SAN FRANCISCO – In a recent public statement the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criticized the popular music blog Mike Went West over its “wasteful and unsustainable practices.” The agency specifically mentioned the Mike Mix production process, in which company policy strictly prohibits the recycling of songs. The EPA alleges that this policy has “resulted in dozens of perfectly good tracks being thrown away simply because they’ve been used once before.”

Mike Went West has not officially responded to the EPA’s allegations, though in past statements the blog justified its anti-recycling policy, saying it was “essential to satisfying customers’ insatiable appetites for new music.”

Recent activity on the blog, however, hints at a possible shift in policy. The track list for Mike Mix 17, the latest installment in the series, features only songs from previous mixes. Some are calling it a ‘best of’ compilation. Others are calling it a cheap ploy intended to appease the EPA and calm skittish investors. Either way, Mike Mix 17 has been wildly successful. Rolling Stone writes, “The mix effortlessly blends seemingly incompatible genres of music to make a delicious and strangely-satisfying sonic smoothie.”

In unrelated news, the blog is rumored to be redesigning its website. If true, it will be the site’s third iteration since launching back in 2006. True to recent form, Mike Went West has remained silent on the issue. Analysts predict a launch date sometime in August. Perhaps this rumored redesign explains the recent lack of activity on the site. One can only hope.

[Editor's Note: Just in case it wasn't entirely obvious, the above story is completely fabricated. Mike Mix 17, however, is very real. Download it here or stream it using the player below. Enjoy!]

I absolutely love making new Mike Mixes every month but for some reason always dread writing about them. Maybe I’m overwhelmed by the shear quantity of music in each mix, or maybe I’m suffering through a debilitating case of writer’s block. Either way, it’s annoying and needs to end. Especially since I don’t plan on halting Mike Mix production any time soon.

With that said, the latest installment in the series upholds the fine tradition established by its older siblings. Mike Mix 13 is instantly accessible, uniquely diverse, and endlessly rewarding. Think I’m exaggerating? I might be, though you won’t know for sure until you check it out yourself. But first, here are some quick details:

The first half of Mike Mix 13 is surprisingly upbeat. It kicks off with a trio of bombastic, hypnotic pop songs by indie heavyweights Andrew Bird, The Dodos, and Annuals. Next follow a pair of lo-fi gems by The American Analog Set and Blur. I especially like “Caravan.” It sounds like a long, trippy journey through the desert. So pretty! Rounding out the first half of the mix are two amazing tracks by the late Jeff Hanson and one by Carissa’s Weird.

The second half of Mike Mix 13 is unapologetically twangy, starting with a country-fried slice of perfection by Justin Rutledge. The next song, “Quattro (Worlds Drift In)” by Calexico, is the perfect soundtrack to traveling down a lonely, dusty highway at twilight. Following this is Cat Power’s incredible cover of “I Can’t Help It (If I’m Still In Love WIth You)” by Hank Williams. A couple of epic barn burners by Wye Oak and Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson lead into a pair of quiet Dylan-esque numbers by Deer Tick and Vandaveer, closing the mix on a very sweet note.

As always, I highly recommend listening to Mike Mix 13 in the order presented below. Download the entire mix here or stream it using the player below! Enjoy responsibly.

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!

Initially I didn’t think I could write this post. It seemed like an impossible task. How on earth was I supposed to come up with and then rank my favorite albums from the past decade? I have enough trouble doing it for just one year. There’s simply too much good music out there (despite my occasional whining to the contrary).

But when I really started thinking about it, I came to the following conclusion: a decade is a terrible thing to waste. In all reality, I may not get another opportunity like this. After all, who knows what I’ll be doing ten years from now. Also, musically speaking, the past decade was an important one for me. Over the course of ten years, my muted appreciation of music gradually transformed into a full-blown obsession. I now spend most of my free time searching for, writing about, and listening to music.

In the end I guess it was a pretty easy decision. I would’ve been extremely foolish to let the decade pass without weighing in on my favorite albums. It was a lot of work, but I managed to compile a list of my 30 favorite albums from 2000-2009. Not necessarily the best or most important albums, but those that had the greatest impact on me.

With all that said, I proudly present the Top 30 Albums of the Decade…

ALBUMS 30 – 21

ALBUMS 20 – 11

ALBUMS 10 – 1

Like I said, compiling this list was no easy task. In the end, tons of amazing albums got axed. Check the comments to see which ones barely missed the cut. And leave comments to let me know which albums I missed completely!

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!

Sometimes I can’t help but think of all the amazing artists and albums that have slipped through the cracks over the years. Luckily these thoughts don’t keep me up at night. But they probably explain why I listen to so much music. I’m always browsing the interweb, searching for my next obsession. But this insatiable appetite also could be my undoing. By listening to tons of new music, I probably can’t fully appreciate the stuff I have, which causes more artists and albums to slip through the cracks. It’s a viscous cycle.

This almost happened with Annuals. The first time I listened to their debut album Be He Me I hated it. After nearly a dozen listens, my opinion hadn’t changed much. Eventually I forgot about the album.

Then a few weeks ago I randomly played Be He Me in my car. I don’t know if it was the better speakers or the time spent away from the album, but it sounded completely different. It sounded alive. Beautiful, soaring melodies had emerged from the overwhelming chaos. It was unbelievable.

Album closer “Sway” is a great example of this transformation. The song features a cacophony of seemingly random sounds and noises. With repeated listens, however, this unholy ruckus transforms into one of the most gorgeous moments on the album. It’s the perfect ending to a stellar album, and also the perfect introduction to Annuals, my latest obsession.

[mp3] Annuals :: Sway