The Mixtape

Moving forward by looking back

2011-01-01T15:12:00.000-08:00

Moving forward in my case, means making another attempt to keep this blog alive and active. Those that know me know my work days are 13 or 14 hours with commute and I don't have a laptop to work on this as I ride MAX for a combined 2.5-3 hours a day. Believe me, I would definitely welcome that opportunity. That lack of time, coupled with my wife's present health issues (occurring for the past two months and still going strong), makes me wonder what I will have to devote to this in 2011.

2010 was the year I forgave Kanye West for that whole Taylor Swift thing. HA!. Let's face it. I really never cared he did that. Was he an ass? Sure. But I'm not gonna stop listening to someone who has flashes of brilliance just because he's an asshole that can't obey simple social constructs. To get back in my (and everyone else's) good graces, Kanye released a (pretty damn good) new song every week for three months. Not really a full-on stinker in the bunch. Then, for an encore, he put out his most realized, most complete album to date.

Yes, it was the year I fell back in love with 'Ye for realizing his full potential. It was the year I quietly clapped for Eminem as he enjoyed the biggest success of his career while truly not giving a shit about anything he put out for the first time since he told us what his name was.

It was the year the flirting between Best Coast and I developed into a full-on love thing. 2010 also marked the time I finally got my shit together and called it quits with Interpol, My Chemical Romance, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Dr. Dog, and the saddest breakup of all, Kings of Leon.

I do have the hope (and the desire) to do this personal passion of mine and it has to start somewhere. So here it resumes, with a look back at my favorite music of 2010. Reliable favorites like LCD Soundsystem, The National, and Deerhunter mixed it up with new discoveries including Best Coast, Bear in Heaven, and jj to fill my ears with the sweet sounds that simultaneously drowned out the voices inside my head while making the reality outside of it much more bearable.

The Mixtape's Top 50 songs of 2010

1. I Can Change / LCD Soundsystem
2. Desire Lines / Deerhunter
3. Bloodbuzz Ohio / The National
4. Lovesick Teenagers / Bear In Heaven
5. Angela Surf City / The Walkmen
6. Up All Night / Best Coast
7. What Would I want? Sky. / Animal Collective
8. What Did My Lover Say? / Wolf Parade
9. Glitter / No Age
10. Flash Delerium / MGMT
11. Bad Vibrations / Black Angels
12. Home / LCD Soundsystem
13. Runaway / Kanye West (and Pusha T)
14. Golden Town / Super Wild Horses
15. Power / Kanye West
16. Drunk Girls / LCD Soundsystem
17. Walls / Shout Out Louds
18. Hellhole Ratrace / Girls
19. My Way / jj
20. Revival / Deerhunter
21. The High Road / Broken Bells
22. 11th Dimension / Julian Casablancas
23. Go Outside / Cults
24. Monster / Kanye West
25. A More Perfect Union / Titus Andronicus
26. Laredo / Band of Horses
27. World Sick / Broken Social Scene
28. Brought It Out / BRAHMS
29. When I'm With You / Best Coast
30. Cousins / Vampire Weekend
31. Shutterbug / Big Boi
32. Tell 'Em / Sleigh Bells
33. All Summer / Best Coast, Kid Cudi, and Rostam (of Vampire Weekend)
34. Stylo / Gorillaz
35. The Last Prom on Earth / Gayngs
36. Solitude is Bliss / Tame Impala
37. Soldier of Love / Sade
38. Dance Yrself Clean / LCD Soundsystem
39. Helicopter / Deerhunter
40. GOOD Friday / Kanye West
41. Round & Round / Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
42. Marathon / Tennis
43. The Day / Curren$y (w/ Mos Def and Jay Electronica)
44. Congratulations / MGMT
45. I Think Ur A Contra / Vampire Weekend
46. England / The National
47. Always On My Mind / Reading Rainbow
48. Mickey Mouse / Wavves
49. We Used To Wait / The Arcade Fire
50. Crystallized / The XX

The Mixtape's Top 10 Albums of 2010

1. Halycyon Digest / Deerhunter

The last thing I needed to grasp on to and call friend during one of the darkest times of my life was this introspective musing on nostalgia. I didn't need to have the notion that the best times lie behind burned into my brain while I fought to make it through each repetitive, answer-less, depressing day. While my wife spent most of a month in a hospital and my zombie-like carcass trudged to work before most people were awake, I thought I needed the complete opposite of this album.

Despite it's few pop-leaning moments, I thought I needed more of the shiny, polished hooky goodness of "Fountain Stairs" and "Revival." To counteract the hazy mental malaise that I still find myself under, I believed I required more of those happy sing-along moments and much less of the sparse, insular ones that comprised the core of "Earthquake", "Helicopter", and "Sailing".

What I found, aside from irony finding yet another way to say "howdy", was a sanctuary in sound. Musical consonance wrapped around lyrical dissonance. A temporal pleasure rooted firmly in nostalgic tendencies. What I've found in the three months since it was released and put in my ears, is that I've played every song on Halcyon Digest at least 45-50 times with "Revivial" and "Desire Lines" approaching the 150 mark. What I found was the most complete, most expertly sequenced, incredibly perfect sounding collection of songs at the exact moment I needed them. My album of the year, by a mile.

2. This Is Happening / LCD Soundsystem

James Murphy and company continue to mature and evolve with each amazing release. This time out may be their last according to rumors, but if so, they're doing so at the top of their game. No other band makes dance music this cerebral and elegantly produced. Every plink, pluck, snap, bump, and crash are precisely where they need to be, all the time.

No one else makes precision and densely layered instrumentation feel looser and more natural than Murphy and this ridiculously tight band. Most importantly, the end result never feels forced or over-wrought. It just makes you want to move. I'm still happily worshiping at the Church of LCD.

3. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy / Kanye West

America's douche-bag or hip-hop's savior? Selfish, ego-driven asshole or misunderstood multi-talent? Idiot savant or just straight idiot?

For me, everything that has been covered by the media about Kanye in the media is eclipsed by the fact that he is really, really good. Since he shifted from full-time producer to artist in 2004, Mr. West has been releasing good, sometimes great albums that revealed his biggest flaw to be an lack of editing. The music, not what passed his lips. As he bridged the distance between old soul, rap, hip-hop, and pop, West often tried to be too many things to everyone at the same time.

This album is a result of Kanye keeping the best of what he's done this past year in one place. His dozen or so songs that were released each Friday or Saturday on his GOOD Friday blog were all pretty amazing and you could put those all on another album that would be almost as good as MBDTF, but he picked the right songs with the right guests and put them in the right place. I hope when all is said and done, Kanye is remembered for his work more than being a jerk. His musical output in 2010 eclipses 75% of his catalog in terms of production and overall quality. Not what we expected from Mr. West, but he's rarely predictable.

4. High Violet / The National
5. Everything in Between / No Age
6. Lisbon / The Walkmen
7. Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty / Big Boi
8. Treats / Sleigh Bells
9. Contra / Vampire Weekend
10. Congratulations / MGMT

The Mixtape 11-20-09

2009-11-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

Julian Casablancas and his 80's emulating synth ode, "11th Dimension," tops the Mixtape for the fourth week in a row. That reign may be coming to an abrupt end soon. Girls has ascended to #2 in three short weeks with their seven-minute epic, "Hellhole Ratrace" and have another, slightly shorter, song on deck outside the top ten at #11 in "Lust for Life". They, along with the rebirth of the rock power-trio/super-group Them Crooked Vultures - at #s 3 and 6, poise the biggest threat to the Strokes' lead-singer extending his stay at the top.

Seven new entries keep things interesting further down the chart including familiar names: Grizzly Bear, Vampire Weekend, No Age and Neon Indian as well as first time Mixtapers: Wolf People, Real Estate, and Beach House.

Animal Collective has had a huge year - "My Girls" and "Summertime Clothes" both went to #1 - and with the latter set to finally fall off after a half-year on the 'tape, it would appear that AC's year is done. Not true. Fall Be Kind, a five song EP out 11/23 , is Animal Collective's last call for their year long coming out party. Though "Summertime Clothes" will most likely drop off next week, I fully expect at least one of Fall Be Kind's tracks to replace it. Because it's been that kind of a year for them.

11th Dimension / Julian Casablancas (4 weeks @ 1) iTunes MySpace
Hellhole Ratrace/ Girls iTunes MySpace
Mind Eraser, No Chaser / Them Crooked Vultures iTunes MySpace
You're a Target / No Age iTunes MySpace
Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian iTunes MySpace
New Fang / Them Crooked Vultures iTunes MySpace
At the Bottom/ Brand New iTunes MySpace
Summer Song / Yacht iTunes MySpace
Swim Until You Can't See Land / Frightened Rabbit iTunes MySpace
Shine Blockas / Big Boi (w/ Gucci Mane) iTunes MySpace
Lust For Life / Girls iTunes MySpace
Cool Jumper / Wavves iTunes MySpace
Lovesick Teenagers / Bear in Heaven iTunes MySpace
Bye Bye Bayou / LCD Soundsystem iTunes MySpace
Ambling Alp / Yeasayer iTunes MySpace
Quick Canal / Atlas Sound (ft./ Laetitia Sadier) iTunes MySpace
Worm Mountain / Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
Rollerskate / Matias Aguayo iTunes MySpace
Dance Little Liar/ Arctic Monkeys iTunes MySpace
The Sea is on Fire / Stardeath and White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
Mud/ Peaches iTunes MySpace
Crying Lightning / Arctic Monkeys iTunes MySpace
Walkabout / Atlas Sound iTunes MySpace
4 Chords of the Apocalypse / Julian Casablancas iTunes MySpace
True Love / Spiral Stairs iTunes MySpace
Hell / Tegan and Sara iTunes MySpace
Forever / Drake (w/ Kanye, Lil Wayne & Eminem) iTunes MySpace
Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Autumn / Surf City iTunes MySpace
Ready, Able / Grizzly Bear (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Empire State of Mind / Jay-Z (ft. Alicia Keys) iTunes MySpace
All of the Fire / Acrylics iTunes MySpace
Genie / No Age (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Psychic Chasms / Neon Indian (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Norway / Beach House (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Cousins / Vampire Weekend (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Beach Comber / Real Estate (NEW) iTunes MySpace
October Fires / Wolf People (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 11-6-09

2009-10-31T10:21:00.000-07:00

Yes. It's been nearly two months. Computer issues, illness, and work all played a part in the unplanned hiatus of The Mixtape. Mostly the computer thing. But just like Jon Gosselin and swine flu, we won't go away. It's been far too long. Let's get to the music.

The last time The Mixtape appeared, Arctic Monkeys were spending their eighth week on top with “Crying Lightning.” Truth be told, had we been cranking out a new ‘tape for the past six weeks, “Crying Lightning” would have remained on top…until this week.

Julian Casablancas, lead singer of the “what in the hell ever happened to” band of the last decade The Strokes, has a solo album and a quick ascent to the top with Phrazes for the Young’s first single, “11^th Dimension.” The first week on the chart is the first week at number one for Mr. Casablancas’ entry into the resurgence of synth-driven rock that is more than merely dotting our landscape these days.

Reflective of the downtime we’ve experienced, there are twelve other new entries that, despite not being as high-charting and high-profile as “11^th Dimension,” are indeed noteworthy. Rock is well repped in the debuting dozen; Surf City and Spiral Stairs deliver it pretty straight-forward, the Flaming Lips bring their spaced-out uniqueness to the table (with MGMT backing them up), and Frightened Rabbit do what they do best – sing of desperate souls and vivid imagery filtered through a Scottish accent and Scott Hutchinson’s poetic leanings. Atlas Sound…well, no one does indie/bedroom rock quite like Bradford Cox.

Big Boi, one half of the artist formerly known as Outkast, brings Gucci Mane along for the ride on "Shine Blockas" and joins Jay Z, Mos Def, The Roots, Drake, and Gucci Mane himself in reppin' hip-hop and rap on this week's 'Tape.

Hip hop is not the only genre aside from rock spending time in our ears. The last six weeks have brought an influx of dance music into the, errr... mix, and this is played out with new entries from LCD Soundsystem, Matias Aguayo, YACHT, and Peaches.

The 13 new entries this week look to be joined by Girls, Them Crooked Vultures, Tegan & Sara, and Death Cab for Cutie amongst others as the refreshing of The Mixtape continues. Six weeks is a long time and there is just too much good new music fighting for earspace. It's good to be back and back on Fridays.

11th Dimension / Julian Casablancas (NEW) (1week @ 1) iTunes MySpace
Crying Lightning / Arctic Monkeys iTunes MySpace
Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian iTunes MySpace
Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Walkabout / Atlas Sound iTunes MySpace
You're a Target / No Age iTunes MySpace
Cool Jumper / Wavves iTunes MySpace
Dance Little Liar/ Arctic Monkeys iTunes MySpace
At the Bottom/ Brand New iTunes MySpace
Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
Empire State of Mind / Jay-Z (ft. Alicia Keys) iTunes MySpace
Be My Girl / Smith Westerns iTunes MySpace
Bye Bye Bayou / LCD Soundsystem (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Forever / Drake (w/ Kanye, Lil Wayne & Eminem) iTunes MySpace
How I Got Over / The Roots iTunes MySpace
Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Seasun / Delorean iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Cheat On Me / The Cribs iTunes MySpace
Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
My Sweet Lord / Yim Yames iTunes MySpace
Uprising / Muse iTunes MySpace
Swim Until You Can't See Land / Frightened Rabbit (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Flowers / Flight iTunes MySpace
Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast iTunes MySpace
Quick Canal / Atlas Sound (ft./ Laetitia Sadier) (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Shine Blockas / Big Boi (w/ Gucci Mane) (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Rollerskate / Matias Aguayo (NEW) iTunes MySpace
The Ruminant Band / The Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
Action/Reaction / Choir of Young Believers iTunes MySpace
Something in Common / Free Energy (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Mud/ Peaches (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Summer Song / Yacht (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Madagascar/ Lake iTunes MySpace
Overboard/ Gucci Mane iTunes MySpace
All Yr Songs / Diamond Rings (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Worm Mountain / Flaming Lips (NEW) iTunes MySpace
True Love / Spiral Stairs (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Autumn / Surf City (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 9/9/09: Crying Lightning 8 wks at #1.

2009-09-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

Rather fitting that on this day of Beatles recognition and re-release that a British band sit atop the Mixtape. For the 8th week in a row. Honestly, Arctic Monkeys are my favorite band to come out of the UK since Oasis blew minds in the mid-nineties. Like Oasis, Arctic Monkeys came out with a bang and blew the UK music world open with their debut. Also like Oasis, AM is still branching out on their third album and making great music. For Oasis, album #4 was where it started to go downhill. Not saying the same will happen with Arctic Monkeys, but their three albums thus far have been impressive. The Mixtape sincerely hopes they string together a career's worth of albums that aspire to the Fab 4's level of creative output.

The top three remain the same this week. It's one of those weeks where it's about the setup for future Mixtapes that matters. Wavves is looking to crack the top ten next week with "Cool Jumper," up from 19-11 this week. No Age, whose Losing Feeling EP is highly anticipated here, flies from last week's debut at 28 to this week's number ten. The Sub Pop noise duo is maturing nicely and any output from them should see even more Mixtape action.

Four new entries this week including Jigga/Hova/Greatest Rapper Alive...hell, let's just call him Jay Z shall we? "Empire State of Mind" enters at 32 as The Blueprint 3 officially dropped yesterday. Portland band, The Shaky Hands have a new single, "Allison & the Ancient Eyes" which bows at #40. Magic Kids (39) and Sea Wolf (37) round out this week's new entries. Again, this week is more about what's to come than what is happening. Six songs look to be dropping off either next week or soon there after. Look for things to shake up soon. It might even start next week. Which is when the Mixtape will drop again. Happy Beatles Day!

Crying Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (8 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian iTunes MySpace
Walkabout / Atlas Sound iTunes MySpace
How I Got Over / The Roots iTunes MySpace
Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
Dance Little Liar/ Arctic Monkeys iTunes MySpace
At the Bottom/ Brand New iTunes MySpace
Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
You're a Target / No Age iTunes MySpace
Cool Jumper / Wavves iTunes MySpace
Be My Girl / Smith Westerns iTunes MySpace
Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Seasun / Delorean iTunes MySpace
Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast iTunes MySpace
Sour Milk, Salt Water / Port O'Brien iTunes MySpace
Action/Reaction / Choir of Young Believers iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Never Forget You / The Noisettes iTunes MySpace
Cheat On Me / The Cribs iTunes MySpace
Uprising / Muse iTunes MySpace
Madagascar/ Lake iTunes MySpace
My Sweet Lord / Yim Yames iTunes MySpace
Overboard/ Gucci Mane iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace
Fables/ Dodos iTunes MySpace
Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
Forever / Drake (w/ Kanye, Lil Wayne & Eminem) iTunes MySpace
Empire State of Mind / Jay-Z (ft. Alicia Keys) (NEW) iTunes MySpace
The Ruminant Band / The Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
Flowers / Flight iTunes MySpace
I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
Wicked Blood / Sea Wolf (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Bones/ A Mountain of One iTunes MySpace
Hey Boy / Magic Kids (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Allison & the Ancient Eyes / The Shaky Hands (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 9/2/09: Monkeys for 7

2009-09-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

Arctic Monkeys make it 7 weeks on top, but some challengers to the throne have revealed themselves. Most notably, Arctic Monkeys themselves. "Dance Little Liar" moves from 16-8 in its third week on the Mixtape, giving AM a decent chance of knocking themselves out of number 1. Neon Indian (3) and Atlas Sound (5) continue their slow but steady climb upwards while Mos Def (2 and 6) and The Roots (4) continue to linger. Brand New join Arctic Monkeys in cracking the top ten this week at number nine with "At The Bottom."

After spending three months in the top ten, Animal Collective finally fall to 12. Summer has a few official weeks left in it, but the Mixtape's summer officially closes with the two juggernauts of the last three months finally both out of the top ten. Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks," which spent 11 weeks in the top ten and AC's "Summertime Clothes" are prime candidates for Summer Song of 2009, both being on repeat from June-September. Of course there's the little issue of "Crying Lightning" having spent half the summer at #1, but, if hard pressed to pick a single song that defined 2009's summer, "Summertime Clothes" (regardless of its title) gets the nod. How can you deny a song that spent 4 weeks at number one and embodied the feeling of standing in the sun with only the respite a few ice cold drops of sprinkler-created rain?

Ok...enough about the past three months, the Mixtape is always about what's happening now. And what is happening this week is four new entries from No Age (28), The Cribs (32), Drake (34), and the Fruit Bats (39) with their second song on the 'Tape.

No Age and the Cribs are both hitting the Mixtape in advance of their respective Fall releases. The Cribs' Ignore the Ignorance - the band's fourth full-length in five years - will be released on iTunes Sept. 8 and in physical formats Nov. 10. No Age's Losing Feeling EP is set to be released Oct. 6 on Sub Pop.

Drake's first Mixtape foray is a "Swagga Like Us" style four-way battle between himself, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Eminem). Drake holds his own, but that's mainly because neither Wayne or West's lines are anything to brag about. Eminem, who could use a little reason to brag given that his most recent album, Relapse, wasn't particularly a stellar comeback bid, drops the most fiery verse of the four.

Wavves (19) and Choir of Young Belivers (24) are this week's big movers while the Fiery Furnaces (38) and Metric (40) both drop fifteen look to say goodbye to the Mixtape next week. Which is when you will see a new 40 with, possibly, a new number one. But I wouldn't hold your breath for that quite yet.

Crying Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (7 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian iTunes MySpace
How I Got Over / The Roots iTunes MySpace
Walkabout / Atlas Sound iTunes MySpace
Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
Dance Little Liar/ Arctic Monkeys iTunes MySpace
At the Bottom/ Brand New iTunes MySpace
Never Forget You / The Noisettes iTunes MySpace
Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Seasun / Delorean iTunes MySpace
Be My Girl / Smith Westerns iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast iTunes MySpace
Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace
Sour Milk, Salt Water / Port O'Brien iTunes MySpace
Cool Jumper / Wavves iTunes MySpace
My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Overboard/ Gucci Mane iTunes MySpace
Action/Reaction / Choir of Young Believers iTunes MySpace
Uprising / Muse iTunes MySpace
Madagascar/ Lake iTunes MySpace
My Sweet Lord / Yim Yames iTunes MySpace
You're a Target / No Age (NEW) iTunes MySpace
I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
Fables/ Dodos iTunes MySpace
Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
Cheat On Me / The Cribs (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Bones/ A Mountain of One iTunes MySpace
Forever / Drake (w/ Kanye, Lil Wayne & Eminem) (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Chosen Armies / Children Collide iTunes MySpace
The Other Side / AM iTunes MySpace
Flowers / Flight iTunes MySpace
The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
The Ruminant Band / The Fruit Bats (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Gold Guns Girls / Metric iTunes MySpace

8/26/09: #1: Crying Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (6 weeks).

2009-08-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

Nothing too new or exciting this seek. Arctic Monkeys on top for week #6. The rest of last week's top five just change places (2 & 3, 4 & 5 swap spots). Actually, this is only the third time this year where the top ten didn't seen any new songs in it. Add to that the fact that #11-13 remain as they were last week and there just isn't a lot of movement happening. Until you go down a bit further.

Arctic Monkeys' second Mixtape entry off Humbug is moving toward the top ten (surprise surprise). "Dance Little Liar" is up from last week's debut at 27 to this week's 16. Brand New get the biggest jump of the week honors with "At the Bottom" moving from 32-17.

Only three new songs on the 'Tape this week. Hey, every week can't be as crazy as the last month or so. New bands Flight (40), Wavves (30), and sort of new act Yim Yames (35) all make their entry this week.

Yim Yames is actually Jim James of My Morning Jacket. "My Sweet Lord" is indeed a cover of the classic George Harrison track and James or Yames or whatever you want to call him has recast the tune (along with five others on his Harrison love letter, Tribute To) as meditative and solemn, something Mr. Harrison would no doubt give his blessing to. The Tribute To ep was recorded in 2000 and brings back to light the early sound of MMJ; highly reverbed vocals and a warmly hushed vibe that has all but disappeared from the band's more recent work.

Crying Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (6 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
How I Got Over / The Roots iTunes MySpace
Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian iTunes MySpace
Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Walkabout / Atlas Sound iTunes MySpace
Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
Never Forget You / The Noisettes iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace
My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
Seasun / Delorean iTunes MySpace
Dance Little Liar/ Arctic Monkeys iTunes MySpace
At the Bottom/ Brand New iTunes MySpace
Be My Girl / Smith Westerns iTunes MySpace
Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast iTunes MySpace
Sour Milk, Salt Water / Port O'Brien iTunes MySpace
I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
Gold Guns Girls / Metric iTunes MySpace
Overboard/ Gucci Mane iTunes MySpace
Chosen Armies / Children Collide iTunes MySpace
Uprising / Muse iTunes MySpace
Madagascar/ Lake iTunes MySpace
Cool Jumper / Wavves (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Fables/ Dodos iTunes MySpace
Bones/ A Mountain of One iTunes MySpace
Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
My Sweet Lord / Yim Yames (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Silver Trembling Hands / The Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
The Other Side / AM iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Break Bones / Internet Forever iTunes MySpace
Action/Reaction / Choir of Young Believers iTunes MySpace
Flowers / Flight (NEW) iTunes MySpace

8/19/09: #1: Crying Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (5 weeks).

2009-08-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

Arctic Monkeys hold on to the top for the fifth week, making "Crying Lightning" tied with Deerhunter's "Nothing Ever Happened" for the second-longest stay at #1 this year. "Crying Lightning" will need another month at the top just to tie Silversun Pickups' "Panic Switch," which spent nine weeks at the top this past spring. This may not be too far-fetched though given the fact Arctic Monkeys has turned away a pair of Mos Def jams, stalled the Roots out at number two after a speedy ascension up the Mixtape, and fought off Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective for a month.

Pretenders to Arctic Monkeys throne this week include the aforementioned Roots and Mos Def tracks which are all stuck in a holding pattern (#2-4), Neon Indian's bippy bleepy day dreamy "Deadbeat Summer" (moving from 10-5) and Atlas Sound's collabo w/ Panda Bear from Animal Collective, "Walkabout" (last week's 11, this week's 8). After that, nary a threat to our Sheffield boys lies waiting. At least not for the immediate future.

Smith Westerns have this week's biggest mover - one of the best of the recent glut of fuzzed-out homages to 60s pop - with "Be My Girl" (34-23). Hell, the Monkeys biggest competition might be themselves. A second track from Humbug, the band's third full-length release - out next Tuesday, is this week's highest new entry at 27. "Dance Little Liar" is currently a stand-out on an album that truly does get better with each listen. More on Humbug here.

Other new entries this week come from rapper Gucci Mane (30), the perennially overlooked Brand New (32), Lake (35), AM (39), and Choir of Young Believers (40). There are a lot of songs on the bubble, just waiting to crack next week's Mixtape. It looks like there will be room for three with Handsome Furs (36), Miike Snow (37), and Dirty Projectors (38) all taking dives this week. Perhaps we'll see Michael Franti and Spearhead's latest, "Say Hey (I love you)" crack the 40. The Big Pink's "Dominos" and Flight's "Flowers" have both been waiting patiently the last few weeks as well. We will know next humpday. Until then, soak up the rays and enjoy the summer days. They'll be gone before you know it.

Crying Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (5 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
How I Got Over / The Roots iTunes MySpace
Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian iTunes MySpace
Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Walkabout / Atlas Sound iTunes MySpace
Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
Never Forget You / The Noisettes iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace.
The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Seasun / Delorean iTunes MySpace
Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast iTunes MySpace
Sour Milk, Salt Water / Port O'Brien iTunes MySpace
Be My Girl / Smith Westerns iTunes MySpace
Chosen Armies / Children Collide iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Gold Girls Guns / Metric iTunes MySpace
Dance Little Liar/ Arctic Monkeys (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Silver Trembling Hands / The Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
Uprising / Muse iTunes MySpace
Overboard/ Gucci Mane (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Fables/ Dodos iTunes MySpace
At the Bottom/ Brand New (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Break Bones / Internet Forever iTunes MySpace
Bones/ A Mountain of One iTunes MySpace
Madagascar/ Lake (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
Song For No One / Miike Snow iTunes MySpace
Temecula Sunrise / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
The Other Side / AM (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Action/Reaction / Choir of Young Believers (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 8/12/09: Monkeys Make It Four.

2009-08-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

Not much to say this week. Arctic Monkeys remain at the top for the fourth week. Mos Def has two songs in the top five. Both the Mos Def and Arctic Monkeys albums are outstanding; Mos Def's 16-song trip spanning a variety of producers and styles and the Arctic Monkeys' focused 10-song declaration that the influences of Josh Homme and Alex Turner's solo-project of last year - The Last Shadow Puppets - can make for some pretty dark and dense tales.

After the last few weeks of big moves and plentiful debuts, this week's Mixtape finds a calmer terrain. Aside from The Roots' jump from 8-2 with "How I Got Over," there isn't too much in the way of bold statements. Delorean (19), Fruit Bats (16), Noisettes (12) and Atlas Sound (11) all make steady moves toward the top ten while Internet Forever (31) makes the biggest jump of the week, moving up nine.

Three new tracks enter the 'Tape - Smith Westerns (34), Dodos (35), and A Mountain of One (40). This week might be the last for both of Green Days 21st Century Breakdown representatives as well as Nurses and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. There isn't a shortage of new music right now so it's fair to say next week should see at least four new songs enter. Come back next Wednesday to see who debuts and if The Roots can use their momentum to knock "Cryin' Lightning" out of the top.

See you next humpday.

Cryin' Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (4 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
How I Got Over / The Roots iTunes MySpace
Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian iTunes MySpace
Walkabout / Atlas Sound iTunes MySpace
Never Forget You / The Noisettes iTunes MySpace
Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace.
The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
Seasun / Delorean iTunes MySpace
I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
Song For No One / Miike Snow iTunes MySpace
Chosen Armies / Children Collide iTunes MySpace
Temecula Sunrise / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast iTunes MySpace
You'll Disappear / The Phenomenal Handclap Band iTunes MySpace
Silver Trembling Hands / The Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
Sour Milk, Salt Water / Port O'Brien iTunes MySpace
Gold Girls Guns / Metric iTunes MySpace
Break Bones / Internet Forever iTunes MySpace
Games For Days / Julian Plenti iTunes MySpace
Uprising / Muse iTunes MySpace
Be My Girl / Smith Westerns (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Fables/ Dodos (NEW) iTunes MySpace
21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
Caterpillar Playground / Nurses iTunes MySpace
Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Bones/ A Mountain of One (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 8/5/09: Four For Flying

2009-08-05T10:09:00.000-07:00

Major movement. That's the theme for this version of The Mixtape. After seven new songs made their way on board last week's 'Tape, it was pretty much implied that some of the tunes would be climbing upward this week. What wasn't implied was how many (four) would make such huge leaps this week, let alone, who would make the biggest. Funny what can happen when songs marinate in your head for a week.

The Roots' "How I Got Over" was a given to make a decent move. After all, it's The Roots. ?uestlove, Black Thought, and the rest of the Roots crew bust into the top ten in their second week on, landing at #9 after debuting at #27 last week. Not too shabby, but not the biggest move this week either.

At first listen, The Noisettes seemed like another act hitching on the Mark Ronson/ Amy Winehouse aesthete that has spawned a movement the last couple years. "Never Forget You" is not just another soulful song with a Sixties throwback approach though. Shingai Shoniwa's vocals have the soul all right, but they also have a personality about them. Enough personality to help the song split the distance from it's #34 debut last week by jumping up to #17.

Bradford Cox employs Jack White's work ethic. Cox leads Deerhunter - last year's Microcastle and "Nothing Ever Happened" were both in the top 5 of The Mixtape's Best Albums and Singles of 2008 respectively - and also cranks out Atlas Sound albums and EPs like the dude is hooked up to a Red Bull drip. Based on Atlas Sound's 2008 album, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel, there might have been a bit of morphine coming through the IV line as well. Atlas Sound's next album, Logos, is set for release on Oct. 20, 2009. First single, "Walkabout," which features vocals from Animal Collective's Noah Lennox, goes light on the morphine and heavy on the Sunny D. The song is as accessible as anything Atlas Sound has released and Lennox's (aka Panda Bear) influence is all over the track's layered vocals and free floating vibe. Last week's quiet debut at #35 is this week's loud leap to #15. See you in the top ten soon boys.

Finally, the biggest jump of the week. From a band that isn't even on iTunes yet. Yet. Neon Indian's "Deadbeat Summer" goes batshit crazy, jumping 27 spots from #39 to #12. The song feels old and new; poppy and indie at the same time. Synths rule the terrain, but it's Alan Palomo's vocals and melodies that sell the song. Best listened to while sitting on a beat-up couch on the front porch, staring at the sun and sippin' on the syzzurp of summer. Drink it in people. It goes down real smooth. Even on the 20th listen.

As for next week's potential big movers, the bottom five of this week's Mixtape is where the new entries live this week. Debuts from Port O'Brien (36), Metric (37), and Muse (39) represent the Mixtape vets. There is also a new entry from first-time 'Tapers, Internet Forever (40). And some guy named Julian Plenti (38) who is better known as Interpol lead-singer, Paul Banks. So that secret's out. See y'all next humpday.

Cryin' Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (3 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
How I Got Over / The Roots iTunes MySpace
Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace
Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
Walkabout / Atlas Sound iTunes MySpace
Temecula Sunrise / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
Never Forget You / The Noisettes iTunes MySpace
Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
Song For No One / Miike Snow iTunes MySpace
You'll Disappear / The Phenomenal Handclap Band iTunes MySpace
My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
Caterpillar Playground / Nurses iTunes MySpace
Seasun / Delorean iTunes MySpace
Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
Chosen Armies / Children Collide iTunes MySpace
Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Feel Like Taking You Home / Brendan Benson iTunes MySpace
You Never Know/ Wilco iTunes MySpace
Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast iTunes MySpace
Silver Trembling Hands / The Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
L.A. Guitar Dream / Spanish Prisoners iTunes MySpace
Sour Milk, Salt Water / Port O'Brien (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Gold Girls Guns / Metric (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Games For Days / Julian Plenti (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Uprising / Muse (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Break Bones / Internet Forever (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 7/29/09: The (new) Songs of Summer

2009-07-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

I don't know where you're living, but my normally cool 'hood is on fire right now. Portland, OR gets a 100 degree day every couple summers, but we are in the midst of a record-breaking heatwave that saw 106 yesterday and is set to 107 today. Ridiculous heat, but good fodder for a segue into new Mixtape music this week.

This week on The Mixtape, seven new songs bump off much of the "old guard" that has called the 'Tape home for much of this year. Songs (with weeks on the Mixtape in parentheses) that finally fell off the chart this week include:

Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs (22)
Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups (18)
Seaside / Kestrels (23)

Replacing them are a batch of songs that either evoke summer in some form or have a summery reference in their title:

Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast enters at 40 this week in all of its "lo-fi by way of Sixties Girl Group with the melody buried in the mix" glory.

Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian arrives at 39 in a Casio-blip fury, not really evoking summer, but making the head bob ever so slightly nonetheless.

Atlas Sound's "Walkabout" nods ever-so-slightly to the Mark Ronson aesthethic that has influenced popular music the last couple years as much as that damn swing/jive revival that happened a decade ago. In doing so, Bradford Cox's other band manages to meld 1960s easy breezy pop with modern-day electro-indie flavor courtesy of Animal Collective's Noah Lennox.

The Noisette's second Mixtape appearance ("Scratch Your Name" scratched the 'Tape's surface briefly last year) debut at 34 with a song that sounds like Amy Winehouse and the aforementioned Mark Ronson aesthetic, but with more soul. And in this heat, any song that starts with "Whatcha drinkin', rum or whiskey? Now wontcha have a double with me?" sounds pretty good to me. The fact that the updated Sixties-soul vibe at the heart of "Never Forget You" sounds so lush in its blend of orchestration and fuzzed-out guitars - the canvas on which leadd singer, Shingai Elizabeth Maria Shoniwa, laments over love lost - makes the track even better than its alcohol-tempting first couplet.

Seasun / Delorean has a strong debut at 33, especially for a song first heard by The Mixtape yesterday. The track soaks in it's slow, synthy build - dotted by vocal drops of "aaaaah"for about 2:40 before it morphs in to a contemporary version of Madonna's "Ray of Light." And then, the fun starts.

Finally, Jimmy Fallon's house band debuted "How I Got Over" (27) some weeks back on that late night show, but the real deal dropped this week and it finds The Roots as comfortable in a laid-back groove since this song became part of the dialog for The Mixtape's 100 favorite songs of all time.

Not to be left out, but certainly not summery unless acid trips at the beach are part of your fun in the sun, The Flaming Lips followup their amazing cover of Madonna's "Borderline" with an all-new song, "Silver Trembling Hands." The track is part of a three-song EP titled Embryonic Digital and looks to be included on the Lips' new album, Embryonic, which is due September 29.

As for the rest of the 'Tape: not too much in the way of big moves this week. Arctic Monkeys pretty much took care of that last week and remain at #1 for a second week. Interestingly though, Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective flip-flop at #s 2 and 3. Those two songs, sharing the top three for the sixth week in a row, are the absolute front runners for Summer Song '09 - Animal Collective's "Summertime Clothes," which revels in walking around on the very sun-scorched pavement and Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks," a Beach Boys-esque lilting piece of ear candy that will float you high above the heat of the street.

Stay cool wherever you are, regardless of the temperature. See you next Wednesday.

Cryin' Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (2 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
You'll Disappear / The Phenomenal Handclap Band iTunes MySpace
Temecula Sunrise / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
Caterpillar Playground / Nurses iTunes MySpace
Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
Song For No One / Miike Snow iTunes MySpace
Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
Feel Like Taking You Home / Brendan Benson iTunes MySpace
You Never Know/ Wilco iTunes MySpace
I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
How I Got Over / The Roots (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
Death of Auto Tune / Jay-Z iTunes MySpace
L.A. Guitar Dream / Spanish Prisoners iTunes MySpace
Beggar's Bowl / Polvo iTunes MySpace
Chosen Armies / Children Collide iTunes MySpace
Seasun / Delorean (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Never Forget You / The Noisettes (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Walkabout / Atlas Sound (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Sacred Trickster / Sonic Youth iTunes MySpace
I Want You to Know/ Dinosaur Jr. iTunes MySpace
Silver Trembling Hands / The Flaming Lips (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 7/22/09: Flying Monkeys, Spoons, and Bats

2009-07-21T11:44:00.000-07:00

Things are changing. For starters, The Mixtape will now be out each Wednesday instead of the traditional Friday release. The real change, of course, is all over the 40 songs below and it starts at the top as all good change should.

Arctic Monkeys grab the top spot this week 'Tape with "Cryin' Lightning," the Josh Homme-produced lead single off the band's upcoming third full album, Humbug. As any follower of The Mixtape knows, Arctic Monkeys have a very secure place in our heart and ears. "Cryin' Lightning" entered last week at 25, but was overshadowed by Dirty Projectors' twin entries at 12 and 13 as well as Mos Def's twin 'Tape tunes. A week passed and AM's track was on repeat the whole time, its noir-ish guitar solo and cryptic lyrics sounding better with each listen, culminating in a 24-song leap frog to the top in its second week.

This is rare, though not unheard of. Spinnerette went to #1 earlier this year with "Ghetto Love" after debuting at #4 a week before. Silversun Pickups' "Panic Switch" got to #1 in its third week on. But Arctic Monkeys clearly trumped both of those songs with such a dramatic ascent.

Speaking of dramatic ascents (and we were), Spoon, another venerable Mixtape act, jump from 24-11 with "Got Nuffin," a song that grooves as hard as anything the band has ever released. Miike Snow moves from 39-22 with "Song For No One" and Fruit Bats' "My Unusual Friend" takes flight from 40-25.

The top ten gets a little shakeup, not only from Arctic Monkeys' aforementioned bionic jump, but a few other new entries as well. Dirty Projectors move from 12-4 with one of their two debuts from last week, the 'why didn't Nelly Furtado release this five years ago?' single, "Stillness Is the Move" and Wilco climb from 18-9 with "Bull Black Nova," a downward-spiraling track full of paranoia and regret. Mos Def's "Casa Bey," last week's #11, is this week's #8 and the first of the Mos Def back-to-back - "Life In Marvelous Times" climbs from 9-7.

Green Day (two songs), Silversun Pickups, and Handsome Furs all fall out of the top ten this week to make room for the new kids at the top. Change is imminent and it is all over this week's Mixtape. Even the combo of Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear are forced out of their month-long residency at #s 1 and 2 respectively. Despite all the movement, only one new song appears on this week's chart. Children Collide enters at #40 with "Chosen Armies."

With Modest Mouse, Silversun Pickups, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kestrels, and Camera Obscura all looking ready to make their exit, next Wednesday should bring at least a few tunes to the 'Tape. See you then.

Cryin' Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (1 week @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace
You'll Disappear / The Phenomenal Handclap Band iTunes MySpace
Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
Temecula Sunrise / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
You Never Know/ Wilco iTunes MySpace
Caterpillar Playground / Nurses iTunes MySpace
Feel Like Taking You Home / Brendan Benson iTunes MySpace
Song For No One / Miike Snow iTunes MySpace
Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
Sacred Trickster / Sonic Youth iTunes MySpace
I Want You to Know/ Dinosaur Jr. iTunes MySpace.
Death of Auto Tune / Jay-Z iTunes MySpace
I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
Tokyo / Telekinesis iTunes MySpace
L.A. Guitar Dream / Spanish Prisoners iTunes MySpace
Beggar's Bowl / Polvo iTunes MySpace
Since We've Been Wrong / The Mars Volta iTunes MySpace
French Navy/ Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Satellite Skin / Modest Mouse iTunes MySpace
Chosen Armies / Children Collide iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 7/10/09: Seeing Double

2009-07-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

Double vision seems to be the theme for this week's Mixtape. It's the second week the top three remain the same. Five acts (Green Day, Mos Def, Dirty Projectors, Wilco, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs) have two songs on the 'Tape. One (Silversun Pickups) even has three -they have for the last ten weeks. It's not that there's a lack of great music out there, it's just so hard to deny these acts multiple entries when their songs (and albums) are this good.

One of those two-song band's is this week's highest debut. Make that debuts. Dirty Projectors makes a grand entrance on the Mixtape this week with back-t0-back entries from their brilliant album, Bitte Orca. The high-altitude twin debuts of "Stillness Is the Move (12) and Temecula Sunrise (13) trump a pretty respectable debut from Mixtape favorite - Arctic Monkeys.

Any other week, "Cryin' Lightning" would be the big deal, but Arctic Monkeys' latest single settles in quietly at 25 in its first week. Expect big things from the song. The Monkeys' third full-length album, Humbug, will hit the US August 25, and, if history is any indication, will produce several Mixtape tracks. This week, however, belongs to Dirty Projectors. Did I mention the album is brilliant?

Other new entries this week include the band with the singer who's the nephew of the guy that pretty much runs the show that is The Flaming Lips. Dennis Coyne obviously spent his formative years listening to Uncle Wayne's band as Lips-ish psychedelic experimentation is a cornerstone of Dennis' band, Stardeath and White Dwarfs. If the name sounds familiar it's because the band collaborated with The Flaming Lips earlier this year on Madonna cover (and Mixtape top-ten), "Borderline." "I Can't Get Away" (34) is the first proper entry for Stardeath and White Dwarf. Miike Snow (yes, double "i" - the theme of the week continues) enters at 39 with "Song For No One" and the Fruit Bats occupy the leadoff position at 40 with "My Unusual Friend."

It's a busy week on the Mixtape and the next few months should be just as action packed. Aside from all the left-field suprises that makes seeking out new music so worthwhile, some big names are set to drop new releases. August albums from Jimmy Fallon's house band (The Roots - 8/11) and the aforementioned Arctic Monkeys (8/25) as well as September releases from Jay Z (9/11), Beastie Boys, Grand Archives, and Q Tip (9/15), and even Pearl Jam (9/22) should keep the Mixtape interesting to say the least.

Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective (4 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
You'll Disappear / The Phenomenal Handclap Band iTunes MySpace
Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Temecula Sunrise / Dirty Projectors (NEW) iTunes MySpace
You Never Know/ Wilco iTunes MySpace
Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Sacred Trickster / Sonic Youth iTunes MySpace
Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace
I Want You to Know/ Dinosaur Jr. iTunes MySpace.
The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
Caterpillar Playground / Nurses iTunes MySpace
Feel Like Taking You Home / Brendan Benson iTunes MySpace
French Navy/ Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
Cryin' Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Since We've Been Wrong / The Mars Volta iTunes MySpace
Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
Death of Auto Tune / Jay-Z iTunes MySpace
Satellite Skin / Modest Mouse iTunes MySpace
Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Tokyo / Telekinesis (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Beggar's Bowl / Polvo iTunes MySpace
L.A. Guitar Dream / Spanish Prisoners iTunes MySpace
Dream City / Free Energy iTunes MySpace
Song For No One / Miike Snow (NEW) iTunes MySpace
My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 07/03/09

2009-07-03T16:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July to all and Happy Birthday to America.

Last week, The Mixtape took a vacation. That's a bit misleading. Vacation implies that there was fun and merriment, which isn't the case. The dynamic of life altered a bit (for the good, mind you) and, as a result, last week's Mixtape didn't see the light of web. The quick and dirty on it is that the top three remained the same and two new songs entered - the recently re-formed Polvo and the greatest rapper alive (no need for quotes - Hova solely deserves that title. Weezy...whatever) - aka S. Carter aka Jigga aka Jay-Z. So there's that.

This week, the top two remain the same. Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear have been the 1-2 punch of summer listening for a few weeks, but that could be changing. Most of the top ten songs have remained the same for the last few weeks, but Sonic Youth (9) and Deer Tick (10) represent the newest top-ten entries.

The real action occurs just a bit farther down at numbers 16 and 17 where Mos Def drops two brand new songs - "Life In Marvelous Times " and "Casa Bey" respectively - on to the 'Tape. Honestly, Def's whole album, The Ecstatic, could go on there, but that wouldn't be fair to Telekinesis, Spoon, Spanish Prisoners , DJ Kaos, and Wilco who also have new entries this week.
So two it is for now. But here's a spoiler alert - The Ecstatic will definitely be in The Mixtape Top Ten Albums of 2009.

Have fun and be safe this weekend. See you next Friday.

Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective (3 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
Sacred Trickster / Sonic Youth iTunes MySpace
Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
French Navy/ Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
You'll Disappear / The Phenomenal Handclap Band iTunes MySpace
Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
You Never Know/ Wilco iTunes MySpace
Satellite Skin / Modest Mouse iTunes MySpace
Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Casa Bey / Mos Def (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
I Want You to Know/ Dinosaur Jr. iTunes MySpace
Feel Like Taking You Home / Brendan Benson iTunes MySpace
The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
Caterpillar Playground / Nurses iTunes MySpace
Psychic City/ YACHT iTunes MySpace
Devotion / Viva Voce iTunes MySpace
Raindrops / Basement Jaxx iTunes MySpace
Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Since We've Been Wrong / The Mars Volta iTunes MySpace
Dream City / Free Energy iTunes MySpace
Bull Black Nova / Wilco (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Silver Among the Gold / Grand Archives iTunes MySpace
Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
Death of Auto Tune / Jay-Z iTunes MySpace
Fire / Kasabian iTunes MySpace
Got Nuffin' / Spoon (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Beggar's Bowl / Polvo iTunes MySpace
L.A. Guitar Dream / Spanish Prisoners (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Tokyo / Telekinesis (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Love The Nite Away (Tiedye Mix) / DJ Kaos (NEW) iTunes MySpace

Mixtape 6/19/09

2009-06-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

A new week and a new number one. Animal Collective reach the top of the Mixtape for the second time this year. "Summertime Clothes" follows "My Girls" as the second 'Tape-topper from the album, "Merriweather Post Pavilion."

Right behind Animal Collective, and holding at #2 for second week, is Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks." Last week's #1, "French Navy" by Camera Obscura slips from #1-4 after a two-week run at the top.

A couple of big moves happen lower down this week. Sonic Youth jumps from #28-13 with "Sacred Trickster" and first-time Mixtapers Deer Tick move from #38-20 in the band's second week on the chart with "Easy," which sounds like a leftover from the Sixties. In a very good way.

A six-pack of new tunes descend upon the 'Tape this week including the first single from the new Wilco album - Wilco the Album - "You Never Know"(32), "You'll Disappear" by New York groove dogs, The Phenomenal Handclap Band (33), and Portland band (aren't they all from Portland these days?) The Nurses enter with their first Mixtape appearance, "Caterpillar Playground" (38).

There are also new entries by Brendan Benson - the singer in the Raconteurs that's not Jack White - with "Feel Like Taking You Home" (37), "Upside Down" by Banjo or Freakout (39) and Ganglians' "Lost Words" (40).

Look for new BLK JKS and possibly more new Wilco on next week's Mixtape. See you next Friday.

Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective (1 week @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
French Navy/ Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
Psychic City/ YACHT iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Satellite Skin / Modest Mouse iTunes MySpace
Sacred Trickster / Sonic Youth iTunes MySpace
Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Borderline/ Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
Chillin' / Wale ft. Lady Gaga iTunes MySpace
Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
Walking on a Dream / Empire of the Sun iTunes MySpace
Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
I Want You to Know/ Dinosaur Jr. iTunes MySpace
Devotion / Viva Voce iTunes MySpace
Fire / Kasabian iTunes MySpace
Cheerleader / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Raindrops / Basement Jaxx iTunes MySpace
Kind of a Girl / Tinted Windows iTunes MySpace
From the Hips / Cursive iTunes MySpace
Dream City / Free Energy iTunes MySpace
Statues / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah iTunes MySpace
100 Little Curses / Street Sweeper Social Club iTunes MySpace
Since We've Been Wrong / The Mars Volta iTunes MySpace
You Never Know/ Wilco (NEW) iTunes MySpace
You'll Disappear / The Phenomenal Handclap Band (NEW) iTunes MySpace
The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
Silver Among the Gold / Grand Archives iTunes MySpace
It Ain't Gonna Save Me / Jay Reatard iTunes MySpace
Feel Like Taking You Home / Brendan Benson (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Caterpillar Playground / Nurses (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Lost Words / Ganglians (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 6/12/09

2009-06-12T11:41:00.000-07:00

Today's the day!!! Get digital or get lost in the technological shuffle. TV officially (finally) moves to the digital age today. Sure, it was supposed to happen in Februrary, but no one was ready. Hell, plenty of people still aren't, but change waits for no one.

As for The Mixtape, not too much in the way of change this week. Camera Obscura is on top for a second week with "French Navy." Grizzly Bear moves from #3-2 with "Two Weeks" and, wait...this just in...change is indeed present on this week's 'Tape. After entering last week at 23, Handsome Furs' "Radio Kaliningrad" leaps up to 3. It's so hard to deny one-half of the Wolf Parade sound. YACHT is this week's other new top ten entry at #9 with "Psychic City," up from #12 last week.

Spotlight Singles:

Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs (#3)

Dan Boeckner is better known (at least in some circles) as half of the vocal duo that gives Wolf Parade its distinctive sound. With his wife, Alexei Perry, Boeckner moonlights as Hansome Furs. "Radio Kaliningrad" is off their second album, Face Control - a semi-conceptual piece revolving around the Russian practice of turning away bar patrons based soley on appearance, also known as Face Control. The song can't be denied. Boeckner's voice and the tune's moodiness evokes some of Wolf Parade's finest moments, and really, almost all Wolf Parade moments are F-I-N-E fine. My apologies for the Aerosmith reference for those who catch it. I swear I've heard the melody before. I just can't place it among the static.

21st Century Breakdown / Green Day (#7)

Granted, this song sounds better in the context of GD's album of the same name, but this song is a great summation of Billie Jo, Mike, and Tre's influences; spanning anthemic, stadium ready rock, Ziggy Stardust-esque ambition and emotion, skewed punk ala Flogging Molly and The Clash, and back to the stadium for a big finish, all the while sounding very Green Day. All within a five-minute window.

I Want You To Know / Dinosaur Jr. (#22)

Death and taxes aside, few things are a given in this life. As time has taught us all, one unavoidable inevitablility is the cylcic nature of nostalgia. It seems like we work in 15-2o year cycles. I'll save the details for a future post, but rock and roll is definitely looking back to the 90s right now as a touchstone for inspiration.

Silversun Pickups are what Billy Corgan wishes the Smashing Pumpkins still were. Camera Obscura draws from the same sense of timelesness that made Natalie Merchant and 10,000 Maniacs critical and fan favorites. Hell, Sonic Youth, Dino Jr, and Green Day, all on this week's chart, were all on a pre-internet version of The Mixtape 15 or so years ago. If you're too young to remember, check out Dirty, Where You Been, and Dookie respectively. They all still kill most of what passes for "alternative" these days. Or maybe I'm just nostalgic.

But back to Dinosaur Jr, this track sounds like J. Mascis and co. have a time machine that enables them to ignore each and every musical trend that's been born and faded away the last decade-and-a-half. Thankfully, "I Want You to Know" has the same slanted pop sensibilities peeking out behind walls of guitar aesthete that endeared "Feel The Pain" and "Out There" to a flannel-clad generation of Lollapalooza-goers in the early Nineties.

Have a great week and Kill Your Television! Or at least upgrade the dang thing. The economy sucks...there must be a sale somewhere. Here's this week's Mixtape:

French Navy/ Camera Obscura (2 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Psychic City/ YACHT iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Chillin' / Wale ft. Lady Gaga iTunes MySpace
Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
Satellite Skin / Modest Mouse iTunes MySpace
Borderline/ Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Cheerleader / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
Walking on a Dream / Empire of the Sun iTunes MySpace
Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Kind of a Girl / Tinted Windows iTunes MySpace
From the Hips / Cursive iTunes MySpace
I Want You to Know/ Dinosaur Jr. iTunes MySpace
Devotion / Viva Voce iTunes MySpace
Statues / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah iTunes MySpace
Fire / Kasabian iTunes MySpace
Houses / Great Northern iTunes MySpace
Heavy Cross / The Gossip iTunes MySpace
Sacred Trickster / Sonic Youth iTunes MySpace
Raindrops / Basement Jaxx iTunes MySpace
Buddy / Iran iTunes MySpace
Dream City / Free Energy iTunes MySpace
100 Little Curses / Street Sweeper Social Club iTunes MySpace
Since We've Been Wrong / The Mars Volta iTunes MySpace
Stay Wide Awake / Eminem iTunes MySpace
Kinda Like a Big Deal / Clipse ft. Kanye West iTunes MySpace
Now We Can See / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
Silver Among the Gold / Grand Archives (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Easy / Deer Tick (NEW) iTunes MySpace
It Ain't Gonna Save Me / Jay Reatard (NEW) iTunes MySpace
The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 06/05/09

2009-06-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

A Perfect 10 Denied, Married Musicians Moving Up, and War Is Waged Against a French Navy.

It has happened. It took an army to dethrone Silversun Pickups before they could reach a double-digit stay at the top of The Mixtape. Actually it took a Navy. A French Navy courtesy of Camera Obscura who sit at the top of this week's 'Tape for the first time ever.

Silversun Pickups still have three songs in the top ten, but it doesn't look like "It's Nice To Know You Work Alone" (4) or "Catch and Release" (10) will be following the nine-week number-one run of "Panic Switch." That would be an impressive feat given Grizzly Bear's climb from #6-3 with "Two Weeks," Green Day's ascension from #14-6 with the title track of their latest epic, and Animal Collective's leap from #19-7 with "Summertime Clothes."

Not to mention that two other songs are making serious moves toward the summit. YACHT makes a downright impressive jump from #40-12 with "Psychic City" and Modest Mouse move quite respectably from #34-19 with "Satellite Skin."

It's a good week for husband/wife combos on The Mixtape. Sonic Youth (Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon celebrate 25 years of marriage this year) move from #39-34 with "Sacred Trickster," Kevin and Anita Robinson's Viva Voce climb from #35-26 with "Devotion," and Dan Boeckner (along with wife Alexei Perry) sees 'Tape action in the form of a band that's not Wolf Parade, his day job that's enjoyed much Mixtape success. Boeckner and Perry's Handsome Furs leads the week's new entries at #23 with "Radio Kaliningrad" from their second album, Face Control.

The other new entries appear at the bottom of the 'Tape. The Mars Volta's first single from upcoming album Octahedron, "Since We've Been Wrong," enters at #39 while Free Energy appears on the Mixtape for the first time with "Dream City" at #40.

The inevitable battle between Camera Obscura, Grizzly Bear, Green Day, and Animal Collective for the top spot will make the next few weeks quite interesting. YACHT, Modest Mouse, and Handsome Furs all seem destined for the top ten as well. Let the Summer Games begin!

French Navy/ Camera Obscura (1 week @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Chillin' / Wale ft. Lady Gaga iTunes MySpace
Borderline/ Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Psychic City/ YACHT iTunes MySpace
Kind of a Girl / Tinted Windows iTunes MySpace
Cheerleader / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
From the Hips / Cursive iTunes MySpace
Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
Walking on a Dream / Empire of the Sun iTunes MySpace
Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
Satellite Skin / Modest Mouse iTunes MySpace
Statues / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah iTunes MySpace
Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Buddy / Iran iTunes MySpace
Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Houses / Great Northern iTunes MySpace
I Want You to Know/ Dinosaur Jr. iTunes MySpace
Devotion / Viva Voce iTunes MySpace
Heavy Cross / The Gossip iTunes MySpace
Fire / Kasabian iTunes MySpace
Stay Wide Awake / Eminem iTunes MySpace
Kinda Like a Big Deal / Clipse ft. Kanye West iTunes MySpace
Now We Can See / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
Shimmer and Shine / Ben Harper & the Relentless 7 iTunes MySpace
Raindrops / Basement Jaxx iTunes MySpace
Sacred Trickster / Sonic Youth iTunes MySpace
Who's Asking? / Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band iTunes MySpace
100 Little Curses / Street Sweeper Social Club iTunes MySpace
Cemetery Songs / The Archibalds iTunes MySpace
Night Lights / Golden Bear iTunes MySpace
Since We've Been Wrong / The Mars Volta (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Dream City / Free Energy (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 5/29/09

2009-05-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

Perhaps it's by virtue of the Mixtape's headquarters being in sunny (it is right now) Portland, OR that so much of the local music seems to find its way on this here list of songs. That explanation, however, minimizes the fact that the Rose City is home to some of the best music in the country. Four new entries this week include three Portland-based acts, Sonic Youth (39) being the lone exception.

One of Portland's best and most prolific bands, Modest Mouse, (35) have the highest debut with the lead single, "Satellite Skin," from its forthcoming EP, No One's First & You're Next. Portland husband and wife Kevin and Anita Robinson -aka Viva Voce - return to the 'Tape with "Devotion," the first Mixtape entry from the band's just-released album, Rose City. How appropriate of a title is that? Finally, Portland dance act (and member of the DFA roster) YACHT return this week with "Psychic City." This one snuck in at 40, but should see upward movement in the following weeks.

Modest Mouse, Viva Voce, and YACHT join fellow Portland acts The Thermals (26) and The Gossip (29) in reppin' Stumptown on the Mixtape this week. It's been a good year for Portland music on the 'Tape - The Thermals, The Decemberists, and Blitzen Trapper have all hit the Mistape's top ten.

In non-Portland band news, Silversun Pickups make it nine weeks in a row to no great surprise. Camera Obscura (2) switches places with Woods (3) and SP's "It's Nice To Know You Work Alone" (4) does the same with Tinted Windows (5), thus keeping the same songs in the top five for the second week. Grizzly Bear, who last week looked set to break into the top five with "Cheerleader," (7) back down a spot but still own #6 with their second Veckatimest single, "Two Weeks," which jumps up from #19 last week.

Animal Collective's "My Girls" finally falls off the 'Tape after a 20-week stay that included three weeks at #1. The band's latest, "Summertime Clothes," (19) looks like it will return AC to the upper reaches of the Mixtape as it springs up 14 spots this week.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the sun if you got some. We here in Portland do. Cheers!

Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups (9 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
French Navy/ Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Kind of a Girl / Tinted Windows iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Cheerleader / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Borderline/ Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
Chillin' / Wale ft. Lady Gaga iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Houses / Great Northern iTunes MySpace
Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
From the Hips / Cursive iTunes MySpace
21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
Statues / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah iTunes MySpace
Walking on a Dream / Empire of the Sun iTunes MySpace
Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
Buddy / Iran iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
Shimmer and Shine / Ben Harper & the Relentless 7 iTunes MySpace
Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Cemetery Songs / The Archibalds iTunes MySpace
Who's Asking? / Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band iTunes MySpace
Kinda Like a Big Deal / Clipse ft. Kanye West iTunes MySpace
Now We Can See / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
Night Lights / Golden Bear iTunes MySpace
I Want You to Know/ Dinosaur Jr. iTunes MySpace
Heavy Cross / The Gossip iTunes MySpace
Fire / Kasabian iTunes MySpace
Stay Wide Awake / Eminem iTunes MySpace
Crush On You / brakesbrakesbrakes iTunes MySpace
Pulling On a Line / Great Lake Swimmers iTunes MySpace
Satellite Skin / Modest Mouse (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Devotion / Viva Voce (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Now I'm a Fool / Eagles of Death Metal iTunes MySpace
Raindrops / Basement Jaxx iTunes MySpace
100 Little Curses / Street Sweeper Social Club iTunes MySpace
Sacred Trickster / Sonic Youth (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Psychic City/ YACHT (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 5/22/09

2009-05-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

Surprise surprise. Silversun Pickups remain at the top for the eighth straight week. Camera Obscura's "French Navy" (moving up from 10 to 3) looks like the biggest threat to dislodge SP, but the band has backup in the form of this week's number 5 and 10 spots as well. Safe to call them a Mixtape favorite.

A couple of big movers this week: Green Day's title track to 21st Century Breakdown jumps from 30 to 16 in its second week on the 'tape and Grizzly Bear, not content watching "Cheerleader" slowly climb toward the top five, move from 39 to 19 with Veckatimest's second Mixtape appearance, "Two Weeks." And yes, that song has been on the 'tape only two weeks.

Green Day also chart their second single from ...Breakdown with this week's highest new entry, "Murder City" at 25. Other new entries this week include Animal Collective (33), Dinosaur Jr (34), Kasabian (38), and Rage Against The Machine axeman, Tom Morello's new project, Street Sweeper Social Club (40).

I hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend. See you next Friday.

Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups (8 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
French Navy/ Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
Kind of a Girl / Tinted Windows iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Cheerleader / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Houses / Great Northern iTunes MySpace
Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Chillin' / Wale ft. Lady Gaga iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Shimmer and Shine / Ben Harper & the Relentless 7 iTunes MySpace
Borderline/ Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
Statues / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah iTunes MySpace
From the Hips / Cursive iTunes MySpace
Buddy / Iran iTunes MySpace
21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
Walking on a Dream / Empire of the Sun iTunes MySpace
Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Cemetery Songs / The Archibalds iTunes MySpace
Kinda Like a Big Deal / Clipse ft. Kanye West iTunes MySpace
Who's Asking? / Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band iTunes MySpace
Little Bribes / Death Cab For Cutie iTunes MySpace
Now We Can See / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
Murder City / Green Day (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Night Lights / Golden Bear iTunes MySpace
Crush On You / brakesbrakesbrakes iTunes MySpace
Pulling On a Line / Great Lake Swimmers iTunes MySpace
Heavy Cross / The Gossip iTunes MySpace
Now I'm a Fool / Eagles of Death Metal iTunes MySpace
I Was Once A Loyal Lover / Death Cab For Cutie iTunes MySpace
Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective (NEW) iTunes MySpace
I Want You to Know/ Dinosaur Jr. (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Stay Wide Awake / Eminem iTunes MySpace
When I Died / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
My Girls / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Fire / Kasabian (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Raindrops / Basement Jaxx (NEW) iTunes MySpace
100 Little Curses / Street Sweeper Social Club (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 5/15/09

2009-05-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

Green Day and Eminem are set to release big albums in the next couple weeks. Both entered the Mixtape with new songs from those albums this week along with new tunes from Grizzly Bear, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Basement Jaxx.

The new music influx continues to keep things interesting, but it's business as usual at the top as Silversun Pickups log their seventh straight week on top. SP holds at six with "It's Nice to Know You Work Alone" and move from 24 to 12 with "Catch and Release." They are the only band with three songs on the 'tape and are pretty much running things.

Camera Obscura flies into the top ten, moving from 35 to 10, with their second single from My Maudlin Career. The title track cracked the top ten earlier this year, staying one week at ten. It appears that "French Navy" will best that next week.

Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups (7 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Kind of a Girl / Tinted Windows iTunes MySpace
Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
Buddy / Iran iTunes MySpace
Houses / Great Northern iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Cheerleader / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Chillin' / Wale ft. Lady Gaga iTunes MySpace
French Navy/ Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
Shimmer and Shine / Ben Harper & the Relentless 7 iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Borderline/ Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
Statues / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah iTunes MySpace
From the Hips / Cursive iTunes MySpace
Cemetery Songs / The Archibalds iTunes MySpace
Now We Can See / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
Kinda Like a Big Deal / Clipse ft. Kanye West iTunes MySpace
Walking on a Dream / Empire of the Sun iTunes MySpace
Little Bribes / Death Cab For Cutie iTunes MySpace
Who's Asking? / Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band iTunes MySpace
Little Bribes / Death Cab For Cutie iTunes MySpace
Night Lights / Golden Bear iTunes MySpace
Pulling On a Line / Great Lake Swimmers iTunes MySpace
Now I'm a Fool / Eagles of Death Metal iTunes MySpace
When I Died / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
My Girls / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Mt. / Super Furry Animals iTunes MySpace
21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Pennies / The Cool Kids iTunes MySpace
Heavy Cross / The Gossip iTunes MySpace
The Rake's Song / The Decemberists iTunes MySpace
Ghetto Love / Spinnerette iTunes MySpace
Crush On You / brakesbrakesbrakes iTunes MySpace
Stay Wide Awake / Eminem (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Talk To Me / Peaches iTunes MySpace
Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Raindrops / Basement Jaxx (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 5/8/09: Cha-Cha-Changes

2009-05-08T13:35:00.000-07:00

The onslaught of new music continues. Six new songs enter the Mixtape this week. Those six, plus the new entries of the previous two weeks brings the total to 20 debuts in the past three weeks, which means that half of the Mixtape consists of fresh music. This happens in waves throughout the year and often in the Spring. I'm positive there's a direct correlation between a change in weather and a change in the musical landscape.

Speaking of changes, Silversun Pickups don't do a lot to contribute to change at the top as "Panic Switch" remains #1 for a sixth straight week and "It's Nice To Know You Work Alone" inches up one spot to #6. SP's contribution to fluctuation comes down at #24 where they enter with the third Mixtape appearance from Swoon, "Catch and Release."

Now for real change. Tinted Windows runs into a brick wall called "Panic Switch" as the super-ish group moves from 19-2 in their second week on the 'Tape with "Kind Of a Girl." The Flaming Lips' cover of "Borderline" moves up 13 spots to #15 in its second week on the 'Tape while Cursive rounds out the week's big moves as "From the Hips" climbs from 24-17 in its third week on.

New entries come from the aforementioned highest debut of the week, "Catch and Release," as well as Acrylics (40), Peaches ( 39), brakesbrakesbrakes (37), The Gossip (34), and Empire of the Sun (33).

Mastodon takes the biggest drop this week, falling from 21-38. Plushgun (36) Spinnerette (26), and The Decemberists (25) are the other free-fallers that potentially could be making room for even more new music next week. What might that be? La Roux's "In For the Kill," Crocodiles' "Summer of Hate," and Basement Jaxx's "Raindrops" lead the pack of Mixtape contenders. See you next Friday.

Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups (6 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Kind of a Girl / Tinted Windows iTunes MySpace
Buddy / Iran iTunes MySpace
Houses / Great Northern iTunes MySpace
Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Chillin' / Wale ft. Lady Gaga iTunes MySpace
Cheerleader / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Kinda Like a Big Deal / Clipse ft. Kanye West iTunes MySpace
Shimmer and Shine / Ben Harper & the Relentless 7 iTunes MySpace
Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
Now We Can See / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
Cemetery Songs / The Archibalds iTunes MySpace
Borderline/ Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
Statues / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah iTunes MySpace
From the Hips / Cursive iTunes MySpace
Pulling On a Line / Great Lake Swimmers iTunes MySpace
Now I'm a Fool / Eagles of Death Metal iTunes MySpace
I Was Once a Loyal Lover / Death Cab For Cutie iTunes MySpace
Little Bribes / Death Cab For Cutie iTunes MySpace
Night Lights / Golden Bear iTunes MySpacegree
Who's Asking? / Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band iTunes MySpace
Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups (NEW iTunes MySpace
The Rake's Song / The Decemberists iTunes MySpace
Ghetto Love / Spinnerette iTunes MySpace
My Girls / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
When I Died / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
On My Way / Billy Boy on Poison iTunes MySpace
Pennies / The Cool Kids iTunes MySpace
Mt. / Super Furry Animals iTunes MySpace
Know Your Enemy / Green Day iTunes MySpace
Walking on a Dream / Empire of the Sun (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Heavy Cross / The Gossip (NEW) iTunes MySpace
French Navy/ Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
Just Impolite / Plushgun iTunes MySpace
Crush On You / brakesbrakesbrakes (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Oblivion / Mastodon iTunes MySpace
Talk To Me / Peaches (NEW) iTunes MySpace
Molly's Vertigo / Acrylics (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 5/1/09: Pop Goes the Mixtape

2009-05-01T14:00:00.000-07:00

Take the singer of "Mmmbop," the guy who drummed on "I Want You To Want Me" and "Surrender" plus the dude who wrote "Stacy's Mom" and throw them together with an ex-Smashing Pumpkin guitarist and you have a love-it-or-hate-it crunchy pop experiment that will either soundtrack your spring and summer or drive you completely mad. We here at the Mixtape are all grins with Tinted Windows' self-titled debut. Lead track, "Kind Of a Girl" is the week's highest new entry at 19, just nine spots ahead of another piece of pop perfection - The Flaming Lips cover of Madonna's "Borderline."

Both tracks uphold the pop aesthetic that seems to be, for the most part, missing a mainstream music scene obsessed with by-the-numbers hip-hop shlock and Disney twee-turds. "Kind Of a Girl" doesn't reinvent the wheel, just clean it up so nice and shinythat you can see your reflection singing "oh whoa whoa" right along with Taylor Hanson. The song strives to be a three-minute blast of ear candy ala 70's power pop luminaries Sweet, Cheap Trick and Badfinger and it succeeds by not taking itself too seriously. This semi-super group has one goal only - to put smiles on your faces. Ok, maybe they're in it for the money - greedy bastards - but I'd like to think it's about filling a niche sorely missing in the contemporary music landscape with catchy melodies and choruses that will be stuck on repeat in your head for days to come.

The Lips, on the other hand, are totally reinventing a classic (yes, Madonna is now classic pop) song as they twist guitar and hi-hats around each other in a jammed-out sound collage that amazingly keeps Madonna's original melody intact. Wayne Coyne's falsetto fits their take perfectly, infusing a vulnerability into a song that spends its first minute in a sea of blips and bloops - Coyne's own twisted take on an elongated intro. The song builds nicely as falsetto and synths make room for pulsating bass beats and cymbal crashes before the whole thing devolves into an orgy of noise; a sweet sweet orgy of noise. Why can't all cover songs be this good?

Silversun Pickups keep the top spot for a fifth week with "Panic Switch" as their other top-ten single, "It's Nice to Know You Work Alone" moves up to #7. Ben Harper moves up from 24-15 in his second week on the 'tape while Cursive jumps from 35-24 in their second week. The biggest moves come from the hip-hoppers though. Wale flies up from 30-11 and Clipse crack the top-ten at #9, up from last week's debut at 20.

Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups (5 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
Buddy / Iran iTunes MySpace
Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
Houses / Great Northern iTunes MySpace
Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
Now We Can See / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
Kinda Like a Big Deal / Clipse ft. Kanye West iTunes MySpace
Cheerleader / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
Chillin' / Wale ft. Lady Gaga iTunes MySpace
Now I'm a Fool / Eagles of Death Metal iTunes MySpace
Cemetery Songs / The Archibalds iTunes MySpace
Pulling On a Line / Great Lake Swimmers iTunes MySpace
Shimmer and Shine / Ben Harper & the Relentless 7 iTunes MySpace
Night Lights / Golden Bear iTunes MySpace
Statues / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah iTunes MySpace
The Rake's Song / The Decemberists iTunes MySpace
Kind of a Girl / Tinted Windows (NEW) iTunes MySpace
I Was Once a Loyal Lover / Death Cab For Cutie iTunes MySpace
Oblivion / Mastodon iTunes MySpace
Little Bribes / Death Cab For Cutie iTunes MySpace
Ghetto Love / Spinnerette iTunes MySpace
From the Hips / Cursive iTunes MySpace
Who's Asking? / Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band iTunes MySpace
My Maudlin Career / Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
My Girls / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
Borderline/ Flaming Lips (NEW) iTunes MySpace
When I Died / The Thermals iTunes MySpace
On My Way / Billy Boy on Poison iTunes MySpace
Pennies / The Cool Kids iTunes MySpace
Just Impolite / Plushgun iTunes MySpace
Perfect Games / The Broken West iTunes MySpace
Mt. / Super Furry Animals iTunes MySpace
The Box / The 1990s iTunes MySpace
Know Your Enemy / Green Day iTunes MySpace
Providence, RI / Nickel Eye iTunes MySpace
Whorses / Tweak Bird iTunes MySpace
French Navy/ Camera Obscura (NEW) iTunes MySpace
The Letter/ The Veils (NEW) iTunes MySpace