It’s been far too long since I’ve made a mix. Here’s one to kick off summer:
Saturday Nights In Neon Light 01| Stars - Take Me to the Riot
02| Alphabeat - Fascination
03| Jimmy Eat World - Here It Goes
04| Vampire Weekend - I Stand Corrected
05| She & Him - Sweet Darlin’
06| Head of Femur - Jetway Junior
07| The Fashion - Solo Impala
08| Hot Chip - Ready For the Floor
09| Kate Nash - Pumpkin Soup
10| Shout Out Louds - Tonight I Have to Leave It
After reading Perfect From Now On, I promptly hopped on the internet and asked author John Sellers to make a mixtape for the M|H. He ever-so-kindly obliged and I now proudly present you with this lovely mix to close out the year. Clocking in at a little over sixteen minutes, it’s a perfect get ready and go mix.
From John Sellers:
“I have a shockingly short attention span. Luckily, some musicians have helped me out by writing incredibly short songs that still manage to totally rule. here are thirteen rockers that check in at 1:30 or under. The best part is, if you don’t like one of them, it’ll be over quick.”
01| Guided By Voices - Wire Greyhounds
02| The Beatnik Filmstars - Hairstyle of a Smug Bastard
03| Sleater-Kinney - A Real Man
04| Pavement - Heckler Spray
05| Robert Pollard - I’m A Strong Lion
06| Archers of Loaf - Fat
07| Times New Viking - Ladders
08| Pixies - Distance Equals Rate Times Time
09| Guided By Voices - Shocker In Gloomtown
10| Bad Brains - Pay to Cum!
11| The Replacements - Customer
12| Sebadoh - Sixteen
13| Pixies - Broken Face
Just in time for fall: a new mixtape. Kind of a downer and strings-heavy, it’s just right for the fading of summer.
Love Is A Tired Symphony You Hum When You’re Awake Tracklist
01| Summer Overture by Clint Mansell
02| Your Ex-Lover is Dead by Stars
03| Skelton Key by Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s
04| Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez
05| Lion’s Mane by Iron & Wine
06| One More Day With You by Chauntelle DuPree, Zac Hanson, and Jon Crosby
07| The Waltze of the Tennis Players by Meg Baird
08| Swans by Unkle Bob
09| New Fall by Matt Pond PA
10| The Engine Driver by The Decemberists
11| A Lack of Color by Death Cab for Cutie
12| Breathe Me by Sia
13| Breaker by Low
14| Calculation Theme by Metric
15| Street Spirit (Fade Out) by Radiohead
We are pleased to bring you this fantastically crafted mixtape by Jose of Harlem Shakes.
A few words from Jose:
When I make a mix, it’s almost always for a friend, and I generally give it a title and a some kind of a theme. This mix is an exception to both of those rules. This is new and exciting territory for me, just putting a bunch of songs I like together and making them fit together without some specific purpose. Still, I try to employ the same techniques when I’m putting something together, building the mix around 3 or 4 songs, usually the first and last track and a centerpiece near the middle and trying to match everything around it (I always try to make it so that the first track sets the tone and the last provides some sort of climax or catharsis).
“Have You Seen in Your Dreams” is an appropriate kick-off for this mix, with dripping-wet shimmery production and tender vocals. Miracle Fortress is the solo project of Graham Van Pelt of Think About Life. He, along with Shapes and Sizes, is a friend of a friend from Montreal and I’m so glad to have been turned onto both bands. There’s also a pair of tracks by Asobi Seksu and White Rabbits, two bands with whom we share the same maestro/producer, Chris Zane. His work makes me shiver.
The song I wanted to highlight the most is “The Greater Times” by Electrelane. There’s no other band that I am as pleased or as excited to listen to these days. This song is exactly what I want from the pop idiom. From the sweet, heart-aching lyrics to the way she desperately turns “the walls” into “oohs” at the climax — this is my perfect pop song.
I love Canadian bands. Frog Eyes can sometimes be hit-or-miss for me, though on the whole I’m a fan of their records. Their newest, Tears of the Valedictorian, closes with “Bushels”, and it’s basically a summary of the rest of the record. I love the dynamic progression that barrels right through a strong (and seemingly short) nine minutes and forces you to listen to the whole song. The first time I heard that snare/piano roll that finishes each phrase in the first verse, I was hooked.
I don’t want to imply that the rest of the mix is merely filler, though I think everything somehow refers or relates to these three songs in some way. I also don’t want to waste your time with a song-by-song description, so I’ll just let the music do the talking from here. These are some of my favorite songs by bands I love/adore/know. Enjoy!
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Mixtapes Heartbreaks by Jose of Harlem Shakes
01| Have You Seen in Your Dreams by Miracle Fortress
02| Cindy Tells Me by Brian Eno
03| Apartment Story by The National
04| Boom! It’s Spring by Night Canopy
05| Thursday by Asobi Seksu
06| When You Sleep by My Bloody Valentine
07| Desaparecere by Deerhoof
08| Take Pills by Panda Bear
09| Alone/Alive by Shapes and Sizes
10| The Greater Times by Electrelane
11| Burning the Cow by Earlimart
12| Just Off the Coast by Clearlake
13| Blue Bell Knoll by Cocteau Twins
14| March of the Camels by White Rabbits
15| Bushels by Frog Eyes
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The mix is toobig for one file, so it has been split into two parts:
It’s finally here, friends: our first celebrity mixtape! Punchline’s Steve Soboslai was kind enough to make this for us and I’m proud to share it with you all.
This Is My Mix
01| Homewrecker by Illuminea 02| Crazy by Barely Blind 03| Builder by Procession Came Opposite 04| Dorothy at Forty by Cursive 05| New Mistake by Jellyfish
Made for my friend Jesse’s birthday, it ends up being a love letter to emo.
With A Heart So Vicious Tracklist
01| Bayside - Masterpiece
02| From First to Last - Note To Self
03| Armor For Sleep - Car Underwater
04| Brand New - Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades
05| The Impossibles - This Is Fucking Tragic
06| Blood Brothers - Love Rhymes With Hideous Car Wreck
07| This Providence - Card House Dreamer
08| Head Automatica - The Razor
09| Fall Out Boy - XO
10| Coheed & Cambria - Devil In Jersey City
11| Alkaline Trio - Queen of Pain
12| Saves the Day - Bones
13| Taking Back Sunday - Error: Operator
14| The Academy - Slow Down
15| The Get Up Kids - Forgive and Forget
16| Jimmy Eat World - No Sensitivity
17| The Jealous Sound - Anxious Arms
18| Say Anything - Spidersong
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The file is too large for one player so it’s been split into two parts; when paused the player will continue to load and will save the place you left off.
Here is a new mixtape for your listening pleasure. It’s kind of a cheat as it’s 1.25 years old, but most of you have never heard it before. It’s called Fall Asleep With Your Headphones On and I made it for my friend Tim (though it is about someone else entirely). It is an excellent breakup playlist.
Fall Asleep With Your Headphones On 01) Death Cab for Cutie - Marching Bands of Manhattan
02) The Postal Service - Brand New Colony
03) Frou Frou - Let Go
04) Brand New - Jaws Theme Swimming
05) Matt Pond PA - The Summer Is Coming
06) Between the Buried and Me - Colorblind
07) The Honorary Title - Everything I Once Had
0 Dashboard Confessional - Remember to Breathe
09) Rocky Votolato - Suicide Medicine
10) Colin Hay - I Just Don’t Think That I’ll Ever Get Over You
11) Motion City Soundtrack - My Favorite Accident (acoustic)
12) Fall Out Boy - Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner (acoustic)
13) Saves the Day - Take Our Cars Now
14) Ted Leo - Since U Been Gone
15) Rhett Miller - Your Nervous Heart
16) Ben Lee - How To Survive A Broken Heart
17) The Beatles - You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
1 Jamie Cullum - High & Dry
19) The Format - A Mess to Be Made
20) Dog’s Eye View - Umbrella
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The file is too large for one player and has been split into two parts. The file will continue to load and keep its place if paused.
Since Devon was kind enough to share the mixtape maker with me, I thought I’d post his as well.
A message from Devon: This mix is called “Busy Clippers” (which is a semi-lyric taken from the Morrissey solo track we rock herein). I started out trying to make a little MP3 player thing for my myspace, then figured out that this company actually makes the playlist and flash player movie frame as a sort of extra swf page on their site, which means that you can extract the code and email a direct link. Brilliant! Of course, you can’t download the tracks, which is more legal, but regardless, you can listen to someone else’s awesome DJ slot while you’re online…anyhow, this mix was made for my favorite ex-girlfriend Victoria…and she liked it! So…
May 26, 2008 
Dashboard Confessional - Remember to Breathe
