October Mix

It's been a while, but I hope I have made up for the lack of posts with this extra special mix. No Halloween theme, but a lot of new music I'm very excited about, in fact I think all of it may be from this past year (don't quote me on it though).  There's stuff from the Drive soundtrack, two tracks from Still Corners, and something new from The Soft Moon.  Hope you like it.

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1.  Exorcised Painting - Mood Rings

2.  Sad Girls - Big Troubles

3.  Rats Live On No Evil Star - Ringo Deathstarr

4.  Total Decay - The Soft Moon

5.  Blue Rose - Speculator

6.  Into the Trees - Still Corners

7.  Wild at Heart - Lisbonne

8.  Sunsets - Malvoeaux

9.  The Last Line - Tammar

10.  Feyd Rautha Dark Heart - Grimes

11.  Videotapes - Blouse

12.  City Vs Mountains - Airbird

13.  Nightcall - Kavinsky & Lovefoxxx

14.  Landslide - Harmonizer

15.  Pretender - Black Marble

16.  I Know That You Will - I Do Not Love

17.  Cuckoo - Still Corners

August Mix

Here it is the "August Mix." I have some brand new songs, some classics, a couple of interesting covers (my new favorite is HEALTH's cover of Pictureplane's "Gothstar"), and quite a few different genres if I do say so myself. I hope you enjoy.

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1.  Harsh Realm - Widow Speak

2.  She Didn't Know - Twerps

3.  Web In Front - Archers of Loaf

4.  Time - Selebrities

5.  Seafoam Green - The Bilinda Butchers

6.  Dark Bloom - Pink Playground

7.  Eyes Closed - Soft Metals

8.  R U Happy - Rimar

9.  Wicked Game - Washed Out

10.  Carry Me Ohio - Sun Kil Moon

11.  Public Image - Public Image Ltd.

12.  Loveless Love - The Feelies

13.  Goth Star - HEALTH

14.  Underworlds USA - Cold Cave

15.  Eat Yr Heart - HTRK

16.  IxC999 - White Ring

Hold Tight...

Surprise, surprise, there is going to be a one or two day delay in the "August" mix.  But I'd rather give you a good mix than a haphazard one.  In the meantime, does any one else get a Laura Palmer vibe from this video?

(and yes, I do realize that this video was made a couple years before she even existed)

July Mix

So my long-overdue July Mix is technically in August...but hopefully the quality will make up for the quantity, or should I say frequency?  Mostly new songs and quite a few artists (and labels) that I've posted before.  Not the same songs though; I would never do that to you! Hope you like.

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1.  Alone - J Mascis

2.  Meet Me In the City - The Babies

3.  The Hoodoo - Purling Hiss

4.  San Cristabal De Las Casas - Swirlies

5.  Shredder - Jeff The Brotherhood

6.  XCPR - Hoop Dreams

7.  I Just Don't Know How To Say Goodbye - The Millennium

8.  Cog - Eternal Summers

9.  Value Lines - Brilliant Colors

10.  Shadow - Grass Widow

11.  Hurricane - The Coathangers

12.  Dextromethorphan - [PHYSICS]

13.  Lost Time - The Never Years

14.  Natural - Clams Casino

15.  Brokendate - Com Truise

16.  Hanging On - Active Child

17.  o m a m o r i - Elite Gymnastics

18.  ...And The Rain - John Maus

No June Mix Yet...

Nothing really blew me away this past month. BUT, this past week I've discovered a lot of cool music and may do a mid July mix in addition to my usual July mix to make up for it. So stay tuned...

Purity Ring - Ungirthed

I realized almost immediately after I posted this month's mix I had put the wrong Purity Ring song in it.  Not to say that I don't love "Lofticries," but I felt obligated to post this song as well because it's so damn catchy and I can't stop listening to it.  Hope you like it too.

Ungirthed by PURITY RING

May Mix

I feel like this mix is especially hodge-podge, but that's a good thing, I mean that's the point of these mixes, right?  There's some riot grrrl and X (RIP my Hole - Live Through This cassette that died this past Sunday),  a Purity Ring song that I'm obsessed with, a few songs that remind me of my mom, and quite a few brand new songs (I know there are two Quiet Lights songs, but I like them both...).  Hope you enjoy!

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1.  Bunhill Fields - Amor de Dias

2.  CQ Car Chase - Mellow

3.  I'd Rather Dance With You - Kings Of Convenience

4.  Catch The Wind - Donovan

5.  Song for Adam - Jackson Browne

6.  The Arrangement - Joni Mitchell

7.  Lofticries - Purity Ring

8.  Sofija - Jesse Ruins

9.  Sunday - Dreams

10.  March - Quiet Lights

11.  Sundown - COLOURS

12.  Ablaze - Quiet Lights

13.  Malibu - Hole

14.  Outta Me - Bikini Kill

15.  Nausea - X

April Mix

Late as usual...
This month (or last month) I started listening to a couple of really great bands, Yuck and The Soft Moon.  They both sort of set the mood for this mix, a bit 90's sounding and a little melancholy.  Hope you enjoy them as much as I have.  I also have a few electro tracks, as always... And I thought I'd throw in a little Jenny Lewis which, if you ever listened to my radio show, you know is a staple in my own musical diet.

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1.  When It's Over - The Soft Moon

2.  Smile When You Smile - A Place to Bury Strangers

3.  Blown A Wish - My Bloody Valentine

4.  Belong (Daytrotter Session) - The Pains of Being Pure At Heart

5.  Screaming Skull - Sonic Youth

6.  Hawaii - No Joy

7.  Get Away - Yuck

8.  Camouflage - Small Black

9.  Believer - John Maus

10.  Beat and the Pulse - Austra

11.  Do You Really Wanna Know - Papercuts

12.  Blue Above The Rooftops - Eugenius

13.  Blackeye - Love Inks

14.  Joe Says - The Sandwitches

15.  Godspeed - Jenny Lewis

16.  Love Hurts - Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris

March Mix

More new music than old this month, and a few of my all-time favorite artists.
This mix is full of lots of "clingy-clangy" music.  So if you aren't into that, you probably won't like this mix. But if you do...enjoy!

Download here

1.  While You Doooo - Teebs

2.  Touch - HOLY OTHER

3.  Waterparker - Botany

4.  Feels Like Heaven - Adventure

5.  Young Silence - Echo Lake

6.  So High - Ringo DeathStarr

7.  Eyes Feathers - Sweet Bulbs

8.  Esa Nena Nunca Regreso - Davila 666

9.  Connection - King Tuff

10.  Finger - Ty Segall

11.  Diamond Way - JEFF The Brotherhood

12.  Puppet Man - Jay Reatard

13.  Hang Wire - Pixies

14.  You Should Close the Door - Craft Spells

15.  Sharivari - The Dirtbombs

16.  Captin - Scary Mansion

17.  Sparkler - Jeans Wilder

18.  Last One Awake (Friend Version) - Memory Cassette

19.  Emergency Room - Ford & Lopatin

20.  ep - Junior Boys

February Mix

If February was like any other "normal" month, it would still be February now... It's not my fault it is now March and my mix is a couple days late, blame February!

Anyway, I'm going to try and do something a little different this month; someone suggested that I describe each track, and give a sort of explanation as to why I chose it for the month's mix.  Hopefully you like it, if not, let me know...

This month's mix is a little bit....(dare I say?) mainstream.  But, I think it's still eclectic and smooth, and fingers crossed there are a few songs you haven't heard just yet.

Download here

1.  Hot Sand - Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue's biggest hit was "Venus" (which was later covered by Bananarama), but I think this fuzzy guitar (sitar?) jam is almost just as fun.

2.  Can't Seem To Make You Mine - The Seeds
I love his voice in this song.  He sounds completely desperate and on edge, but it's really cool how the rest of it is so slow-paced and lazy, creating anticipation and anxiety throughout the song, not only for the singer, but for the listener as well.

3.  Play With Fire - Twice as Much
A cover of a Rolling Stones song, but a good one (The Dum Dum Girls cover isn't bad either).

4.  You Showed Me - The Turtles
Slower than "Happy Together," but a just as good, if not better, song.  Especially true if you're a big Kinks fan.

5.  Brief Candles - The Zombies
Odessey & Oracle, the album this track is off of, was released after The Zombies had broken up, which was a shame because it's such an amazing album!  I don't think there is a track on it I don't like. "Brief Candles" is one of my favorites.

6.  I Had A King - Joni Mitchell
Not from Blue, but another fantastic album, Song To A Seagull, "I Had A King" is so pretty and poetic I think Annette Bening would probably sing this song at an awkward dinner party too.  No one can convey such beauty and emotion into a song like Joni can...

7.  Middle Cyclone - Neko Case
This what country music is supposed to sound like, right? Maybe it's just country-folk-pop-core.

8.  The Strangers - St. Vincent
Every time I hear a St. Vincent song, I can't help but think of my favorite feminist bookstore.  Also, the bass at the end of this song is great.

9.  The Rip - Portishead
When I first started my radio show, a few years ago, I was really into Portishead, and when Third came out I think it was heavy on my rotation for months.  I'm embarrassed of some of the songs on my old playlists, but I am not embarrassed of this one, or any other track by them.  Radiohead does a nice cover of this song too.

10.  BASF ace - Com Truise
I don't know anything about Com Truise, but I know that if you like instrumental tracks with a chill-wave vibe, you'll probably like this one.

11.  6699 (I Don't Know If You Know) - Neon Indian
This song has a mood/tone that is sadder than the rest of the album (which I still like...)

12.  Natural Causes - Nite Jewel
I know that this is the second Nite Jewel song in a row, and it's from the same 12"...but I think I like this one even better than the previous track I posted.  I love the lyrics, I love the sound, I love everything about it.  It's smooth, but hazy, slow, but danceable, and just the right amount of melancholy...

13.  I Want You - Summer Camp
When I first started listening to this song, I wasn't a huge fan of the music or the lyrics, but as it became darker and more intense, I began to like it more and more.  Around the 2:00 mark it turns into the type of song I love, building bass, desperate sounding vocals, and a hook that you can't get out of your head.

14.  Rosa - Grimes
Vocal melodies that overlap and a good bass line, sounds like a good combo to me.

15.  Tip Of Your Tongue - Porcelain Raft
If you like the Pains of Being Pure At Heart, you'll probably like "Tip Of Your Tongue."

16.  Spirit - Arc in Round
Also like the Pains of Being Pure At Heart, but the more shoe-gazey Pains of Being Pure At Heart.

I obviously lost a little steam at the end there, but hopefully it will give you a better idea of what you are about to listen to! (should you choose to download)

January Mix?

Two days late....Oh well, hopefully February's mix will still be in February.  I'm going to attempt to be on my A-game this month.  This mix is a bit of a hodgepodge, but isn't that the point of the "menagerie?"  It's messy in a good way; a little 80's super-group, noisy 90's trip-hop, some new stuff from familiar artists, a bit of chill-wave (bad connotation, but I only have the best of intentions) that wouldn't be un-welcome on 94.7 The WAVE, and Carissa's Wierd? That one is for 16 year old me, 16 year old me would have loooooved Carissa's Wierd, had I known about it at the time....

Here it is, enjoy.

1. Two Cool Rock Chicks Listening to Neu - Ciccone Youth

2. Wasting Time - Reading Rainbow

3. Jesus Fever - Kurt Vile

4. Wild I - The Babies

5. Devils Hearts Grow Gold - La Sera

6. Caregiver - Memoryhouse

7. New Beat - Toro Y Moi

8. Weak Need - Sad Souls

9. It Goes Through Your Head (DaM-FunK Clubdub) - Nite Jewel

10. Like I Do - Star Slinger

11. Cover Your Tracks - Young Galaxy

12. Ignorant Piece Of Shit - Carissa's Wierd

13. Drag Open - Women

14. Wild Bore - Mika Miko

15. Teenager - Cowabunga Babez

16. I Sing Just For You - Pens

17. Perfume - The Jesus & Mary Chain

18. Another Day - Air

Top Albums of 2010

I had to think about this for a long time...

Honorable Mention: School of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire

15. Twin Shadow - Forget

14. No Age - Everything In Between

13. Women - Public Strain

12. Marnie Stern - Marnie Stern

11. Happy Birthday - Happy Birthday

10. Tobacco - Maniac Meat

9. Toro Y Moi - Causers Of This

8. Sleigh Bells - Treats

7. The Radio Dept. - Clinging to a Scheme

6. CocoRosie - Grey Oceans

5. No Joy - Ghost Blonde

4. Beach House - Teen Dream

3. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two (Return of The Ankh)

2. Ty Segall - Melted

1. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me

Less Than Zero Playlist

Note: I had this post ready a couple days before Christmas, but my parents live in the stone-age and didn't have wireless or a fast enough connection for me to upload this when I originally intended.

Many forget that Bret Easton Ellis's Less Than Zero is actually a Christmas story (I mean, how could you forget?).  During a time of the year when everyone is supposed to be coming together, showing kindness, and celebrating life and new beginnings, Ellis's novel focuses on how its characters, privileged Los Angeles teens, can no longer connect to one another on any sort of emotional level.  The city of Los Angeles is its own character in the story, and in L.A. neo-noir fashion, it consumes the innocence and humanity of everyone in it, and as their real identities disappear, selfish, almost sociopathic, facades emerge in place.  These characters realize what is happening to them, but instead of fighting it, most of them decide to ride it out, even if it does end up a dead end.    

Music plays a huge role in Less Than Zero and so I decided to base my Christmas playlist on Clay's Christmas break playlist, chronicling every song he remembers, listens to, or is played in the background during his break.  As I was taking down each song, I noticed that even the more briefly mentioned songs said more than just the place or time period of the book, they had something to say about the individual characters, and how they were truly feeling at that specific point in the story.  I could write a post and explanation for each song as well as the plethora of other artists just mentioned in the book (Kim seems to like Prince, Bob Seger is embarrassing, and something interesting I found is that most of the artists/songs that Clay and his friends like are surprisingly poppy, but many have dark undertones, etc. etc. etc.), but I won't bore you with that right now.  I'll leave you with just the tracklisting, which almost tells the story on its own.

Here is a mixtape consisting of every track that is mentioned in the book as well as what page you can find them on.  A couple are played or hummed by the characters, and some have various artists and no specific artist mentioned in the book, for those I chose a version myself.  Enjoy! and Merry Christmas, or not.

1. New Kid In Town - The Eagles (12)

2. Crimson & Clover - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (20)

3. Teenage Enema Nurses in Bondage - Killer Pussy (25)

4. Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? - Culture Club (30)

5. Artificial Insemination - Elton Motello (40)

6. The Earthquake Song - The Little Girls (45)

7. Straight Into Darkness - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (48)

8. September Song - Sara Vaughan (67)

9. In The Sun - Blondie (74)

10. Hungry Like A Wolf - Duran Duran (120)

11. L.A. Woman - The Doors (147)

12. On The Sunny Side of the Street - Judy Garland (164)

13. Tainted Love - Soft Cell (178)

14. Somebody Got Murdered - The Clash (181)

15. I Love L.A. - Randy Newman (193)

16. Worlds Away - The Go-Go's (198)

17. Vacation - The Go-Go's (198)

18. Los Angeles - X (207)