"Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over"

December 2008
for: Pam

1. Christmas Time Will Soon Be Over - Jack White
2. Answer Me - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
3. Split Lips - Sons & Daughters
4. Random Rules - Silver Jews
5. I’m On Fire - Electrelane
6. Could We - Cat Power
7. Some Kinda Love - The Velvet Underground
8. Shiny Cattle - Magic Car
9. Come To View (Song For Neil Young) - Arthur & Yu
10. Go Now - Bessie Banks
11. Dead Sound - The Raveonettes
12. Red Hot - Billy Emerson
13. Wonderful Witches - Thurston Moore
14. Rebound - Charlie Rich
15. Painter In Your Pocket - Destroyer
16. DLZ - TV On The Radio
17. My Kind Of Man - Dolly Parton
18. You Don't Know Baby - Wanda Jackson
19. Ragged Wood - Fleet Foxes
20. Heartbeats - José González
21. Sunshine - Peter Salett
22. St. James Infirmary Blues - The White Stripes
23. Ol' 55 - Tom Waits
24. Just Say So - Bettye LaVette

Comments on the mix: Not a lot to say about this one, since it's themeless. Ever since I heard the title track, I thought it would be amusing to do a mix with this title — that had nothing to do with Christmas. It was tough to make a mix for Pam, who has a lot of music knowledge and great taste. I tried to offer a range of stuff. (The sad cover is due to great printer tragedy of 2008.)

"The Long Haul"

September 2008
Themed Round: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
for: derhay

1. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right - Bob Dylan
2. How Can I Love You If You Won't Lie Down - Silver Jews
3. Winter - The Dodos
4. Challengers - The New Pornographers
5. 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon
6. Handle With Care - Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins
7. Sweet Dandelion - Peter Salett
8. Tiger Mountain Peasant Song - Fleet Foxes
9. The Boy with the Arab Strap - Belle & Sebastian
10. So Everyone - Bonnie "Prince" Billy
11. California (All The Way) - Luna
12. Citrus - The Hold Steady
13. Free - Cat Power
14. Dragonflys - Devendra Banhart
15. Explain It To Me - Liz Phair
16. Pagan Angel And A Borrowed Car - Iron & Wine
17. Crosses - José González
18. Best Bit - Beth Orton
19. The Orchids - Califone
20. For Emma - Bon Iver
21. I Lost Something In The Hills - Sibylle Baier
22. Our Way To Fall - Yo La Tengo

Comments on the mix: The theme this month was to make up a soundtrack to a film that doesn't exist. This is a movie about four friends who, in their youth, pledged to take an epic trip together in the distant future. When the time comes, they are all in very different places in their lives, but agree to reunite. So this is a soundtrack for four friends on the road, with an undercurrent of melancholy. I wrote about the mix a little more extensively at Mix Tape Collective.

"Ice Pop"

July 2008
for: ihavecooties

1. Time to Pretend - MGMT
2. Ready For The Floor - Hot Chip
3. Peacebone - Animal Collective
4. Salute Your Solution - The Raconteurs
5. Just Can't Get Enough - Depeche Mode
6. Bullets - Tunng
7. Gilt Complex - Sons & Daughters
8. California Girls - The Magnetic Fields
9. Your English Is Good - Tokyo Police Club
10. You! Me! Dancing! - Los Campesinos!
11. California Sun - The Ramones
12. Something's Changed - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
13. Myriad Harbour - The New Pornographers
14. Fools - The Dodos
15. Funny Little Frog - Belle & Sebastian
16. Lights Out - Santogold
17. The Opposite of Hallelujah - Jens Lekman
18. Strange Victory, Strange Defeat - Silver Jews
19. Pata Pata - Miriam Makeba

Comments on the mix: A fun summer mix in the tradition of Garden Party, Sunburn and Picnic.

Comments on the cover: Cover photo by Meredith Allen. She did a whole series of these.

"Lusty Ladies"

May/June 2008
Themed Round: Sin
for: knobbygirl

1. Ooh La La - Goldfrapp
2. He's Got the Power - The Exciters
3. 40 Boys in 40 Nights - The Donnas
4. Call Me - Blondie
5. I Just Want To Make Love To You - Etta James
6. Bad Reputation - Joan Jett
7. Buck - Nina Simone
8. I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine - Patti Page
9. Dirty Mind - The Pipettes
10. Just Can't Get Enough - Nouvelle Vague
11. In the Cold, Cold Night - The White Stripes
12. Shoop - Salt 'n Pepa
13. I'll Come Running - Lulu
14. Raspberry Swirl - Tori Amos
15. Long Island - That Dog
16. Car Song - Elastica
17. Pull A U - The Kills
18. Cool Love - Wanda Jackson
19. Kiss Kiss - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
20. Tonight's the Night - The Shirelles
21. Like A Virgin - Madonna
22. Never Say Never - Romeo Void
23. I'm Getting Better All The Time - Barbara Pittman
24. Brandy Alexander - Feist

Comments on the mix: For the "Sin" round, I made a mix of women expressing their lustful desires. Of course, as usual with my themed mixes, some of the songs don't quite fit. But close enough. I sent out More! as a bonus.

"Spring Cleaning"

April 2008
for: mandalaya

1. Blue Boy - Orange Juice
2. Kiss Kiss - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3. Pulling Our Weight - The Radio Dept.
4. Wonderful Witches - Thurston Moore
5. My Valuable Hunting Knife - Guided By Voices
6. The Nest - Sons & Daughters
7. Along The Way - DeVotchKa
8. Red Hot - Billy Emerson
9. Rich Kid Blues - The Raconteurs
10. What's a Girl to Do? - Bat for Lashes
11. White Collar Boy - Belle & Sebastian
12. Cheap and Cheerful - The Kills
13. Derek - Animal Collective
14. Welcome To The Club - Jean Chapel
15. Sailor & Widow - Keren Ann
16. Come To View (Song For Neil Young) - Arthur & Yu
17. Fear Of Trains - The Magnetic Fields
18. Keep Your Hands Off My Baby - Little Eva
19. Challengers - The New Pornographers
20. Half As Much - Patsy Cline
21. Killing For Love - José González
22. Ain't You Wealthy, Ain't You Wise? - Bonnie "Prince" Billy
23. You Don't Know Baby - Wanda Jackson
24. Skinny Love - Bon Iver

Comments on the mix: Sometimes I feel like I get backlogged with music that hasn't found its way onto my mixes just yet and I have to do a catch up mix to find a place for it all. This is a combo of stuff I've been holding on to, stuff I just discovered, and a few old favorites just for mandalaya. Given the time of year, the title was a no-brainer.

"Sun Flare"

February 2008
Themed Round: Nostalgia
for: Mike Eternity

1. The Wind - Cat Stevens
2. Sunshine - Peter Salett
3. I’m On Fire - Electrelane
4. Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe - Okkervil River
5. Play With Fire - The Rolling Stones
6. Now, Now - St. Vincent
7. Your Heartache and Mine - Hari and Aino
8. Pleasant As May - Dolly Parton
9. Now That I Know - Devendra Banhart
10. Watercolours into the Ocean - Destroyer
11. Maybe Not - Cat Power
12. Our Kitten Sees Ghosts - Califone
13. Remember The Day - Sibylle Baier
14. The Nest - José González
15. Dr. Baker - The Beta Band
16. If You Could Read My Mind - Johnny Cash
17. Marx and Engels - Belle & Sebastian
18. Mansion On The Hill - Bruce Springsteen
19. Shatter - Liz Phair
20. Honey, We Can't Afford to Look This Cheap - The White Stripes

Comments on the mix: Ultimately, I found my Best Song Ever mix a bit too self indulgent, so I tried to come up with a mix with a general nostalgic vibe to it. Unfortunately, I had some new songs burning a hole in my pocket, and included them here even though they don't quite fit the mood I was going for. Which is sort of a "long ago summer day" feel.

"The Best Song Ever"

(A Chronological History)

February 2008
Themed Round: Nostalgia
for: Mike Eternity

1. Material Girl - Madonna
2. Oh l’Amour - Erasure
3. Stand - R.E.M.
4. Blister in the Sun - Violent Femmes
5. She’s an Angel - They Might Be Giants
6. Trouble - Cat Stevens
7. Help Me Mary - Liz Phair
8. Gigantic - The Pixies
9. Down by the Water - PJ Harvey
10. Overcome - Tricky
11. Disco 2000 - Pulp
12. Little Babies . Sleater Kinney
13. Sweetest Decline - Beth Orton
14. These Days - Nico
15. You’re Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl) -The White Stripes
16. Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
17. Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire
18. Your Ex-Lover Is Dead - Stars
19. Lived in Bars - Cat Power
20. Paper Planes - M.I.A.
21. 23 Minutes in Brussels - Luna

Comments on the mix: I'm approaching the Nostalgia theme very literally here, by tracing my favorite songs from when I first became aware of pop music to the present day. The interesting thing about putting this together was how, early on in life, I have such distinct associations of song and moments, but more recently, everything blurs together. I also realized that I have had a lot of favorite songs that are quite long (!) and had to be excluded from this mix for that reason alone.

Comments on the cover: No cover! That's new. I decided to write liner notes for the first time, and I babbled on at such length that there was no room for a cover. However, I don't think I said anything worthy of repeating here.

"Outside the Prom"

January 2008
for: Velora

1. Never Let Me Down Again - Depeche Mode
2. If You Leave - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
3. The Motion of Love - Gene Loves Jezebel
4. Knives - The Chiara L's
5. Long-Forgotten Fairytale - The Magnetic Fields
6. Girl of 100 Lists - The Go-Gos
7. What I'm Trying To Say - Stars
8. Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
9. The Disco Song - Au Revoir Simone
10. Oh l'Amour - Erasure
11. Silent Shout - The Knife
12. Evil - Interpol
13. Temptation - New Order
14. My Coco - Stellastarr
15. Only You - Yaz
16. Someone Great - LCD Soundsystem
17. I Tried It, I Liked It, I Loved It - Decoration
18. The Melody of a Fallen Tree - Windsor For The Derby

Comments on the mix: This was a long-gestating idea. A mix that combines '80s music with '80s-inspired music. And by '80s, I mostly mean New Wave. And as for the prom? Well, there are always sulky kids in the corner. This is for their teen movie. (Only the OMD track overlaps with my last '80s foray.)