Much like its older siblings, Mike Mix 10 is packed with tons of great music. And while I always recommend listening to the mix in its entirety, a few tracks stand above the rest.

The first is “Sublime” by The Twilight Singers. Drifting dangerously close to adult-contemporary, the song features sultry vocals, whiny guitars, and some unbelievably cheesy whispering during the bridge. In anyone else’s hands this song would be a train wreck, but The Twilight Singers make it sound heartfelt and sincere.

The second is “Trailer Trash” by Modest Mouse. Replete with depressing lyrics and fantastic guitar work, the song is vintage Modest Mouse. If you enjoyed “Broke” on Mike Mix 09, you’ll love “Trailer Trash.” Self-loathing never sounded so good.

And the third is “Love Vigilantes” by Iron & Wine. Originally recorded by New Order, the song tells the story of a soldier returning home after war. I would say more but I don’t want to give too much away. Just listen to the song. You’ll quickly discover why I love it so much.

But don’t forget there are 12 more songs on Mike Mix 10. I’ve written about a handful of them previously, but several are appearing on my site for the first time. There’s the sinister “DLZ,” the creepy-but-achingly-gorgeous “Borrowed Your Gun,” and the heartbreaking “Miss Me.” Listen to them all and let me know your favorites!

Download the entire mix here or stream it using the player below. Enjoy!

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