Howdy!
I’m excited to share the next mixtape with you all. There’s no theme, no background, no nothing this time around, so I’ll just let the music speak for itself. I’ve got loads of other things swirling, and I hope to be able to bring you some big news in the not-so-distant future. For now, plug in your headphones and rock out with me!
<3 / ∑>
1. Beach House - “Zebra”
“They did it. What we were talking about. That ‘Zebra’ track is a killer rock song.” This was my friend Jim’s reaction after returning from a Beach House show a couple weeks ago, having yet to hear the full Teen Dream record in full. Our discussion had been around how long it had been since someone wrote a serious banger of a rock song (a la “Float On,” which he gets to play every night on tour and loves it every time). I’m not quite ready to put it on that level, but man is it ever a jam.
2. The Phoenix Foundation - “Buffalo”
This gem comes courtesy of New Zealander friend Jessie. Can’t thank her enough for sharing this tune that’s as beautiful as the country it comes from. Almost as great as the song is the fact that when you order the CD, they send paper and instructions for folding your own origami buffalo.
“I’m on the sea floor / I am the mammal you adore”
3. Jonsi - “Animal Arithmetic”
I absolutely adore the playfulness of this song, and just about fell to giggles when Jonsi came out on stage at the live show with a full headdress dancing around stage like a wild child (something that the rest of us would totally do in our own bedrooms). Even independent of the rest of the album, this track makes me wonder how much better Where The Wild Things Are would have been had Jonsi done the soundtrack.
4. The Ruby Suns - “Cranberry”
I’ll admit, the new Ruby Suns record kinda pissed me off at first. My first reaction was “oh, great, they heard the Animal Collective and Toro Y Moi records and decided they should jump on that bandwagon.” While that still holds true to some extent, I’m glad I didn’t write them off entirely, as there are actually some really well-written songs mixed in (like this one).
5. First Rate People - “Girls’ Night”
This track showed up in my inbox last week from a friend. Awesome. Love when that happens.
6. The Kindness - “Gee Up”
I can’t really tell you much about The Kindness. Really, nothing. I know what you can find here, and also that this song is awesome.
7. Fang Island - “Life Coach”
The lastest Fang Island record was something I slept on, even through all the SXSW buzz, and in the last two weeks it has become one of my most listened to records. Don’t be silly like me. Get it NOW! Or distract yourself with the totally awesome video for this song.
8. Generationals - “Faces In The Dark”
Generationals have a lot of different types of songs in their arsenal, and this one definitely gets filed under “drunken campfire songs sung with friends.” Check out some of their other sounds here.
9. Turin Brakes - “Sea Change”
Yep, you guessed it, another band I slept on. I had had their record in my inbox for a year before a notice that they were playing Popscene in San Francisco finally got me to have a listen. Turns out it’s quite lovely — quality songwriting, beautiful harmonies, and a good amount of thunderous thumping to drive the beat forward.
10. Lissie - “Bad Romance (Lady Gaga Cover - Live)”
What do you get when you take a really well-written but horribly overproduced song and give it to a girl with a downright earth-shattering voice to play live just for the sake of posting on YouTube? Brilliance.
11. The Wailing Wall - “Speak Not Its Name”
This is the first track off The Wailing Wall’s debut The Low Hanging Fruit. Twenty seconds in, I was about to move the album to the trash. Two minutes in, I had already sent the record to a friend, and I wouldn’t leave my chair until the album had finished. Check a live performance of two other tracks (coming on future mixtapes) here.
12. Born Ruffians - “What To Say”
Look for Born Ruffians to “come out of nowhere” (you know, except those last few records and years of touring) with their latest album, if only as a result of this song blowing up. As has become their style, they craft absolutely masterful and soulful songs from as few pieces as possible.
13. The Benjamins - “Wonderful”
While The Benjamins are now defunct, I still listen to their record at least once a week. Perhaps because it reminds me of Milwaukee, but more likely because of songs like this that are snarky gems of brilliance.
“I’m your Einstein on acid / your Superman, if you will / if you would / think you could do a lot worse than me”
14. Facing New York - “Cops On Bikes”
A far cry from their usual guitar shredding, Oakland’s Facing New York have created a suburban delinquent’s anthem of epic proportions. They’re playing some west coast shows with Dredg, and I hear they’re bringing four guitars. Watch out.
15. 1, 2, 3 - “Confetti”
Challenging Girls, The The, and !!! for worse SEO in a band name, 1, 2, 3 write some dangerously catchy tunes. And after 20 minutes of searching, I finally found a place to point you to more :)
holy crap! i love it when i do a mixtape! aren’t i awesome?!?! err…somethin…
