MP3
A long time ago I asked people if they wanted me to send them mix CDs. I sent out a few and then lost steam. So, here's a make-it-yourself CD that I've made from legal mp3s on the net. Download them soon, because there's no guarantee how long the links will be live. If any of them are defective let me know, although I don't know whether I'll get off my fat ass to correct it.
1. Hot Hot Heat - Goodnight, Goodnight
The first rule of a mix CD: grab the listener's attention. Usually, this means a fast-paced, poppy song. In this case, it's Hot Hot Heat. This is the first single off their new album, which I haven't purchased yet for some reason. It's a good song, at any rate, and doesn't stray from their usual sound of yelpy vocals and and music driven by organ.
1. The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
Once you've got that momentum going, you've got to keep it going for a while. Enter The New Pornographers. This is off their first album, which isn't as easy to find as “Electric Version.” But it's fun, bouncy and has Neko Case singing. (They have two singers, a guy named AC Newman and a woman named Neko Case. She's the better singer.)
3. The Deathray Davies - Medication's Gone
I really haven't looked into this band as much as I should. I have two of their songs and I like them both very much. This is the better one of the two. The stomping drum beat is awesome, as is the line where he says “only girly boys wear sweaters.” Fun fact: they have an album called “Midnight at the Black Nailpolish Factory.”
4. The Like Young - Looked Up
I saw this band in Chapel Hill about a year ago opening up for Mates of State. They're like MOS, only completely different. In this band, the wife plays drums and sings and the guy plays guitar and sings. Only he sings most of the songs. They're kind of scrappy, but fun. This song makes me think of Belle's mom.
5. Bloc Party - Tulips
This song won't really give you a great indication as to what Bloc Party is all about, but it is a nice change of pace for them. I think their more manic songs get the most attention, but this a low-key affair with twinkling guitars and fake-sounding drums. I like the singer's voice, because it doesn't really sound like anyone else's, even if there's nothing particularly remarkable about it. He doesn't lose his accent, which is nice.
6. Get Up Kids - Overdue
This is from the weirdest Get Up Kids album — On a Wire. It's mostly acoustic. Actually, when I listen to it I feel like I'm in Boston, driving around downtown Medford (which is like a bank and 3 beauty schools). I used to listen to it a lot around this time. Anyway, this is the first song on the album, and definitely one of the best.
7. Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter
I reviewed Damien Rice's CD a long-ass time ago. I bought the CD in Boston, I remember, even before he dated Renee Zellweger for 18 seconds and had his songs in “Closer.” Anyway, this probably isn't my favorite song on the CD (that would be “Amie” or “Cannonball”), but it's probably one of his most recogizable ones, given that it's the most explicitly heartsick.
8. Kimya Dawson - Loose Lips
Kimya Dawson's a big weirdo. She's like that kid in the second grade who kind of smells and plays alone, but really doesn't seem to mind. Just like that kid, only 25 years older. This is a non-LP track that basically explains what she's all about.
9. Volcano, I'm Still Excited!!! - In Green
I love it when there are boy/girl vocals. This band doesn't have them. But they do do another one of my favorite things, which is tweaking the traditional guitar band format in a weird way. In this case, they replace the bass player with a keyboard player. I don't really know a lot about this band, but I am going to do more research.
10. Pretty Girls Make Graves - All Medicated Geniuses
I listened to this CD — The New Romance — continuously for about 3-4 months. It's pretty awesome. This is the song on this list that you may end up hating, as it is loud and screechy at times, but it's also dark and complicated and melodic.
11. Braid - Killing a Camera
I saw this band at Lodge 1 my sophomore year. They were at a WCWM band night. They're broken up now, but this song is pretty good. Not great, but pretty good.
12. Mates of State - Proofs
This is Mates of State kickin' it old school. In fact, it's the first song off their first album. The thing that is nice about this song, aside from the fact that it is cheery and fun, is that it embodies everything that MOS is about. It's got them singing loudly in unison, with the keyboards blaring and the drums thumping along.
13. Iron and Wine - Woman King
This is the title track off Iron and Wine's most recent EP. It's spooky, with that biblical Southern Gothic thing in full effect.
14. Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous (live on English radio)
Rilo Kiley's newest album isn't as good as “Execution of All Things.” It's a fact. But I think this is my favorite song off it. This is a live version, high quality, that was done on XFM in Britain.