I just realized it’s been well over a month since I last posted an mp3 and almost 3 months since my last Mike Mix! I sincerely apologize. Now that my year-end coverage is officially complete, I will return to my normal schedule. And I have a lot to write about. Over the past few months, I’ve become obsessed with a handful of amazing albums. I hope to write about each one in the coming weeks. I might even come up with a catchy title for the feature. Stay tuned.

But before I do that, I have a brand new Mike Mix to introduce. A quick glance at the track list (below) reveals that nearly half of the songs come from only two bands: Loney, Dear and Annuals. If you’ve never heard these two artists before, Mike Mix 12 will serve as an excellent introduction to them. Make sure to check out the track “Always Do.” The pedal steel and soaring middle section of the song are truly incredible.

Scattered between these tracks are dusty gems by some of my all-time favorite bands. Highlights include: “Metal Detektor,” an effortlessly cool number by Spoon; “Uprooted,” a slow-burning anthem from The Antlers; and “About Today,” a slice of late-night perfection by The National.

As always, I highly recommend listening to Mike Mix 12 in the order presented below. Download the entire mix here or stream it using the player below! Enjoy!

As it turns out, every song on Mike Mix 11 is new to my site. I don’t know how this happened, but needless to say I have my work cut out for me.

So I guess I’ll start with the obvious: Mike Mix 11 features a ton of great music. And it starts out firing on all cylinders. After almost two minutes of quiet noodling, the first track, “Brother” by Annuals, explodes in a cacophony of guitars, drums, and violins. The next two songs keep the pedal to the floor. “Percussion Gun” by White Rabbits rides a thunderous drum beat while “Quiet Little Voices” by We Were Promised Jetpacks soars on a relentless guitar riff. It’s hard to imagine a more energetic start to a mix.

Following this fiery opening is a trilogy of fantastic songs. “Y’all Come Back Now” by Ten Kens is one hundred percent badass. “Available” by The National is the angriest, most bitter song the band’s ever recorded. And “Papillon” by The Twilight Singers is dark yet surprisingly upbeat.

The second half of Mike Mix 11 doesn’t quite pack the same punch as the first. But what it lacks in energy it makes up for with raw emotion. “Lies I’ve Told” by Yarn is completely devastating. So too is “Fool” by Cat Power, though for different reasons. In “Lies I’ve Told” the lyrics break your heart, whereas in “Fool” the instrumentation paints an overwhelmingly bleak picture. But the second half isn’t all doom and gloom, however. The mix closes on a relatively upbeat note with “Epilogue,” the soaring finale from Hospice by The Antlers.

As always, I highly recommend listening to Mike Mix 11 in the order presented below. Download the entire mix here or stream it using the player below! Enjoy!

Much like its older siblings, Mike Mix 10 is packed with tons of great music. And while I always recommend listening to the mix in its entirety, a few tracks stand above the rest.

The first is “Sublime” by The Twilight Singers. Drifting dangerously close to adult-contemporary, the song features sultry vocals, whiny guitars, and some unbelievably cheesy whispering during the bridge. In anyone else’s hands this song would be a train wreck, but The Twilight Singers make it sound heartfelt and sincere.

The second is “Trailer Trash” by Modest Mouse. Replete with depressing lyrics and fantastic guitar work, the song is vintage Modest Mouse. If you enjoyed “Broke” on Mike Mix 09, you’ll love “Trailer Trash.” Self-loathing never sounded so good.

And the third is “Love Vigilantes” by Iron & Wine. Originally recorded by New Order, the song tells the story of a soldier returning home after war. I would say more but I don’t want to give too much away. Just listen to the song. You’ll quickly discover why I love it so much.

But don’t forget there are 12 more songs on Mike Mix 10. I’ve written about a handful of them previously, but several are appearing on my site for the first time. There’s the sinister “DLZ,” the creepy-but-achingly-gorgeous “Borrowed Your Gun,” and the heartbreaking “Miss Me.” Listen to them all and let me know your favorites!

Download the entire mix here or stream it using the player below. Enjoy!

Every time I make a new Mike Mix I’m amazed by how much good music falls through the cracks over time. After all, only a small number of songs on each mix have been featured previously on my site. There simply isn’t enough time to write about them all.

Which is why I love making these mixes so much: songs that otherwise would’ve remained permanently buried finally see the light of day. The 14 tracks of Mike Mix 09 are no exception. Many of them are appearing on my site for the first time; most of them should’ve been posted months ago.

With all that said, it’s time to introduce Mike Mix 09.

Despite its quiet start, Mike Mix 09 packs quite a punch. “Lookout Mountain” by Drive-By Truckers rocks incredibly hard; “Else” by Built to Spill bounces around nervously; and “Only In Dreams” by Weezer builds to an epic climax. At the opposite end of the spectrum, “My Lady’s House” by Iron & Wine plods along gently while “The Blackest Crow” by Justin Rutledge quietly refuses to end (in a good way).

As always, I highly recommend listening to Mike Mix 09 in the order presented below. Download the entire mix here or stream it using the player below! Enjoy!

Despite its obscenely ugly album cover, Mike Mix 08 features some great music. It’s also the most upbeat mix to date – even the sad songs sound kinda happy. But don’t worry, it’s not all sunshine and puppy dogs. Beneath the surface lurks an undercurrent of sadness.

The mix contains so many amazing songs I can’t possibly write about each one. So instead I will focus on a select few.

The first is “Broke” by Modest Mouse. One of the darkest songs on the mix, “Broke” features a pretty guitar riff and some of the finest (and most self-loathing) Modest Mouse lyrics ever recorded. At the other end of the spectrum is “Two Kids” by Strand of Oaks. Though slightly self-deprecating, the lyrics are also undeniably sweet. Lastly, “Bones” by DeYarmond Edison captures the mood of the entire mix: the cheerful instrumentation masks feelings of longing and regret.

These three songs are only the tip of the iceberg. The other eleven lie waiting to be discovered. I highly recommend listening to Mike Mix 08 in the order presented below. Download the entire mix here or stream it using the player below! Enjoy!

Despite a hectic 4th of July weekend, I’m excited to get back to work. And by work I mean writing about music. Which is convenient because I suddenly have lots to write about. Who knows, I might even settle into my old routine: posting a Weekly Download every week and an Artist Spotlight every month. Imagine that. We’ll see what actually happens.

One thing I know for certain, however, is that I’ll post a new Mike Mix every month. And it is with great pleasure that I present the latest installment: Mike Mix 07.

Darker and moodier than its predecessor, Mike Mix 07 might require a few listens before it grows on you. It starts quietly with beautiful songs by Tiny Television, Hurray For the Riff Raff, and Spiritualized. City and Colour’s “What Makes a Man?” transitions the mix to a louder section of music, which is anchored to two fantastic songs by Brand New. Following this intense emotional apex, the mix mellows out big time (and stays that way until it ends). I could talk specifically about the next eight tracks but don’t think it’s necessary. Each song is fantastic, otherwise it wouldn’t have made the mix. The only thing left to do is give it a listen! And then maybe another…

As always, I recommend listening to Mike Mix 07 in the order presented below. Download the entire mix here or stream it using the player below! Enjoy!

This post is dedicated to my grandmother, who passed away May 27. She was an amazing woman and will be missed dearly.

When I first launched Mike Went West nearly 3 years ago, one of my site’s main features was a monthly podcast of music. Sadly, I abandoned this feature after releasing only 5 mixes. I felt like each podcast took an inordinate amount of time and energy. I also felt like the quality of each mix was sliding steadily downhill.

As it turns out, I lacked the proper motivation. About 10 months ago, I started dating my girlfriend. To help her better understand my crazy little world, I decided to make monthly mix tapes for her (which I coined “Mike Mixes”). So far I’ve made ten and I’m still going strong. I hope to post a new mix every month. I decided to start with Mike Mix 06 for one simple reason: the first five are decent but nothing special. Also, it seems appropriate that I should pick up where my podcasts left off — with number six.

Now a few quick words about the pacing and sequencing of the mix. Mike Mix 06 starts off with “If Only It Were True,” a slow, lumbering song by The Walkmen. Two consecutive tracks by Brand New help transition the mix to a slightly faster pace, which is maintained by the next four songs (fantastic tracks by Okkervil River, Frightened Rabbit, MGMT, and Arctic Monkeys). Following this upbeat middle section, two tracks by The Rural Alberta Advantage help slow things back down. The mix ends with three of my all-time favorite songs: “3 Rounds and a Sound” by Blind Pilot, “A Desolate Angels Blues” by Justin Townes Earle, and “Okkervil River Song” by Okkervil River.

I highly recommend listening to the songs in this order (a full track listing is provided below). Download the entire mix as a zip file here, or download individual songs below. Or listen to the entire mix using the player below!

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PS — I just finished integrating Twitter into my site. Make sure to check out the sidebar widget for my most recent updates!