My latest Mini Mix was conceived on Halloween night (hence the name). But the only scary thing about it is how good the songs are. Did I really just type that? Oh well, no going back now. I created this mix as I sat alone at home wondering why I can never think of any good costumes.
But it’s actually fitting that I call this the Halloween mix. Fans of My Morning Jacket may be familiar with their excellent live EP Acoustic Citsuoca. The EP, which features Jim James solo on the acoustic guitar, was actually recorded at a Halloween party. Coincidentally, all of the songs on the mix are hushed acoustic numbers. If you pay close attention, the only cracks of the drum you’ll hear are near the end of the mix.
Bonus points to anyone who can tell me which two songs on the mix are covers, and also which song is the only one to feature the drums. Before I get too carried away, here’s the track listing.
1. Gary Jules – Mad World2. Elliott Smith – Angeles3. M. Ward – Let’s Dance4. Bishop Allen – The Chinatown Bus5. The Mountain Goats – Moon Over Goldsboro6. The Decemberists – Red Right Ankle7. Ryan Adams – Tomorrow8. Sufjan Stevens – To Be Alone With You- 9. Iron & Wine – Upward Over the Mountain
10. The Mountain Goats – Pale Green Things11. Weezer – Butterfly12. Elliott Smith – Pitseleh- 13. Calexico – Removed
- 14. Voxtrot – Sway
- Download entire mix
Eugene wrote:November 13, 2006
Gary Jules – This is a beautiful song. I guess I’m just kinda sad cuz i can’t sing along – not as much as I can’t sing along to Sufjan’s John Wayne Gacy Jr – but I still have a hard time relating to the “the dreams in which I’m dying are the best I’ve ever had” chorus. Thats pretty intense. I dunno. Good song but I didn’t like it when it was on the radio back in the day, now i still don’t know.
Elliott Smith – Great song, amazing album. Nice pick.
M. Ward – I’ve only heard the Post-War album, so it was refreshing to hear something new. Great song – the bell sounds in the background are a nice touch – not imposing but still there. Can’t go wrong with a harmonica.
Chinatown Bus – When we saw it live, it did have drums in the background. I didn’t hear it on the studio track. Favorite line: “What’s the Chinese word for cheese?”. Awesome track, awesome band.
Mountain Goats – Haven’t really heard any of their stuff. Is this representative of their music? The lead singer seems to talk rather than sing, which is kinda refreshing, esp when he has good music behind him. DRUMS.
Decemberists – You pretty much couldn’t go wrong. I’m a fan. Arguably best concert this semester. The last stanza is my favorite in this song, though the whole thing just has the personal nature of the majority of their songs – love it.
Ryan Adams – I dunno, not as big a fan of this track as much as Let it Ride – I realize that they are different completely but still. Its a good song, I just wasn’t excited about it.
Sufjan – I’ve been kinda obsessed with this album recently. I can’t stop listening to it. Glad to see it on here man. Good choice, though Sister and Size Too Small are still my favorites…
Iron & Wine – Decemberists, Sufjan, AND Iron & Wine? Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot. This song is beautiful – and listening to the live Bonaroo Version where its just a bit faster is a nice compliment. Well done man. Well done.
The Mountain Goats – More singing than the other track. Wow – this band gets to grace the podcast twice – the halloween podcast – but not Iron and Wine? Hmm. Good song. Hmm.
Weezer – Two podcasts – two weezer songs. Interesting. Its a really good song. DRUMS!
Elliott Smith – Not my favorite Elliott Smith song but its still good.
Calexico – Interesting especially in the context of our earlier conversation about what Calexico really added to Iron & Wine. I love the country sound. DRUMS!
Voxtrot – Really good song. I downloaded some of their stuff but haven’t listened to it yet. I really like this song. Is it representative of their other stuff or is this just the slow song on the cd?
All in all – this podcast is much more reflective of my musical preferences in terms of tone. Awesome man.
MWM wrote:November 13, 2006
i’m glad you’re enjoying the podcast.
i’m gonna have to argue with you about the drums on tracks 5 and 11. i contend that those noises are produced by pounding the guitar in the appropriate places. anyone else wanna weigh in?
as for the mountain goats, the two songs are more mellow and haunting than the rest of their catalog. they used to record their music exclusively on cassette tape and have only recently made the leap to digital. typical tracks feature acoustic guitar and the singer’s strong, sometimes grating, vocals. i haven’t ventured too deep into their back catalog (it’s rather extensive), but i like their two most recent albums, ‘the sunset tree’ and ‘get lonely.’
the track by voxtrot is not their typical sound. to my knowledge, its the only “slow” song they have. i hope to see a few more like it on their future lp.