Heart it Races in Love

Here it is, only two months late, my long-awaited "happy/love mix." This playlist draws much of its inspiration from my long, illustrious, seven-year career of making mixes for crushes/smooshes/lovers/guys who barely knew I existed,  but I also must give a shout out to my friend Rachel's own love song compilation. Yes, its inevitable that these songs get recycled over the years, but I think I've finally whittled it down to my favs, and I don't believe I've included any of tracks that were featured on the three-disk clusterfuck that launched my mix career back in the day (I feel like that one was heavy on the Dashboard Confessional). Anyway, here go!

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 (I did work somewhat diligently on the order for this one, so please give it a shot!).

Running Time: Aprox. 1 hour, 14 minutes
Track List:
01. Adam Fitz - Fool Says [M. Ward]
02. Born Ruffians - Little Garcon
03. The Blow - Parentheses
04. Josh Ritter - Come & Find Me (AM/FM Mix)
05. Broken Social Scene Presents Kevin Drew - F--Ked UpKid
06. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Barnes Yard
07. Dr. Dog - Heart it Races [Architecture in Helsinki]
08. Ani Difranco - Bliss Like This
09. Wisdom Tooth - Faith
10. Rogue Wave - You Read My Mind (demo)
11. Dean & Britta - Friday I'm in Love [The Cure]
12. Pomplamoose - Don't Want to Miss a Thing [Aerosmith]
13. Taj Mahal - Queen Bee (Live)
14. The Beatles - In My Life
15. Jeff Tweedy - I Got You (Live)
16. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Hysteric (acoustic)
17. Iron & Wine - Judgement
18. Paleo - December 7th, 2006 ("Ash in My Eyes")
19. The Free Design - I Found Love (Styrofoam & Sarah Shannon Mix)
20. Bloc Party - Tulips (Remix)


Again, I find it hard to pick a favorite track (these are all pretty much my favorites), but I'd like to share my random thoughts on some/most of these love-struck tunes.

There are some definite cases of "the cover is better than the original" syndrome on this mix, specifically with the adorable Aerosmith cover and to a lesser degree with Adam Fitz covering M. Ward (the original is good, this one is just 75% funkier).

We also have a few cases of "the remix kicks ass on the original"disease running through here. The Josh Ritter remix adds a subtle yet all-important beat throughout the song (more dramatically seen in "Tulips"), while The Free Design track (better known as the band who recorded "Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?" in 1971)--which got an indie makeover in 2005--rises about 10,000 miles above the cheesy 70's pop version.

I'd be a horrible creeper/fan if I forgot to note the salty-sweet lyrics of Ani's "Bliss Like This" as well as the sweet-sweet croonings of Meagan Day as Wisdom Tooth (whose links seemed to have disappeared from the internets, sadly).

If you ever get the chance to see Taj Mahal live, please do it. He was 66-ish when I saw him at Oberlin, and still rockin' like nobody's business. I still have yet to see a full live set of Jeff Tweedy and/or Wilco, much to my eternal shame. :-(

I'm still diligently working my way through Paleo's 2006-2007 Song Diary project, though I have fallen a bit behind at times. While most of it is, well, pretty meh, there are still plenty of stand-out tracks. Definitely stay tuned for more on this character.

I'd like to offer my most humble apologies, as the Born Ruffians' "Little Garcon" should definitely have gone on my Stomp/Clap mix. Some nice stompy, clappy moments at the end there.

Ain't love grand?

I only used 8track so I could include The Beatles.

(Picture via random tumblr).

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (vintage-ish 7/6/06)

I made this mix when I was 18. Yes, think back to those emotional days when everything had so much...meaning. It was made for a specific person as part of a bimonthly exchange of music/frustrated desires (in retrospect perhaps this was all a bit one-sided). But, as far as teenage mixes go, I'd say that this one is at least laudable in its concept and execution. So, without further ado, slip into your emo pants and step right into this blast from the past...

Running Time: Aprox 1 hr. 14 min.
Track Pick: Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Bang!
Original Text Accompaniment:

 and would you please explain about the 50 ways...?
01. slip out the back, jack.
02. make a new plan, stan.
03. hop on the bus, gus.
04. drop off the key, lee.
05. son, you must go back to the life.
06. go pack your bags; take up your scythe.
07. this world wasn’t meant for us both.
08. you're embarrassing me.
09. you're embarrassing you.
10. this isn't goodnight, this is goodbye.
11. as a fuck, son, you sucked.
12. my skin tonight is a’blazing, but i don't think you're my type.
13. what i need tonight’s the real thing; i need the real thing tonight.
14. i'm leaving while you turn away.
15. remember when i said ‘i love you’? well, forget it; i take it back.
16. found eighteen reasons i can't pick up on the phone.
17. i've been wonderin' what i'm about.
18. i've been thinkin' about the road.
19. but all this dirty talkin' and all these whores a-drinkin' , all this worried walkin' and all this worried talk and i'm movin' out.
20. when your rooster crows at the break of dawn, look out your window and i'll be gone.
21. we never did too much talkin', anyway.
22. goodbye's too good a word, babe, so i’ll just say fare thee well. 
23. you could have done better, but i don't mind.
24. she told me she worked in the morning and started to laugh. i told her i didn’t, and crawled off to sleep in the bath.
25. this bird has flown.
26. i'm not the one you want, babe. i will only let you down.
27. it ain't me you're lookin' for, babe.
28. you'll be happier when i'm gone.
29. things got weird, and i started growing bob dylan's beard.
30. you'll never touch him again, so get what you can.
31. one more night, the end should be a good one.
32. and as the summer's ending, the cool air will rush your hard heart away.
33. and this is all that's left: the empty bottles, spent cigarettes.
34. so pack a change of clothes, 'cuz it's time to move on.
35. you tell me what you want, and i'll tell you what you get: you get away from me.
36. collected my belongings and i left the jail. well thanks for the time, i needed to think a spell; i had to think awhile.
37. let's just forget everything said, and everything we did.
38. not to be overly dramatic, i just think it's best.
39. you can't miss what you forget.
40. so let's just pretend everything and anything between you and me was never meant.
41. fools leave too soon.
42. well i'm not dead yet, but the regrets are killing me.
43. we might not be fooling around today.
44. at the end of a song so long, say goodbye good.
45. you are a china shop, and i am a bull.
46. you are really good food, and i am full.
47. i don’t want to risk our paths crossing some day, so you walk that way, i’ll walk this way.
48. the world’s got me dizzy again; you’d think after 22 years i’d be used to the spin. and it only feels worse when i stay in one place, so i’m always pacing around or walking away.
49. so i’m up at dawn, putting on my shoes. i just want to make a clean escape. i’m leaving but i don’t know where to.
50. so tell me girl, do i have to say please? or do i have to involve the police?

NOTE ONE: Ok, so the track pick is purely arbitrary. All of these songs are clearly fucking golden.
NOTE TWO: The reason this post is labeled "vintage-ish" is that I have changed one of the tracks from its original form/placement, upgrading to a far superior Dylan cover (Metric FTW). "Don't Think Twice" also happens to be my favorite Dylan song in all its original finger-picked glory. But yeah, enjoy this cover, and dig the original on your own time. Also-- please mentally replace that stupid Alanis cover with the real Fab Four track. Thank you.
NOTE THREE: Grooveshark is stupid. Do the refresh/rescroll thing if you have problems. Also, let me know if one of the tracks is cut off or something and I'll try to replace it. Also holler if you want any of these em-pee-threezies.
NOTE FOUR: I once saw a stripper dance to a techno remix of "50 Ways." Asked her who did it, and she did not know. :-/
NOTE FIVE: Alkaline Trio will always hold a special place in my <3.

Thank you, Paul.

albums under the influence (vintage 2-23-09)

i don't need drugs to enjoy this...only to enhance it

10)

the opening track says it all...

09)

you haven't listened to animal collective until you've listened to animal collective stoned...visualizer encouraged.

08)
iron & wine - the shepherd's dog
i completely dig the eastern elements in this album...i have a sitar fetish.

07)
the beatles -  sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band
duh.

06)
kevin drew - spirit if...
a very sexy album, incidentally.

05)

it might change your life.

04)
broken social scene - you forgot it in people
a true indie-classic.

03)

starts out uplifting, but it goesto  some freaky places...

02)
the velvet underground - the velvet underground & nico
taking it back...

01)

you haven't smoked until you've listened to tomorrow never knows.  interpretive dances welcome.


don't do drugs.