Before starting, I must confess: I don’t know much about the south beyond the typical negative stereotypes (which I will not enumerate here). But for a region plagued by such a controversial and turbulent history, the south sure inspires gorgeous music.

And while only some of the artists featured in this mix call the south their home, all the songs conjure up images of sitting on the front porch at twilight watching the sunset and fireflies, which I imagine they do quite often in the south. I know I would.

This mix was largely inspired by my obsession with country-tinged indie music. Far from the typical Toby Keith garbage you hear on the radio, the songs below borrow the best parts of country music to create something that tugs at your heartstrings.

Some call it alt-country, some call it folk, I just call it good music (with a twang).

[mp3] My Morning Jacket :: Where to Begin
[mp3] Palace Music :: New Partner
[mp3] The Black Keys :: The Lengths
[mp3] Iron & Wine :: Resurrection Fern
[mp3] Ryan Adams :: Oh My Sweet Carolina
[mp3] The Acorn :: Glory
[mp3] The National Lights :: O, Ohio
[mp3] The Everybodyfields :: Good to Be Home

Once again, I recommend listening to the songs in the above order. Check the comments for a link to a zip file containing all 8 songs.

I hope to release another Regional Mix sometime next week, so stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy the song posted below, which can be considered a preview of coming attractions…

Ryan Adams has always taken a beating from the press; he releases too many albums, he always changes his style, he is wildly inconsistent, etc. And while this may be irritating from the standpoint that it takes more effort to wade through his catalog, it makes finding those hidden gems much more special.

The song posted below is a prime example. Perhaps the best track on Gold, “When the Stars Go Blue” was unfortunately heard by most people in the wrong context: a disgustingly-inadequate live cover by The Corrs and Bono.

Now everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, but Ryan Adams’ vocals on the original are mind-blowing. No one can do them justice, especially not Bono. And while “When the Stars Go Blue” may cast a giant shadow over the rest of Gold, I’m OK with that. The song is just that damn good.

[mp3] Ryan Adams :: When the Stars Go Blue

Maybe, just maybe, you’ve noticed the recent lack of activity on my blog. You’ll be happy to know that this time I attribute it to a reason other than laziness.

As of late, I’ve been listening to lots of old music: Tokyo Police Club, Songs: Ohia, Jeff Hanson, Tom McRae, Devin Davis, Ryan Adams, etc. Or, in other words, stuff I’ve already blogged about. And while I’ve also been listening to lots of new stuff (Ryan Adams, Rocky Votolato, Interpol, Spoon, Bishop Allen), nothing has inspired me to post on the ole blog. As a result, I effectively missed the first birthday of Mike Went West and, maybe more importantly, left my readers out in the cold in the middle of a rather active month for music.

I can’t say that I’m disappointed with the recent batch of new releases. Spoon’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is quite solid; Ryan Adams and Rocky Votolato put forth worthy discs; Interpol is quickly gaining strength. All this goodness, however, has been obscured by older stuff in my catalog.

I guess I should clarify what I mean by “older stuff.” I have this terrible habit of listening to an album for about a month and then tossing it aside for something new (that’s how I can listen to so much new music all at the same time). The main drawback to this approach is that if the album doesn’t hit me almost immediately, it gets lost in the noise. And while some deserve this kind of treatment, others do not. To make a long story short, I consider “older stuff” to be anything I’ve already tossed aside.

Time to bring this rambling mess back on track. Below I’ve posted several mp3’s. The first is a gorgeous sad-bastard song by Ryan Adams. The second is super cool track from Spoon’s newest release Ga x 5. And the last is a haunting number by Tom McRae, a guy I should’ve mentioned a long time ago. Enjoy.

[mp3] Ryan Adams :: Elizabeth, You Were Born to Play That Part
[mp3] Spoon :: Eddie’s Ragga
[mp3] Tom McRae :: Walking 2 Hawaii

So now that I’ve removed the “pressure” of doing a podcast every month, I feel more relaxed and better able to deliver quality music to you as it comes to me.

This month’s podcast was originally conceived on Halloween night, 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 recorded at a Halloween party.

All of the songs on this podcast 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. Now do you understand why the title is appropriate?

Before I get too carried away, here’s the track listing:

1. Gary Jules :: Mad World
2. Elliott Smith :: Angeles
3. M. Ward :: Let’s Dance
4. Bishop Allen :: The Chinatown Bus
5. The Mountain Goats :: Moon Over Goldsboro
6. The Decemberists :: Red Right Ankle
7. Ryan Adams :: Tomorrow
8. Sufjan Stevens :: To Be Alone With You
9. Iron & Wine :: Upward Over the Mountain
10. The Mountain Goats :: Pale Green Things
11. Weezer :: Butterfly
12. Elliott Smith :: Pitseleh
13. Calexico :: Removed
14. Voxtrot :: Sway

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.

Directly download my podcast here. Visit the archives here

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 second podcast definitely reflects my current mood. It’s a mix of slow, somber songs – both old and new. I titled it “Late Night Drinking” because I feel that the songs were originally recorded under those conditions. It’s definitely mood music; listen to it late at night on your headphones for full effect. Sorta the exact opposite of my first podcast, which I feel works anytime.

Here’s the track listing:

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

Directly download my podcast here. Visit the archives here.

PS – I wanted this mix to be an enhanced podcast, meaning you can easily skip from track to track within the mp3, but I couldn’t get it to work. Hopefully I can figure it out by next month. Also, there will be no Weekly Download on account of the podcast. Bonus points to anyone who reads this far into the post, and extra bonus points to whoever can guess which of the 12 tracks is my all-time favorite song.