Sunday, December 14, 2008

#32: NOT A CLOCK. A CLOUD.



It's the end of the year and it's funny that the last mix is actually part 2 of the "positively happy" theme from the previous month. I guess it's appropriate that the year end is nothing more than the conclusion of something that had been building for a long time. The songs contained herein are comprised of the more dance and beat oriented variety. If this doesn't get your head and booty bobbin, there may not be much hope for you. Seriously the song "Fascination" is the feel good song of the year. Possibly the decade. It's operating on the "Walking on Sunshine" or "Let's Hear it for the Boys" kinda level.

Not only is this positivity born from the political rebirth experienced in the last months, but it's also bubbling up from some of my recent thoughts on the nature of consciousness and life. I have just finished reading "Proust Was a Neuroscientist" and it's one of the best books I have read in a while. It's got me thinking about the brain and the fact that almost every aspect of the human experience is a hodge-podge of synaptic sensation, subjective interpretation, and faulty recollection. The brain is really just making up everything as we go. It's even possibly fabricating what we sense as the "self". The title of the mix is a reminder that our experience is not driven by time, but by the multiplicity of ways the self chooses to experience the world. So choose wisely and don't let life to be dominated by a linear state of mind. After all there is no absolute tick of the clock.

And no, it's not mistake I have included Coolio's "Fantastic Voyage".

Download the Mix as a 132 MB Zip File
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email me if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:
(The links below will lead you to ways of supporting these artists)

01 Katamari on the Rock, Katamari Damacy Soundtrack
02 Paul Simon, Russian Futurists
03 Happy Rap, Junior Senior
04 Fascination, Alphabeat
05 Lucas with the Lid Off, Lucas
06 Going Out of My Head, Fat Boy Slim
07 A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays, De La Soul
08 Fantastic Voyage, Coolio
09 Hot Topic, Le Tigre
10 Konichiya Bitches, Robyn
11 Working For Vacation, Cibo Matto
12 I Told Her on Alderaan, Neon Neon
13 Joy!, Gay Dad
14 Here Comes..., Tahiti 80
15 Praise You, Fat Boy Slim
16 Since I Left, The Avalanches
17 Cantaloop, US3
18 Deeper Shade of Soul, Urban Dance Squad
19 I Believe in You YACHT
20 Up a Tree Again, Looper

Sunday, November 30, 2008

#31: WE SOLVE OURSELVES



So here we are, at the other side of the great divide, and damn it feels great. As promised, this months mix is an attempt to create the happiest and most hopeful mix I could. I had no idea how hard that would be. I never quite realized how rare truly positive music is. Perhaps it's me, but almost all of the music I consume and collect has some element of angst, tension or cynicism in it. I even had to include more "classic" songs than I normally would as means to build up the appropriate amount of celebration. Perhaps the human element just finds struggle more interesting than contentment.

Anyway, this mix is comprised of songs that are not only "happy" but also capture a certain element of youthful naivety that I believe is required of the uncompromisingly positive. Even though I claim that this mix was inordinately hard to create, the process actually resulted in two full mixes. The next installment will publish in a week or so as the final mix of the year. I hope you enjoy them.

Download the Mix as a 121 MB Zip File
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email me if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:
(The links below will lead you to ways of supporting these artists)

01 American Music, Violent Femmes
02 Big Dipper, Built to Spill
03 King of Carrot Flowers Part 1, Neutral Milk Hotel
04 5 Years Time, Noah and the Whale
05 Dr. Worm, They Might Be Giants
06 Why Did We Ever Meet?, Promise Ring
07 Step Into My Office, Baby, Belle & Sebastian
08 Saturday Night, Bay City Rollers
09 Lust for Life, Iggy Pop
10 Alright, Supergrass
11 Why Doe the Sun Shine?, They Might Be Giants
12 Race for the Prize, Flaming Lips
13 A Life of Possibilities, The Dismemberment Plan
14 Chicago, Sufjan Stevens
15 Kim & Jessie, M83
16 Section 12 (Hold Me Now), Polyphonic Spree
17 We're From Barcelona, I'm From Barcelona
18 The Contents of Lincoln's Pockets, Rainer Maria
19 Can't Hardly Wait Replacements
20 (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?, Elvis Costello

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

#30: ANTICIPATING THE HUMAN



Four years ago, I started the never-ending internet mixtape in the month of October with what I dubbed Rocktober. It was an opportunity to celebrate an overwhelming abundance of great rock songs that were just coming out of the woodwork at that time. On subsequent Rocktober mixes I explored many other facets of the rock meme I love so, much to the unsurprising enjoyment of my dear subscribers.

Yet this months mix breaks with the October trend for a couple of reasons. One because I have already focused on some raw rock textures in past mixes, namely last months. Two, because that would be too easy response to what is happening to this country right now. Surely there is a lot of anger and violence being felt right now that would be perfectly sated by some aggressive thrashing. But anger is not what I feel anymore. I've spent the last 8 years full of frustration and rage. But now I am filled with a deep sense of hope (yes I said it) and I am overwhelmingly excited about the prospects of the country heading in a new positive direction — a direction that chooses progress over grief. I mean I actually feel like I could proudly wave an American flag for the first time since I can even remember.

But everything isn't all wine and roses yet, I am too much a pessimist to believe that. Any positivity is equally offset by a nagging, electric anxiety. One that remembers the atmosphere of doom that saturates our world. One that knows that this country is capable of approaching the precipice of the great divide, only to crumble under the pressure of the leap that needs to be made, retreating into the violence of fear. This is not a leap of faith, but one of reason. We are so close. I hope we can maintain our sense of reason as we face the blackness of the unknown.

I hope to see everyone on the other side of the divide, having experienced a very real, necessary, and unprecedented change. And when you come back to the NEIMT next month, you will find my attempt to create the absolute most unapologetically happiest mix ever created. Either that, or the saddest mix ever. Good luck to all of us.

And for goodness sake, please take the time to cast your vote.

Download the Mix as a 123 MB Zip File
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email me if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:
(The links below will lead you to ways of supporting these artists)

01 Wolfy, Giant Sand
02 Bang On, Breeders
03 Living on the Outside of Your Skin, Cloud Cult
04 Soul Jacker Pt. 1, Eels
05 This Life Cumulative, Joan of Arc
06 Era Prison, The Joggers
07 Mod Style '68, Single Frame
08 Pattern, French Toast
09 Cappo, No Age
10 Two States, Pavement
11 My Office, Wicked Farleys
12 Corpse Pose, Unwound
13 No One Does It Like You, Department of Eagles
14 Conjugate the Verbs, Enon
15 Hot Freaks, Guided By Voices
16 C-C (You Set the Fire in Me), Tom Vek
17 Logos, Faded Paper Figures
18 I Feel Better, Frightened Rabbit
19 Sounds, Earlimart
20 Golden Age, Tv on the Radio

Friday, September 26, 2008

#29: THICK IN THE NECK OF THE WOODS



Every month I am amazed at how the mix always comes together. I had no idea what this one was going to be like at all. I just started combing through my massive library hoping to fine one or two songs that would provide the inspiration. At first this mix was all about quirky indie pop. But then I ran across the song Bellbottoms by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. I hadn't heard that song in a long time, but it felt good. And a song that sweaty and salty couldn't sit next to some of the twee pop that was populating the playlist. So I rebuilt the whole thing with songs that expressed something similarly visceral and honest, songs that both honor a history of blues and country while also being decidedly modern.

Download the Mix as a 116 MB Zip File
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The tracklist is as follows:
(The links below will lead you to ways of supporting these artists)

01 Bellbottoms, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
02 White Belts, Make Up
03 Rich Girls Like To Steal, The Delta 72
04 Fuck the People, The Kills
05 Genius, Kings of Leon
06 Searching for a Ghost, Heartless Bastards
07 Love in a Trashcan, Raveonnettes
08 Three Cool Chicks, The 5, 6, 7, 8s
09 Bumblebee, The Casual Dots
10 Chinese Children, Devendra Banhart
11 God & Suicide, Blitzen Trapper
12 Flame that Killed John Wayne, Mekons
13 Break 'Em On Down, Soledad Brothers
14 Broadway, Old 97's
15 Nothing Short of Thankful, The Avett Brothers
16 Shelton Express, The Black Crabs
17 I Don't Want To Die (In The Hospital), Conor Oberst
18 Ballad of Cable, Calexico
19 O Lee O, O'Death
20 When the President Talks to God, Bright Eyes

Monday, August 25, 2008

#28: SUNTITLED



This months mix is something I have been cultivating for a while, waiting for just the right time of the year to drop it on y'all. Well the burnt out bleakness that is August in the midwest couldn't be more perfect. So I present to you an amazing collection of ambient, classical, and minimalist compositions that I believe are some of most beautiful music ever put into 1s and 0s. Here you'll get everything from achingly forlorn classical string arrangements to glitchy, fuzzed-out technominimalism.

To those of you that have never really spent much time with this kind of music, I would warn that it can't really be consumed the same way pop/rock/indy/country/hip hop can. It's a totally different animal. I would encourage you to put this on next time you are working hard on the computer and need a little white noise to fill in the silence. Or better yet, turn off all the lights in your house so that the only light is the trickle-in from the outside, open all your windows to let in the natural sounds of your environment bleed in, crank this mix up on a good stereo and just sit back with a good cocktail in your hand. Bliss.

Also note that the Glissade track comes via a friends newly launched label, Deep Space Recordings. Mad respect.

Download the Mix as a 136 MB Zip File
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email me if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:
(The links below will lead you to ways of supporting these artists)

01 Amreik, Eluvium
02 FUYU, Hologram
03 The Other Face, Fennesz
04 To, Goldmund
05 Shop in Store, Oval
06 Curious (about the way you'd speak my name if you loved me), all your gardening needs
07 A Concert for Television, Jan Jalinek
08 Hyas and Stenorhynchus, Yo La Tengo
09 Moon Mall, Johnny Greenwood
10 Untitled, Glissade
11 Open Spaces, Johnny Greenwood (There Will Be Blood original soundtrack)
12 Vier, Gas
13 Cloudhopper, Matmos
14 Rhubarb, Aphex Twin
15 Jpace, Phoenecia
16 Dungtitled (in A Major), Stars of the Lid
17 Sweet Love for Planet Earth, Fuck Buttons
18 Spring Heeled Jack Flies Tonight, Tim Hecker
19 Waves, Waves, Waves, M83
20 Flowers for Yulia, Max Richter

Sunday, July 27, 2008

#27: NOT TALKING ABOUT DANCE LESSONS



This months fix is finally making use of six months worth of collecting wonderful songs in the new folky-indie-hippie vein that seems to have exploded since this time last year. As you might notice, The Dodos make an unprecedented 3 time appearance in one mix. That's because I just couldn't decide which song to cut. They are just so good. Overall the focus of the mix is on acoustic sounds with a diverse worldly aesthetic, sensitive emo boy lyrics, a healthy dose of handclaps, a little art rock and a far amount of reverb. This mix also allowed me to put in some things that I have been trying to find places for for a while. Namely Yma Sumac and George Harrison. Both of which I listen to a lot, but rarely do they have a commonality with the indie rock that tends to be my focus here on the NEIMT. And last I'll note that I realize I am like 6 months behind with that Bon Iver song, but I just couldn't help myself. It's just that good. If you haven't yet been numbed to its charm, then here is one more chance.

Download the Mix as a 81 MB Zip File
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email me if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:
(The links below will lead you to ways of supporting these artists)
01 Fools, The Dodos
02 Four Points, Friska Viljor
03 Ragged Wood, Fleet Foxes
04 Abandon, French Kicks
05 The Cigarette Girl From the Future, Beauty Pill
06 I Was a Daughter, Basia Bulat
07 Tamacun, Rodrigo y Gabriela
08 The Ballad of Butter Beans, Man Man
09 Gopher, Yma Sumac
10 Song in 3/4, Loch Lomand
11 Walking, The Dodos
12 You May Be Blue, Vetiver
13 The Dogs of Buenos Aries, Mirah
14 New York 1930, The Dimes
15 Skinny Love, Bon Iver
16 Sandy Feat (7" version), High Places
17 Wedding Bell, Beach House
18 God?, The Dodos
19 Wah Wah, George Harrison
20 Bye Bye Bye, Plants and Animals

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

#26: SLOWLY APPLYING CONTRAINTS



As most of my friends know, I really don't like the sun. I spent 20 years growing up in Arizona and I think that has resulted in my being able to rarely ever see the sun again. I suppose that's why I loved living in Seattle so much. 8 months of cloudy drizzle was right up my alley. When the sun is out, I feel guilty for not being out there soaking it all in the way I am "supposed" to, when actually I'd just prefer to be inside reading a book.

On the other hand there is a lighter sense of being that comes with the arrival of summer. The heat gives license to dress more casually and loosen up all the tension that builds over the winter. Even I enjoy a good day spent at an awesome beach.

So this mix attempts to capture both the unbridled "fun" of summer tempered with just the right mix of dread and anger that slowly grows stronger as the summer drags on, steamy day after steamy midwest day. There are three major movements in this mix. The first third is probably the best first third of a mix I have ever constructed. I danced my ass off to it the other night. It's that good. The middle comes down a little bit to showcase some really earnest and melodically beautiful songs. The last part ramps the intensity up again, only this time the angst is more palpable. The whole thing ends with four fucking great songs. Make that five. No six. Seriously this mix is gold! Enjoy.

Download the Mix as a 99 MB Zip File
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email me if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:
(The links below will lead you to ways of supporting these artists)
01 New Wave, Against Me!
02 Living Well is the Best Revenge, REM
03 Constructive Summer, The Hold Steady
04 The Wagon, Dinosaur Jr.
05 Katrina, The Black Lips
06 Sound of Summer, Art Brut
07 The Sons of Cain, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
08 J,aime vous voire quitter, The Islands
09 Relative Surplus Value, The Weakerthans
10 Used Guitars, Red Collar
11 This is no fun, School of Language
12 In a Cave, Tokyo Police Club
13 Breaks, American Princes
14 Pillowhead, Failure
15 Lost in Amber, Steel Tigers of Death
16 Gift, Sugar
17 Lovenest, The Wedding Present
18 Don't Think Lover, A Place to Bury Strangers
19 No Lucifer, British Sea Power
20 Well Thought Out Twinkles, Silversun Pickups

Sunday, May 18, 2008

#25: LOVELY THINGS WE BURIED, PART 2



This is the second installment of the late 70s and early 80s pop, punk, post punk and new wave compilation. Lots of angular guitars by artists both new and old. Some probably familiar tracks woven amongst some more obscure stuff. Enjoy!

Download the Mix as a 100 MB Zip File
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email me if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:
(The links below will lead you to ways of supporting these artists)

01 All in the mind, Mother and the Addicts
02 Outlaw, Mission of Burma
03 See no evil, Television
04 Araby, The Reivers
05 The City is Here for You to Use, The Futureheads
06 A Question of Degree, Wire
07 Instant Hit, The Slits
08 Anticipation, Delta 5
09 Who Shot the Baby?, Dogs Die in Hot Cars
10 This City Holds Us All, The Situationists
11 Off Duty Trip, The Raincoats
12 Sgt. Rock (is going to help me), XTC
13 You Can't Fool Me Dennis, Mystery Jets
14 Re-Make/Re-Model, Roxy Music
15 Krimi, Kleenex/Liliput
16 Armageddon, The Au Pairs
17 Return the Gift, Gang of Four
18 Cool, Pylon
19 Eyes Wide Open, Radio 4
20 Victoria, Fall

Saturday, April 19, 2008

#24: LOVELY THINGS WE BURIED, PART 1



This mix is part of a massive beast that I have been working on perfecting for a long time now. Mostly inspired by my new obsession with Jay Reatard. All the feelings I feel when I bug out in the car to his songs like "Greed, Money, and Useless Children" are deeply rooted in the longtime fascination I've had with late 70s and early 80s pop, punk, post punk and new wave. Those genres, like all genres, are a muddy mess to classify, but in the end that sound in unmistakeable and infectious. Kinda like how Indie rock is a genre that has no aesthetic value but you know it when you hear it. But I digress.

Putting this together was just too hard to narrow down to a measly 20 songs. So it's coming in two parts. This first part focusing on more pop oriented new wave tracks as well as the more bar rock meets art rock detritus that sit in between the post punk and new wave isms. Like I said it's a muddy mess. You'll hear very familiar tracks mixed in with some that are more obscure, both new and old. The second installment is just as good as this, if even better. So stay tuned.

2 download links now available (but you only need one):
Link 1: Download the Mix as a 66 MB Zip File
Link 2: Download the Mix as a 66 MB Zip File

Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email me if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:
(The links below will lead you to ways of supporting these artists)

01 Away from the numbers, The Jam
02 Los Angeles,X
03 Mystery, The Wipers
04 My Family Jay Reatard
05 Astral Glamour, The Homosexuals
06 My Perfect Cousin, The Undertones
07 (Making) Teenage Faces, The Exploding Hearts
08 Roadrunner, The Modern Lovers
09 Teenage Nights, Nice Boys
10 Jet Boy, Johnny Thunders
11 Hibernate, High Tension Wires
12 Sitting Around At Home, The Buzzcocks
13 My Shadow, Jay Reatard
14 Janie Jones, The Clash
15 Monk Time, The Monks
16 Hanging on the Telephone, The Nerves
17 Rip Her to Shreds, Blondie
18 Cool For Cats, Squeeze
19 Message of Love, The Pretenders
20 Lip Service, The one and only Elvis Costello

Sunday, March 16, 2008

#23: SPACE… YES. BUT NOT TIME. NO.



So this mix started completely different. Full of neo-folk and textured singer songwriter stuff. It was really good too. Then the new Portishead & Gnarls Barkley albums leaked and they were so good, that I was instantly compelled to make a mix surrounding them. So here you get two of the best new Portishead songs and a Gnarls Barkley supa-jam surrounded by a plethora of electro inspired tunes that undulate between moody neo-noir set pieces and get the funk out grooviness. So the other mix will have to wait for another day. This was just too good an opportunity to pass up. Enjoy.

Download the Mix as a 133 MB Zip File
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email me if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:
(The links below will lead you to ways of supporting these artists)

01 Ready for the Floor, Hot Chip
02 Would Be Killer,Gnarls Barkley
03 Royal Gregory, Holy Fuck
04 Casting Agents and Cowgirls Busdriver
05 Asbestos Lead Asbestos Meat Beat Manifesto
06 Christiansands, Tricky
07 We Carry On, Portishead
08 Retina, Ellen Allien and Apparat
09 Dead Fingers Talking, Working for a Nuclear Free City
10 You've Got To… (Norman Cook Mix), The Young Punx!
11 Luxury Pool Neon Neon
12 Phantom, pt. 1, Justice
13 Solid Gold International Pony
14 Cancelled Pieces, Steve Jansen
15 Holdon, Apparat
16 Drivin' Me Wild, Common & Lily Allen
17 The Sex Has Made Me Stupid Robots in Disguise
18 Ramalama (Bang Bang), Roisin Murphy
19 Machine Gun, Portishead
20 Hey Muscles I Love You, Muscles
21 Thou Shalt Always Kill, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip

Sunday, February 17, 2008

#22: I WANNA BE YOUR JOEY RAMONE



Let me start off by saying that I generally dislike marginalizing musicians & artists by categorizing them as female. I mean it should be largely irrelevant when it comes assessing the quality and meaning of art. It's as insane as having a best actress category in the Academy Awards. How is what they are doing different from the male actors? Why are we unable to compare & evaluate them to each other?

So why the hell am I creating an all female mix, on f'ing valentines day of all things? Well the exception I take to the previously mentioned rule is with a certain grouping of female artists that blew my furtive little mind when I was just a youngin'. They made their femininity the subject of their aesthetic and message to a point that it would be missing the point to ignore. I believe we must consider their femininity when considering and enjoying the music in order to fully appreciate their intent. So there.

For a long time, I considered the fact that I was a full-on flannel-wearing Seattle grunge evangelist a key component of my self-perceived outsider status. What can I say? I was a suburban kid and my idea of a real counter-culture hadn't really developed yet. But my tastes and politics really began to change when I discovered, mostly via the soundbytes from Kurt Cobain, the pure ecstasy of a group called Bikini Kill. I bought the first 7" I could find and I was never really the same since.

Loving Bikini Kill led me down a long road of consuming any and every female punk or rock artist I could. For a while I thought myself as "feminist-minded", as much as a suburban white male could anyway. Meaning I was more likely to come to the defense of womans' issues or on the offense against patriarchal hypocrisy than I would the opposite. I played Rock for Choice benefit shows as well as read and even wrote the occasional leftist 'zine with passionate yet embarrassingly not-though-through tirades against the establishment. I tried my best to identify with feminist issues but mostly I strove to separate myself from the uber-aggressive dude culture that saturated my world in high school and college. I simply didn't enjoy bitch and dick jokes either. Go figure.

As I said earlier, the fact that I feel so compelled to post this mix dedicated to my most adored female musicians is fairly contradictory. I did it last year, I am doing it again and I'll probably do it again next year. Be that as it may, the result is still a pretty kick-ass mix of all the stuff that got me excited so many years ago. What you get here, my dear reader, is a best of the best of the best. Like Rocktober's mix, it's comprised mostly of songs from the mid nineties and it's not for everyone. It's loud, abrasive and oh so awesome.

Download the Mix as a 76 MB Zip File
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email me if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:
(The links below will lead you to ways of supporting these artists)

01 I Like Fucking, Bikini Kill
02 He's My Thing,Babes in Toyland
03 50ft Queenie, PJ Harvey
04 Whatever, Red Aunts
05 Laisse Tomber Les Filles, April March
06 Go Home (Seattle Version), Joan Jett and Kathleen Hanna
07 Guilt Within Your Head, The Gits
08 Babydoll, Slant 6
09 The History of My Future, 7 Year Bitch
10 Plump, Hole
11 Bata Motel, Crass
12 Pat's Trick, Helium
13 Decoder, Chinchilla
14 Obsessed With You, X-Ray Spex
15 Kids in America, The Muffs
16 Uncle Phranc, Team Dresch
17 Vxrx, Cold Cold Hearts
18 Clap and Cough, Discount
19 Anonymous, Sleater-Kinney
20 I Hate Danger, Bikini Kill

Monday, January 21, 2008

THE 2007 PAST AND FUTURE TENSE MIX (Part 2)

Part 2: The Future Arrives, Unannounced.

"You can't stop what's comin." So say's the amazing film No Country For Old Men. As awesome as that was, I find that all that dread about the future a bit fatalistic. It's important to revere the past but also to approach the future as a clean slate of endless possibilities. Otherwise what is the point.

Download the Mix as a 100 MB Zip File
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email me if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:
(The links below will lead you to ways of supporting these artists)

01 Yea Yeah, Matt & Kim
02 Away From Here, The Enemy
03 You! Me! Dancing!, Los Campesinos!
04 The Plot, White Rabbits
05 Like I Needed, Rogue Wave
06 Don't You Evah, Spoon
07 Jesus Saves, I Spend, St. Vincent
08 Everything's Just Wonderful, Lily Allen
09 Red Meat, Ball Of Flame Shoot Fire
10 Fireworks, Animal Collective
11 See A Penny (Pick It Up), YACHT
12 All My Friends, LCD Soundsystem
13 Collarbone, Fujiya & Miyagi
14 In The Club, White Williams
15 Ice Cream, Muscles
16 cape cod kwassa kwassa, Vampire Weekend
17 I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You, Black Kids
18 Grip Like A Vice, The Go! Team
19 Let's Dance To Joy Division, The Wombats
20 The Crystal Cat, Dan Deacon

Monday, December 17, 2007

THE 2007 PAST AND FUTURE TENSE MIX

So we are ending the year with the usual lists, lists, lists!. But not necessarily with a collection of the best of the year. Everybody else is already telling you what the best of the year is and was. I looked back at the previous years mixes and realized that I had already documented the songs and artists that would populate such a list. So what was I do to? Surely I could not be so lazy as to repeat songs. God no!

So I give you two mixes to wrap up the year. One focusing on the past (available below) and one on the future (coming in a few weeks). They contain some songs by the years best artists but more importantly they attempt to capture a perspective on how we may feel about the past and what we may hope for the future. Contemplation through music you say? Hell yes!

Also I present you with new cover art that will extend as a theme throughout 2008. And its bigger now too! I have to admit this years theme is influenced greatly by the brilliant work of Andrew Kuo and Jessica Hagy. I am obsessed with how charts and graphs can be appropriated to communicate specific things about our everyday lives in a way that words cannot. Plus they are just fun to make. Hopefully I will be able to build upon their brilliant work in the coming year.

Part 1: The Past Is Not Through With Us.

As someone once said, "you may be through with the past, but the past is not through with you." It's important to remember that our actions have resonance on our future selves. It complicates matters greatly I know, but we can ignore it only at our own peril.

Download the Mix as a 100 MB Zip File
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email me if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:
(The links below will lead you to ways of supporting these artists)

01 Fiery Crash, Andrew Bird
02 Devastation, The Besnard Lakes
03 Mapped By What Surrounded Them, Twilight Sad
04 Sailing To Byzantium, Liars
05 Bamboo Banger, M.I.A.
06 Leyendecker, Battles
07 Ed Is a Portal, Akron/Family
08 You're Alive At Your Funeral, Forest Leslie
09 Killing For Love, José González
10 When Under Ether, PJ Harvey
11 Breaker, Low
12 The Equalizer, Junior Boys
13 She's The One, Caribou
14 F-Word, Jens Lekman
15 Careful, Hot Chip
16 Trophy, Bat For Lashes
17 Dead fingers talking, Working For A Nuclear Free City
18 Will Gravity Win Tonight, Matthew Dear
19 Marble House, The Knife
20 Videotape, Radiohead

Part 2:
Coming after the new year. Stay tuned!