July ’10 Mix

July 31, 2010

1) Each & Everyday – Crazy For You – Best Coast

When Best Coast is on, they combine lots of my favorite genres. Here you get some wonderful fuzzed out rock with some lovely girl group melodies tossed over. The droneout middle of the song makes this the album closer, but I like working backwards so it’s my opener.

2) A Day Long Past It’s Prime – Are You My Mother? – Kathryn Calder

I’m pretty sure that apostrophe doesn’t belong there, but it’s in there on the album, I swear. Calder has a hard time ditching her New Pornographer roots, as this song strongly mimics some of her uncle Carl Newman’s tricks. Never a bad thing, really.

3) Kiss With A Fist – Lungs – Florence + The Machine

Songs about domestic violence aren’t really my thing, but I bet Mel Gibson loves the shit out of this song. So I’ll dedicate this track to Mel, you horrible piece of shit.

4) Eclipse (All Yours) – Twilight – Eclipse – Metric

Yeah, this was written ESPECIALLY FOR THE MOVIE. Emily Haines actually read the books the wikipedia summaries of the books and wrote this track. So it has all the requisite longing and sadness. Thankfully, she pulls short of referencing shirtless werewolves.

5) Empty Room – The Suburbs – Arcade Fire

I’m not sure what to make of the new Arcade Fire album quite yet, but this track jumped out at me as one of the few tracks with real energy. It’s a bit messy, but I’ve always liked Arcade Fire more when they were a bit rough around the edges. Less preachy that way.

6) Foxhole – L’Aventure – The Happy Hollows

I have three versions of this song on my hard drive. Two of them are by Television, which makes this the worst version, but it’s still a great version.

7) Supertoys – Transit Transit – Autolux

Autolux has FINALLY put out this album after releasing the first single two years ago. Carla Azar is still destroying on drums, but now they sing about A.I. The Movie.

8) Stranger in the Window – Elf Power – New Elf Power

Elf Power is kind of the forgotten Elephant Six band, but they’re still cranking out records. I haven’t been in love with them since Dream in Sound but they usually manage a track or two. I think it’s about love. I’m pretty sure it’s about love.

9) Go Outside – “Cults 7″”" – Cults

Choirs are a cheap way to get your on my mixtapes. I swear everything sounds better when a bunch of folks are singing it at the same time.

10) When Love Is New – Songcatcher – Dolly Parton and Emmy Rossum

This popped up from a gift mix I got… 3 years ago? I really dug the mix because it had some inside jokes, call and response music choices, a kind of mixtape conversation. I think I had the White Stripes’ cover of Jolene on one my mixes, and this was kind of like, “here’s some real actual Dolly Parton, dickhead.” Look, I didn’t say it was a friendly conversation.

11) Bully – Catching A Tiger – Lissie

Lissie’s been one of my favorite newish acts, just because her voice is stellar. Shamefully, about half of her debut record is overproduced to inanity, destined for TV show soundtrack packages and what not. This track is from the other half.

12) Evening Star – Destroyer of The Void – Blitzen Trapper

I shelved the new Blitzen Trapper record for a while because it just didn’t click for me, but I gave it another pass, and this is some kind of sad cougar ballad, about using time machines to recapture your stonewashed high school glory. If it’s not, I like my interpretation better anyway.

Posted in Mixtape