One Year of Mixtapes (Just for YOU)

Wtorek 29 Kwi 2008, 0:22

So, I first would like to acknowledge pzantingh, also of the Monthly Mixtape community, from whom I brazenly stole this brilliant idea. The thing is, I make these mixtapes every month to send to one person. Occasionally, I'm proud enough of them to post them on the community board, but I still feel that they're being wasted to a certain extent. Also (to a lesser extent), I want the constructive criticism that inevitably comes from exposing your work to the much wider audience of musical sticklers that is Last.fm. Finally, a blog of this kind gives me the chance to make some of that cool cover art that everyone seems to like so much.

A couple of caveats: I won't tell you which ones are which, but there are definitely some of these mixes I'm more proud of than others. Looking back, there are definitely some things I would have changed, but I've put them up in their original condition, warts and all. You will also notice that there is no mixtape for November of last year. I didn't make one; November is always my worst month (which is why, no matter how much I want to, I will never finish NaNoWriMo). Finally: yes, it's true that there are several songs that appear more than twice in these twelve mixes. I make no apologies for this. If you feel like you're being gypped by my repeating songs…get over it?

So, here they are: a whole year's worth of mixes I made for the Monthly Mixtape, each one following a theme. The download links are in the art, which is included in the .zip files. Download, listen, critique or just enjoy. But if the spirit moves you, please leave a comment to show that the literal DAYS of work that went into this post were worth it…

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/lauramac/album%20art/april07.jpg

(Numbers)

1. Carey Ott - Am I Just One
2. Josh Ritter - One More Mouth
3. The Beatles - Revolution 1
4. Band of Horses - Part One
5. Ben Harper - One Road for Freedom
6. Bob Marley & The Wailers - One Love/People Get Ready
7. Counting Crows - A Murder of One
8. Albert Hammond, Jr. - 101
9. Rogue Wave - 10:1
10. The Shins - One By One All Day
11. Sunset Rubdown - Us Ones In Between
12. Oasis - One Way Road

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/lauramac/album%20art/may07.jpg

(The theme was instrumental, but I happen to hate instrumental music, so I did a more liberal interpretation and went with songs featuring violins. Ironically, I did end up including one instrumental song on the mix. I was rather sick of violins by the time I was done, hence the title.)

1. Final Fantasy - Furniture
2. Wilco - Jesus, Etc.
3. The Beatles - Yesterday
4. Oasis - Whatever
5. The One AM Radio - This Is a Document
6. Arcade Fire - Wake Up
7. Basia Bulat - Snakes and Ladders
8. Bright Eyes - Four Winds
9. The Who - Baba O'Riley
10. The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony
11. Ben Harper - Strawberry Fields Forever
12. Andrew Bird - Case In Point

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/lauramac/album%20art/jun07.jpg

(Soundtrack of my life, which means all these songs mean something to me for one reason or another. If this tape doesn't necessarily flow as well as others, it's because the songs are in chronological order–for my life, anyway. And yeah, that's my crazy-looking mug in the picture)

1. Elton John - Bennie and the Jets
2. Del Amitri - Roll to Me
3. Don McLean - American Pie
4. The Beatles - Hey Jude
5. Barenaked Ladies - The Old Apartment (Live Acoustic)
6. Llama - Could Be Me (Live)
7. Speechwriters LLC - Acetate
8. Wilco - I'm the Man Who Loves You
9. Oasis - She Is Love
10. Rilo Kiley - Portions for Foxes
11. Ben Folds - Army (Live)
12. Pavement - Range Life
13. Old 97's - Designs On You
14. Paul McCartney & Wings - Jet
15. Spoon - Me and the Bean

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/lauramac/album%20art/july07.jpg

(Theme: summer. It occurred to me while I was typing this that I should have entitled this "Sitting By the Riverside," since that's what I was thinking of when I compiled it)

1. The Autumn Defense - The Sun in California
2. Speechwriters LLC - Dear Liz
3. Ryan Adams - Gonna Make You Love Me
4. Oasis - Flashbax
5. Albert Hammond, Jr. - Well...All Right
6. Beck - Qué Onda Guero
7. War - Low Rider
8. Pavement - Cut Your Hair
9. The Beatles - Come Together
10. Harry Nilsson - Everybody's Talkin'
11. The Kinks - Sitting By the Riverside
12. Belle & Sebastian - Women's Realm
13. Madeleine Peyroux - Don't Wait Too Long
14. Bob Marley & the Wailers - Three Little Birds
15. Wilco - I'm a Wheel
16. Carey Ott - You Got Love

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/lauramac/album%20art/aug07.jpg

(The theme this month was track-time related. My chosen method was to pick a short song, then make each subsequent track a minute–or nearly a minute–longer than the last, without going over an hour total time)

1. The White Stripes - Little Room
2. The Shins - The Celibate Life
3. The Autumn Defense - The World (Will Soon Turn Our Way)
4. Radiohead - Electioneering
5. Billy Bragg & Wilco - Airline to Heaven
6. Paul Simon - Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
7. The Flaming Lips - It Overtakes Me
8. The Doors - L.A. Woman
9. Blind Faith - Had to Cry Today
10. Ben Lee - Light
11. Wilco - Spiders (Kidsmoke)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/lauramac/album%20art/sep07.jpg

(The theme was grief, I think. I decided to do the five stages of coping, with respect to love obviously)

1. Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - You Are What You Love
2. Wilco - The Thanks I Get
3. Ben Harper - Show Me a Little Shame
4. Britt Daniel - Bring It on Home to Me
5. Derek & The Dominos - Bell Bottom Blues
6. Jonah Smith - My Morning Scene
7. The Beatles - I'm So Tired
8. Rhett Miller - Come Around
9. Cataldo - Wedding Cake
10. Bob Marley & The Wailers - No Woman No Cry (Live)
11. Speechwriters LLC - Or Something

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/lauramac/album%20art/oct07.jpg

(The theme for October was spooky, obviously)

1. The Beatles - Because (from Love)
2. The White Stripes - Little Ghost
3. Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Put a Spell on You
4. Drake Tungsten - Let Me Roll It!
5. Wilco - How to Fight Loneliness
6. Golden Smog - You Make It Easy
7. Llama - Carry Me High
8. Josh Ritter - Mind's Eye
9. The Natural History - Beat Beat
10. Oasis - Columbia
11. Band of Horses - Is There a Ghost
12. Fingers-Cut, Megamachine! - Mud Hands
13. Grizzly Bear - Knife
14. Spoon - 10:20 AM
15. Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - Happy (Reprise)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/lauramac/album%20art/dec07.jpg

(Best of…whatever. I chose Britt Daniel of Spoon, my once and future music obsession. I don't know if this is truly a best of, but I like the way it turned out. There're some fun rarities on this mix anyway)

1. Britt Daniel - Bring It on Home to Me
2. Spoon - Utilitarian
3. Spoon - The Underdog
4. Spoon - Paper Tiger
5. Spoon - Tear Me Down
6. Drake Tungsten - This Is a Whipping
7. Britt Daniel - Set Me Free (live acoustic)
8. Britt Daniel - Agony of Laffitte (live acoustic)
9. Drake Tungsten - Let Me Roll It!
10. Spoon - Change My Life
11. Drake Tungsten - Are You Part of the Movement
12. Spoon - I Summon You
13. Spoon - I Am the Key
14. Spoon - Jonathon Fisk
15. Spoon - I Could Be Underground