bit slower and more soulful, until the end, as the excitement of leaving for my mission mounts.
(springtime, 2025): The first few songs are what I listened to on my short break from the mission. Kinda depressing, dreamlike state I was in back then. I think you'll be able to guess with which track it switches to what I was listening to when I first got back for good. Lots of excitement in those first few tracks after getting back. The tracks in the second half are heavily influenced by this here Miles, who I was fostering and nurturing a massive crush on at the time. Lots of yearning in those later tracks. More of a romantic theme. Higher production value than the previous edition. Kinda a rollercoaster of a mixtape, emotion-wise.
(summertime, 2025): Me and Miles started dating during this period. We went to Mexico together. There's a lot of playfullness and joy in this playlist. Near the end of summer, I started really getting into that Midwest Emo. I was very bummed that this summer was coming to an end, since I spent the whole thing hanging out with Miles nearly every day. I was bummed to go back to school, but still excited to continue learning and continue in my program. I also started playing with Moving Company, so I started to appreciate the drumming in songs more. You'll notice that if you pay close attention.
(winter, 2026): More playing with Moving Company, and we started recording. Very heavy on the Midwest Emo and Mathrock here. Some of my favorite songs of all time are featured on this record. It was a particularly warm winter. One that I stayed inside for the greater part of. I went on a few fun adventures with Miles during this time. If you're about 18, or you're just a generally passionate or even kind of a weird person, this is the mixtape for you.