As it turns out, coming up with full length mixes is not only difficult but also takes up a lot of space on my server. Also, I’ve found that attention spans tend to be pretty short. So to address these issues, I’m introducing yet another project. I call it the “Mini Mix:” a (sometimes) short collection songs revolving around a central theme.
Whenever I am about to begin a new stage of my life, I always get a little depressed. It doesn’t matter how excited I am, it still happens. Tomorrow I officially start grad school at Cal, which could be a particularly rough transition seeing as how I spent last winter snowboarding in Tahoe. Add to that the fact that, for the last month, I haven’t been able to find an apartment and you can potentially see why I’m bummed.
My first Mini Mix definitely reflects my current mood. It’s a collection of slow, somber songs, both old and new. I titled it “Late Night” because the songs make a great soundtrack to those long, restless nights. Listen to it in the dark with headphones on for full effect.
Below is the track list. Bonus points to whoever can guess which of the 12 tracks is my all-time favorite song.
- 1. My Morning Jacket – Strangulation!
- 2. Brand New – Play Crack the Sky
3. Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s – A Light On a Hill- 4. The National – Lucky You
- 5. Ryan Adams – Oh My Sweet Carolina
6. The Mountain Goats – Sometimes I Still Feel the Bruise- 7. The National – Daughters of the Soho Riots
8. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals – How Do You Keep Love Alive- 9. Shearwater – Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine
10. Jeff Hanson – Something About- 11. The National – About Today
- 12. Songs: Ohia – Blue Chicago Moon
- Download entire mix
Eugene wrote:August 30, 2006
Here’s a plugin you might wanna check out. http://www.mightyseek.com/podpress
Feedback for this podcast is coming in a bit :)
Lovin it so far.
Andy wrote:August 30, 2006
Strangulation….I don’t want to feel a thing
That’s your favorite song of all time, so what do my extra bonus points get me?
MWM wrote:August 31, 2006
If you correctly guess what my all-time favorite song is, you will be given 5 extra bonus points, good for a variety of items to be announced later. The answer will be given in a week or so. FYI – posting a comment is worth 1 bonus point.
And yes I know it’s lame to post a comment on something I wrote, but sometimes I forget to mention stuff. Or sometimes I want to keep the actual post short, and then expand on it with a comment. Basically it’s my site and, in the words of Eric Cartman, “Whatever, I’ll do what I want.”
MWM wrote:August 31, 2006
Things I love about each song:
(1) Strangulation: In both the intro and the outro you can hear Jim James screaming his ass off in the background. Then the song settles down and he delivers some heartbreaking lines. “Sure he was a good kid / But his phone it’d never ring / He got tired of walking a tight rope / Needing too much to drink / So he got on a knee / “I don’t want to feel a thing” / But I know there’s someone that loves up above / And wants to fix you a dream.” Damn.
(2) Play Crack the Sky: A break-up is like a sinking ship.
(3) A Light On a Hill: More sad break-up lyrics, but man I love that wailing steel guitar in the background.
(4) Lucky You: I think The National is late night drinking music, especially with lines like “You wake up in the bed you made / I think you made a big mistake.”
(5) Oh My Sweet Carolina: This song makes me miss home. I love Emmylou Harris (the backing vocals).
(6) Sometimes I Still Feel the Bruise: I wanted this song to break the mopey mood, but if you actually listen to the lyrics, it’s one of the saddest songs in the mix. I love the acoustics as well as the organ.
(7) Daughters of the Soho Riots: I can’t quite pinpoint the meaning of this song. All I know is that it sounds sad, real sad.
(8) How Do You Keep Love Alive: Very good question Ryan Adams. Has a mood very similar to the previous track, that’s why I stuck them together.
(9) Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang of Mine: A song about old friends reuniting to find that things aren’t what they used to be.
(10) Something About: First off, the singer is a guy and I love his voice. “There’s just something about…” Could be anything.
(11) About Today: Yet another sad bastard song from The National. The drums and violins make this song. “How close am I / To losing you”
(12) Blue Chicago Moon: I will never get sick of this song. Damn near perfect use of electric guitar, piano, bass, and drums. I decided to close with this song because there is a glimmer of hope at the end. “But you are not helpless / Try to beat it”
Anyone else have any thoughts?
Brian wrote:September 1, 2006
Is there some sort of scoreboard where my point total will be counted. I think I am going to save them and cash them in about three years later for free airplane tickets or something.
I think I’ll be feeling your life change stuff soon, maybe I should relisten to this in 9/07.