December/January Mix

I committed to doing the Dec' 10 mix.
I have now delivered it...late, but clean.
I titled it "Grand Plans Lead To Procrastination," which sums up the delay.

Now, a note to Years 2010 and 2011...

Dear 2010,
I hate your guts. I'm glad you're gone. I never wanna see or hear of you again. And I blame you for letting down my new mix club friends. You ended the way it started, with disappointment. You're dead now. And I'm not. You tried to kill me, but failed.
Bahhh.
-David P.J.

Dear 2011,
I hope you're nothing like your brother. I've got my eye on you. Now, let me get back to my friends.
-David P.J.


Dear Mix Club,
I'm back. I'm sorry. I hope you'll accept my apology, labeled "APOLOGY (Jan 2011).
Now, to the mix I refer to as "Grand Plans...(Dec'10)"

"Spanish Sahara" -FOALS
I really wanted to start the mix off really well. I think I succeeded. I go to sleep listening to that Foals song every night. Even though the benefits of marrying my wife Annelise far outweigh the disadvantages, I have to say the only thing that really blows about getting married is having to go to sleep in silence. After about 15 years of listening to choice music when I rest my weary head, my wife put the kibosh on that. So, it's not often, but when I'm really feeling a song, I'll grab my lil' Nano and let it sing me to sleep at night. I'm usually asleep by the 2nd verse.

Most of the songs that follow the intro track are just choice tracks from my 2010 musical experience (and maybe a little '09-ers too.)
Standouts to me were songs by Bear In Heaven (was on steady repeat for weeks),
Blonde Redhead (vocal perfection),
Yukon Blonde (one of my favorites for sure from a largely overlooked band),
Zeus (another overlooked band that turns out to be one of my favorite records on the planet!...usually available on amazon for peanuts, dude plays w/ Broken Social Scene guy.),
Blitzen Trapper (Annelise doesn't like this song cuz it reminds her of someone I won't name cuz I don't want to ruin it for you...but I think this song is a pure masterpiece and I never get sick of it.),
XX & Ra Ra Riot (Guilty pleasures that I don't even feel guilty about anymore.),
Plants And Animals (My guess is that these guys are cool to hang out with...additionally, their Parc Avenue record is gr8),
Spoon (If for no other reason that habit, they always find their way on my mixes. Consequently, I regret putting a 2nd Spoon song on the other mix, and I chose a bad one anyway.),
Sebadoh (Ok, I know this song is like 15 years old, but it's on my top 20 ever list.), and so on. Please note that I cut off like a minute and a half of
The Dodos "The Season." I'm sorry, in a live setting I'm down, but it annoyed me and I'm starting to be way more streamlined in my musical taste. Expect a compilation of songs no longer than 2 minutes next time. :)

So, that's my mix and my gift to you all. You should certainly have hard copies in your hands with art/etc. After mailing them I kinda got annoyed with myself with not providing a jewel case for each disc, but I figured in this iPod age, the jewel case will be found in your recycling basket within moments anyway.

In closing, I just wanted to say that I tried to choose songs that I really love right now as well as songs that I think friends in the club would enjoy. If I run across a lot of new music that I'm really enjoying within the next 6 months before our next mix to you consider yourselves lucky...because my plan for the next mix might get selfishly indulgent and consequently turn off people who actually have good taste in music. If I go through with it, please accept my apology in advance.

Love,
David (and Annelise) Jensen

Christmas Downloads

Hi!

Found this blog that has a lot of really good Christmas songs that are down-loadable here.

Enjoy!

Early Winter - by Allie and David

So this mix of ours went through quite an evolution to get to this point. It was originally a 100% electronic/trip-hop mix with few vocals, but to spare everyone from going mad we added variety to the point there was little to no electronics left. Being said, we lost our "theme" in the process, but we still liked it so we will simply call this the early winter mix :) enjoy.

1. "Madder Red" by Yeasayer

2. "I Want the World to Stop" by Belle & Sebastian

3. "David" by The Radio Dept

4. "We Own the Sky" by m83

5. "Friday Night" by Ariel's Pink Haunted Graffiti

6. "Helicopter" by Deerhunter

7. "Zebra" by Beach House

8. "Bright Bright Bright" by Dark Dark Dark

9. "Tighten Up" by the Black Keys

10. "Art isn't Real (City of Sin)" by Deer Tick

11. "Ramona" by Beck

12. "Down From Above" by Vetiver

Upcoming Mixers

November: Allison/David
December: Annelise/Dave
January: Kim/Zack
February: Brent/Bridgette?
March: Spencer?

Mixes due around the 15th of the month, or whatever works best for you. Pick whatever theme sparks your fancy.

And... February/March are still open for our new mixers if you'd like that month!

Thanks!

"This Girl Can Sing" Mix by Jeff and Lacey

For our mix, Jeff and I compiled some of our favorite girl singers. It is sort of all over the map, but we featured artists that we currently love.

(You each should have received an email with links to download these tracks. Please let me know if you did not receive it!)

Without further ado, our mix:

01. "Don't Leave My Mind" by Azure Ray.
New album. Beautiful harmonies.

02. "You Told a Lie" by Camera Obscura.
Isobell Campbell is one of my favorite singers. Doesn't sound like a trained vocalist, but that's why I love it so much.

03. "Wasted Daylight" by Stars.
Catchy, right?

04. "Big Wave" by Jenny and Johnny.
This is a new project for Jenny Lewis. And, I think her voice keeps getting better and better.

05. "Here's Where the Story Ends" by The Sundays.
One cannot include a mix of favorite girl singers without Harriet Wheeler. Such a unique sound.

06. "Little Shadow" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Karen O. is one of my rock'n'roll idols. If you've seen her live, you know what I mean!

07. "Bag of Hammers" by Thao Nguyen.
Love this imperfect-lovely-sound.

08. "Bottom of the World" by Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton.
Love Emily's voice.

09. "Lay Your Head Down" by Keren Ann.
Another catchy tune, but it's cause of this beautiful voice.

10. "Little Fire (feat. Emmylou Harris)" by Patty Griffin.
Are you a Patty Griffin fan? I love her. And, Emmylou, is pretty awesome too!

11. "Spring" by The Innocence Mission.
Some of you know my obsession with The Innocence Mission, but particularly, Karen Peris voice- stunning!

12. "John Saw That Number" by Neko Case.
Ah man. I love Neko's amazing voice- SO strong!

13. "I Don't Know" by Lisa Hannigan.
Another pretty vocalist.

14. "I Feel it All" by Feist.
Yes, Feist. I love Leslie's voice.

There you have it! Hope you enjoy our mix.

So... who would you add to this list?!

Welcome!

Hi Mix-makers,

Please introduce yourself in the comments! We've got a total of six mixers, so we'll each be making two mixes a year. I hope that works for you.

First up, are Jeff and me- get excited!