I Just Wanna Set the World on Fire

Made this mix for my roomie/homie cuz she just moved out. It was one of those things I was thinking about for a while but didn't get around to doing until now. I think it turned out quite well!

Standard 8track disclaimer: Due to weird copyrighty things, you can only listen to the mix in its intended order once. So basically, if you're going to listen to it, you should try to sit down and listen to it all the way through or you won't get the full experience.

Running Time: 1 hour, 19 minutes
Track List:
01. Born Ruffians – Retard Canard
02. Rogue Wave – Lake Michigan
03. Frankmusik – In Step
04. Bibio – Jealous Of Roses
05. Suuns – Up Past The Nursery
06. Au Revoir Simone – Anywhere You Looked (Daytrotter Session)
07. Apostle Of Hustle – Kings And Queens
08. Rogue Wave – 10:1
09. The National – Blood Buzz Ohio
10. Ida Maria – Oh My God (Daytrotter Session)
11. The Dandy Warhols – Smoke It
12. Cold War Kids – I Don’t Wanna Grow Up [Tom Waits]
13. High Places – Jump In (For Gilkey Elementary School)
14. The Rural Alberta Advantage – The Ballad Of The RAA
15. Emma Mcgill – Heartbeats [The Knife]
16. Jonna Lee – The District Sleeps Alone Tonight [The Postal Service]
17. Wisdom Tooth – Low Tide
18. The Weakerthans – Virtue The Cat Explains Her Departure
19. Mark Kozelek – Wop-A-Din Din (Live)
20. Born Ruffians – Nova Leigh*
21. Ani Difranco – Names + Dates + Times (Live)

*Indicates Track Pick

Basically these are songs about Chicago, friendship, relationships, and cat ownership. It was hard for me to pick just one favorite track (of course), but I'm completely digging on Born Ruffians lately so I had to go with "Nova Leigh," the song that reassured me that spring was indeed on its way.

There's not a lot I can say about these tracks without just fawning over every single one, so y'all should really just give them a listen and tell me what you think.

I hope to be posting more mixes soon after I move into a flat with more reliable internet.

Special thanks to Google image search and this deviantart account for the kick-ass image, which looks like this in full:

I don't want to start a flame in your <3.

Fear Itself

Here is a mix to commemorate the upcoming Rally to Restore Sanity on October 30, 2010.

Standard 8track disclaimer: Due to weird copyrighty things, you can only listen to the mix in its intended order once. So basically, if you're going to listen to it, you better sit down and listen to it all the way through or you won't get the full experience

Running Time: Aprox. 50 minutes
01. Ani Difranco - Literal
02. Tim Fite - I'm Not Scared of You
03. The Long Winters - Scared Straight
04. Death Cab for Cutie - Pity and Fear
05. Suuns - Fear
06. Bon Iver - Creature Fear
07. Maritime - I'm Not Afraid
08. Alexi Murdoch - It's Only Fear
09. Stars - Don't Be Afraid to Sing
10. Otis Redding - Don't Be Afraid of Love
11. Andrew Bird - Don't Be Scared
12. The National - Afraid of Anyone*
13. Rogue Wave - Fear Itself
14. French Quarter - For Andy
15. Bob Marley - Three Little Birds

*Indicates track pick

The National song is what inspired this mix. I get shivers when I hear it, turn it up and listen to it over and over..."I defend my family / with my arms umbrella'd"...at times I get so scared that I want to just huddle up with the people I love and hang on for dear life. There is so much hatred and so much fear in this world that I find it hard to bear. And yet I'm a devoted liberal news junkie; I'm addicted and I can't get enough. I wish I had something eloquent or even original to say on this subject, but at the end of the day I feel frighteningly average and ridiculously indebted to the great minds that came before me. By the end of his life, not even Kurt Vonnegut thought this country could be saved. I'm still young enough to believe that he was wrong, but I expect I'll come around in the next 40 years or so.

Regardless of your views, please remember to vote this Tuesday. I know it's not the most important thing in the world, but it is the thing that connects us to those around us. This is our country and it belongs to all of its citizens, sane and insane. Mankind has struggled for thousands of years to obtain this right, so I know I'm going to use it.