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. 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 or stream the entire mix using the links below! Enjoy!
- 1. Annuals – Brother
- 2. White Rabbits – Percussion Gun
- 3. We Were Promised Jetpacks – Quiet Little Voices
- 4. Ten Kens – Y’all Come Back Now
- 5. The National – Available
- 6. The Twilight Singers – Papillon
- 7. Ryan Bingham – Dylan’s Hard Rain
- 8. Lucero – Nights Like These
- 9. Yarn – Lies I’ve Told
- 10. Old Crow Medicine Show – My Good Gal
- 11. Portland Cello Project – Hungry Liars (featuring Justin Power)
- 12. Cat Power – Fool
- 13. Portland Cello Project – Tallymarks (featuring Thao)
- 14. The Antlers – Epilogue
- Download entire mix
Danielle wrote:November 13, 2009
I am really enjoying your Mike Mix posts because it helps me appreciate the mixes in a way I would never get on my own. Thank you for all the mixes you’ve made me.
Karen wrote:November 18, 2009
I really like this mix Mike. I am always thrilled to be introduced to new (to me) musicians. I couldn’t believe that Ryan Bingham is still under 30. He has the voice of a much older person. I really liked Yarn also and I will be checking out further releases from them. Thanks again for all your hard work.
eccscape wrote:November 19, 2009
…how awesome is percussion gun!!!
janine wrote:December 4, 2009
amazing. i just bought the portland cello project’s thao/justin power sessions due to this post. thank you so much.