Category: Polka Dot Radio

I used to run an Internet radio station at Live365 called Polka Dot Radio. I gave that up in 2008 and since then, I’ve gotten my fix for music sharing by creating playlists, first at 8tracks, and now at Spotify.

The original radio station had a tagline of alt-folk, 1990's, and indie pop, and for the most part, that is still a pretty good description of my musical taste. My current playlists are heavy on the alt-folk / indie pop / alternative sound, with a smattering of favorites from other decades peppered in there.

You can play all of my virtual mix tapes and get more details about them in the posts below. Or, just shuffle one of these two playlists.

Polka Dot Radio, which features a few days’ worth of tunes, spanning the stuff I was listening to in the late 80’s through to my current favorites. New music rotates in and out at the beginning of every month:Polka Dot Radio Classic, which combines a bunch of the actual playlists that I used on the original radio station. This is a static playlist, and will not have any new music added to it:
Polka Dot Radio: alt-folk, 1990's, indie pop

NOTE: I highly recommend listening to these playlists on Shuffle, otherwise you’ll get a lot of similar music clumped together. Shuffle will give you a better variety and more enjoyable listening experience.

Happy listening! 🎶

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The Innocence Mission in Concert

The Innocence Mission, Karen Peris and Don Peris

When I saw Crowded House in 2023, I decided to make it a priority to treat myself to more live music by bands I love. In March 2024, I kept that promise and saw Guster. I didn’t tell you about this one at the time, but I saw Guster again in January of this year. (And I may or may not have tickets to see Guster with the Mountain Goats in August. I’m a bit Guster obsessed at the moment 🤭) And now this. The Innocence Mission has been a long-time favorite of mine, and I feel so lucky to have been one of the 600 people in that room this weekend.

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Purple is a Fall Color

Purple is a Fall Color, Polka Dot Radio playlist

I look out the window and all of the back yard trees are brilliant shades of orange and red. It’s lovely. A few weeks ago, when there was still some green to be seen, I treated myself to a roll of Lomochrome Purple so I could indulge in a bit of film photography with a fantasy color palette.

I also made a new playlist, and I called it Purple is a Fall Color. Despite the name and the cover image, the idea of “purple” doesn’t feature prominently in these songs. In fact, I am fairly sure the word “purple” does not appear in a single title or lyric of the 20-odd tracks. Sometimes a playlist cover is just a playlist cover.

Read on to see some of my favorite images from the roll, and to listen to some nice Autumnal music.

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Middle-Age Summer

Middle-age Summer Polka Dot Radio Lisa Clarke Playlist

I have so many new things to share – more shirts and dresses sewn, a finished knit shawl, photos from Scotland – but the most overdue of them all is this Summer playlist. I compiled these songs together in late May and have listened to them ad nauseum since then. This is probably my favorite playlist that I’ve made in recent memory. Have a listen and tell me what you think!

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Guster in Concert

I saw Guster in concert on Tuesday, a fact that anyone who lives with me, or who follows my Instagram feed closely is no doubt tired of hearing about 😀 But for the rest of you, I present these images and thoughts about the concert. In a nutshell, it was a fantastic night, concertgoing alone wasn’t the worst thing ever, and I plan to see them again sometime for sure.

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Ooh La La, My Guster Glasses and Earrings

I’m going to a Guster concert next week. And I’m hoping to be one of the lucky ones randomly chosen to attend their new album’s listening party before the concert. And just in case I am chosen, I’ve whipped up a magnetic topper for my glasses, some earrings, rings, bracelets, and necklaces, all inspired by the new album’s cover art. Because why simply be a “fan” when you can be “that weirdo who made jewelry to match the album art”?

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Polka Dot Radio Playlists

It’s always hard for me to write the first post after a long break. I usually feel some pressure to make it awesome. Often I’ve compiled a few eloquent posts in my head by now, but committing them to “paper” poses a challenge. So today I’m all about a fairly simple topic: some new playlists you might like, and the online tools I used to make them.

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