Grass roots.
My passion for discovering music really got going when I started mowing my parents’ lawn as a kid. It took me a couple of hours to finish the work and I would, without fail, always listen to music. First on CD played through a WalkMan player, but later through an iPod… my master playlist once iTunes came into view was - and is to this day - titled Mowing Music. Uncovering new songs through friends, family, internet searches, hours of radio listening, and a relentless hunt for new CDs at the local library became something of an obsession. My hope is that this site will help you in your own quest for the music that moves you, whatever that may be.
You can find Mowing Music in it’s entirety - minus a few songs that never made in onto Spotify - in the playlist below. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Matt Williams, Curator of Fresh Cut Finds
Lawn & Order.
Like most hopeless romantics, I got my start in playlists by trying to trying to win over a girl. Surely if I came up with the perfect sequence of songs, my crush would fall in love and be compelled to go to the 8th grade dance with me, right? Right???
In later years, I would put together a mixed CD for my dad each month with his task being to identify the playlist’s theme. For instance, one month might be colors (The Rolling Stone’s “Paint it Black” would be slotted in next to Cream’s “White Room.”) The following month might be secondary lead vocalists (The Beatles Ringo front and center on “With a Little Help From My Friends” followed by U2’s The Edge crooning on “Van Diemen’s Land.”) Introducing new songs and old favorites to my dad while sprinkling in a monthly brainteaser was fun for him and the playlist construction and research was enjoyable for me.
My hope is this site allows us to share a similar joy in music.
Evan Hammonds, Curator of Fresh Cut Finds
The original playlist.
The Mowing Music playlist is in its entirety on the right. I’m always looking for new suggestions. If you do happen to see this, I'd appreciate it if you send me one song that you love. I’ll add it to Mowing Music if you do.