January's Mix

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! Oh, sorry, I’ll bring it down a bit. I know your head must be throbbing, but you know what’s good for a hangover!? January’s mix! This mix is one you'll want to listen to curled up in front of your fireplace sipping hot cocoa.

Track 1 – “The New Year” by Death Cab For Cutie
I decided to start this mix off thematically, but also I really love this song. This kicks off Ben Gibbard’s big “bad relationship” album and it definitely sums up the way some new year’s eves have felt to me (not this year. this year’s eve was great.)


Track 2 – “Fluorescent Adolescent” by Arctic Monkeys
I’ve been waiting for a mix to put this song on, which is, in my opinion, the greatest Arctic Monkeys songs and an instant classic. The first time I heard this song I felt like I grew up listening to it.


Track 3 – “Blue Beard” by Band of Horses
This is quite an infectious song. I put it on a mix for my sister recently(yes, i still make personal mixes. we never said anything about exclusivity!) and she has been putting it on repeat for a few weeks now.


Track 4 – “The Cave” by Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons is a charming English folk band that has won me over in recent months. This song in particular reminds me of new year’s resolutions and therefore got this spot on the mix, though it is also just an amazing song.


Track 5 – “Chicago” by Sufjan Stevens
For a period of about three years I didn’t go to sleep without listening to Michigan. Sufjan Stevens has a very special place in my heart. This song is obviously not from Michigan but I feel like it mixes better than any song on that album. This may sound like blasphemy but some albums should really never be broken up and deserve to be listened to in their entirety.

Track 6 – “Four Winds” by Bright Eyes
This is a relatively recent track from Bright Eyes but it ranks among my favorites. Bright Eyes would have definitely been on an earlier mix, but as I’ve shared with you before I am rebuilding my music library from practically nothing(stupid computers) and neglected to acquire my bright eyes collection until just last week.


Track 7 – “He War” by Cat Power
My first girlfriend made me one mix during our brief relationship and this song was one of the tracks on it. It immediately wound its way into my head.


Track 8 – “The Commander Thinks Aloud” by The Long Winters
John Roderick is the brainchild behind The Long Winters and his lyrics are frequently brilliant loosely connected streams of consciousness. He once described his writing process as (and i’m paraphrasing because i can’t find the interview i read this in) looking back upon the most meaningful, disappointing, and wonderful times in his life and shrugging.


Track 9 – “Get Higher” by Paper Tongues
Another new band that has quickly won me over, Paper Tongues mix hip-hop elements into their poppy rock to great success.


Track 10 – “The Wrestle” by Frightened Rabbit
I wanted to share another great song from this band that my sister, Rachael introduced me to. This song has really intense lyrics that get easily overlooked because of its beautiful musicality.


Track 11 – “Where Is My Mind?” by Pixies
Black Francis is such a talented songwriter that I will forget just how much I love Pixies and then listen to a song of theirs and hear it in a way I’ve never heard it before and it will mean so much more to me than it did before.

Track 12 – “You Wouldn’t Like Me” by Tegan and Sara
Rachael describes it as cheating when siblings (especially twins) harmonize in songs. Tegan and Sara are chronic cheaters and I couldn’t be more happy about it. Despite my recent disappointing Tegan and Sara experience (too long of a story to explain here, but ask me about it sometime and i will tell you) I adore these twin songwriters.


Track 13 – “Christmas TV” by Slow Club
This song was on a really good episode of Chuck (great show) and I had to track it down and listen to it over and over. The duo who made it are apparently English.


Track 14 – “West Coast” by Coconut Records
Jason Schwartzman’s solo project after the break up of his band, “Phantom Planet”. I played this song for my sister when she was moving to Rochester, NY for grad school and it was understandably upsetting. I really like Jason Schwartzman in everything he does.


Track 15 – “Samson” by Regina Spektor
Despite being notoriously bad at relationships Regina sure can write a pretty song about a simple and cute love.


Track 16 – “The Blower’s Daughter” by Damien Rice
Like most people I fell in love with Damien’s music when he was featured on Closer’s soundtrack. A few weeks back I was borrowing my dad’s car which has XM radio (which is usually mediocre at best) and was flipping channels when I came upon a live performance by Damien Rice. He was telling stories about all of his favorite songs and playing them by himself in the studio. I just sat there in the car listening long after I had reached my destination.


Track 17 – “Winter” by Joshua Radin
Despite not being crazy about his new album, I really appreciate Joshua Radin’s older stuff. He is a very skilled guitar player and singer.


Track 18 – “Jezebel” by Iron & Wine
When I had my big bushy beard (RIP) I got compared several times to Sam Beam of Iron & Wine (which was pretty flattering. he’s a handsome man). These comparisons would always cause me to break out the Iron & Wine collecting dust in my iTunes library and listen to it nonstop.


Track 19 – “Look Up” by Stars
Another fragment of Broken Social Scene, Stars are a Canadian pop band. They often feature trumpets and strings and you all know I’m a sucker for that. This song sounds really hopeful to me and I thought it was an elegant way to end January’s mix.

Rocktober: Guilty Pleasures

This month's theme is guilty pleasures. Everyone has artists and songs that they like but are wary to readily admit either because the artist or song in question is... let's say less legitimate than other songs or artists, or because there is a stigma attached. In the interest of full disclosure I am now going to share ALL of my musical guilty pleasures with you.

Just to remind everyone: If you would like a copy of this mix(or any of the previous ones) let me know and I will gladly make you one.

Track 1 - "Yeah" by Usher feat. Lil' Jon and Ludacris
This song has EVERYTHING. It's a classic Usher song about bangin' girls in a club with two more of my favorite guilty pleasures Lil' Jon (YEAH) and Luda. It's just so catchy and Usher will always have a special place in my heart because the very first time I ever got up the nerve to ask a girl to dance (Melissa Klapproth at the 8th grade graduation dance) we slow danced to "You Make Me Wanna".


Track 2 - "Lip Gloss" by Lil Mama
It was six in the morning when my sister, Rachael shook me awake, dragged me to her car and played me this song. I wasn't even mad about the hour at which she made me wake. Also this video is amazing.
Video

Track 3 - "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage" by Panic! at the Disco
PatD are great songwriters with really hooky melodies. At times they are definitely still quite young but overall I like them despite the amount of shit I get for liking them.

Track 4 - "Live Your Life" by T.I. feat. Rihanna
This is a guilty pleasure I acquired from my friend, Steven. T.I. makes fantastic dance music and this song has a good message as well. Rihanna is a pleasure I'm not at all guilty about.
Video

Track 5 - "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs" by Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is probably my least guilty "guilty pleasure". They are legitimately a good band. Patrick and Pete write complex, clever lyrics. The band is always experimenting and growing musically. The only reason I feel the least bit guilty about F.O.B. is that their fanbase mostly consists of tween girls. If more of their fans were like my friend, Monica, then there would be no guilt here.


Track 6 - "Savior" by Rise Against
I have always liked Rise Against, but for as long as I've liked them I've had people tell me that they are like the Backstreet Boys of hardcore. I don't know what the problem is. I don't think Rise Against present themselves as hardcore... Tim McIlrath has an awesome voice and they write some solid music.


Track 7 - "Finding Out True Love is Blind" by Louis XIV
The reason I am ashamed of liking this song is because this band is so vulgar. This is probably their tamest song sexual content-wise... But this one gets way stuck in my head and isn't that terrible.
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Track 8 - "Bulletproof" by LaRoux
So I go to Denny's sometimes with friends to play games when we don't have somewhere else to hang. It's usually really late at night and there's nobody else in Denny's so we can hear the Denny's promotional TV show looping over and over. Well for a month or so they were playing this song over and over and I started to really like it. So the only stigma here really is the way in which I found out about LaRoux.
Video

Track 9 - "Hey Mami (Sharaz Remix)" by Fannypack
Ladytron have this album called "Softcore Jukebox" full of their influences, friends, and some other unreleased Ladytron songs. This song was on that mix and I really took to it. The best story I have about this is that I put it on a mix for Rachael and she was driving to Riverside with my at-the-time girlfriend and when this song came on my ex got all flustered and concerned. She kept asking Rachael, "Where does this side of Jeff come from!?" and talking about how she thought she didn't even know me all of the sudden.

Track 10 - "Love in This Club" by Usher feat. Young Jeezy
Just another great Usher song. Mostly just wanted to include this video.


Track 11 - "All Falls Down" by Kanye West
No matter how many dumb things he does or says, how many pop stars he grabs the mic from at a televised award show, how many albums he decides to make with all auto-tune... I still love Kanye. It is at this point that I realize I have not shared any of my hip-hop musical taste with you guys and I want to assure you that I also like legitimate hip-hop (who knows, maybe that will be the November mix).


Track 12 - "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" by Al Green
This song is in one of my favorite scenes from Notting Hill (what? you haven't seen it? you totally should)

Track 13 - "Summer Breeze" by Seals & Crofts
This is a joke. I hope you got it.

Track 14 - "Paparazzi" by Lady Gaga
A lot of people hate her, but I think Lady Gaga is a talented songwriter and singer. She's a pretty self-made pop star and even though they are sometimes a little risque for my taste I appreciate the amount of work she puts into her music videos.


Track 15 - "Helena" by My Chemical Romance
I appreciate pop-punk when it's done well. This brings us to My Chemical Romance. Surprisingly they have beautiful, sweeping albums as well as great singles.
Video

Track 16 - "Stole My Heart" by Little & Ashley
You have probably heard this song on those Kindle commercials. I did too and had to immediately go check out this band. The girl in this band is an actress and a model and is the girl who is actually in those commercials.
Website

Track 17 - "For You I Will(Confidence)" by Teddy Geiger
I'm a huge Tom Cavanagh fan and he had this show that was briefly on network TV then moved to VH1. As it is with all my favorite shows, it was canceled after one season. Anyways, the show was about a talent scout for a major record label whose idealism gets him fired from said label and he goes to an indie label where he's free to do what he wants. His first discovery in the show is "Wayne" who is actually Teddy Geiger playing this song in a crowded New York bar. (the show was called "Monkey Love" and also starred Judy Greer and Jason Priestly. you should watch it!)


Track 18 - "Where There's Gold..." by Dashboard Confessional
People either love or hate Chris Carrabba. I love him.



I'm going to be more prompt in the future, so expect all mixes on the first of the month from now on. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this month's mix!