January International Mixtape Project

I think this is one of my best yet. I still haven't sent it out though cause I'm too lazy to get to the post office.

See:

1. Circulatory System – “Yesterday’s World” – Circulatory System
2. Spoon – “No You’re Not” – A Series of Sneaks
3. Enon – “Window Display” – High Society
4. Hot Snakes – “Unlisted” – Suicide Invoice
5. Pedro the Lion – “Foregone Conclusions” – Achilles Heel
6. The Beta Band – “Broken Up Adingdong” – The Beta Band
7. Stevie Wonder – “Maybe Your Baby” – Talking Book
8. TV On the Radio – “Bomb Yourself” – Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes
9. PJ Harvey – “A Place Called Home” – Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea
10. The Microphones – “The Moon” – The Glow, Pt. 2
11. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals – “The Hardest Part” – Jacksonville City Nights
12. Crooked Fingers – “Call to Love” – Dignity and Shame
13. My Morning Jacket – “Old September Blues” – The Tennessee Fire
14. The Wilderness – “End of Freedom” – The Wilderness
15. Akron/Family – “Italy” – Akron/Family
16. Ween – “Captain” – Quebec
17. Dead Meadow – “Sleepy Silver Door” – Feathers

I've been thinking about this mixtape thing too. Most of my knowledge on how to create a playlist has (embarrassingly) come from High Fidelity. You know, hit 'em hard first, up the ante second, bring it down third, etc. I've begun to think that most important thing to do with a mix is segue. You can knock the listener's socks off by putting the perfect songs on there, but if there's no organization or common thread to bring it together, it becomes a greatest hits comp that the listener is going to flip through. The challenge is to engage by choosing both songs that are great and having an understandable follow-up to each one. My suggestion: listen to the last 30 seconds of the previous song and see how it translates into the upcoming tune -- that should give you a nice transition and create a new context for the songs into your own personal album.

But honestly, who knows? Everybody's ears hear things different...