may is for lovers.

i didn't know what accompanying images i should include with this mix, so i thought i'd post some pics of two of my obsessions lately:



banksy



slavoj zizek

if you're looking for some wikipedia action on this fabulous friday, i would highly recommend looking either one up unless of course you already know about them.

without any further ago, the may mix:

1. the cinematic orchestra - to build a home
2. gui boratto - beautiful life
3. beth orton - thinking about tomorrow
4. binary star - glen close
5. emmylou harris - ashes by now
6. rocky votolato - white daisy passing
7. nick cave and the bad seeds - right out of your hand
8. wilco - i am not willin'
9. feist - i feel it all
10. the jayhawks - tailspin
11. beirut - scenic world
12. ferraby lionheart - a crack in time
13. immaculate machine - no way out
14. mates of state - like u crazy
15. the sea and cake - middlenight
16. matthew dear - deserter (four tet remix)
17. groove armada - from the rooftops
18. serena maneesh - candlelighted

download: may'07

any of you who knew me or any other members of audio ergo sum in college may remember us doing a cover of the cinematic orchestra's flite, one of my absolute favorite tracks of all time. the new album, ma fleur is markedly different, but i for one have really enjoyed their foray into songwriting territory. i could understand why fans of their previous stuff wouldn't like it, but i don't really care. suck it up. next is some more gui boratto. admittedly, there are a lot of repeat artists on this mix, but i feel like with several of these albums i've just started to make it deeper into their albums, so i apologize. beth orton's fantastic album daybreaker was introduced to me via a four tet remix album, as i have previously mentioned. binary star came to school for a show a couple of years ago, and it was some of the best, most poignant hip hop i've ever heard. catchy sample. i know a lot of people don't like her voice, but i am a big emmylou harris fan. i think her voice is beautiful, and i am completely smitten with her and her silver locks. i know this is thoroughly unexciting, but i found out about rocky votolato from one of the itunes suggested tracks. reminds me a lot of elliott smith circa xo, and you can't go wrong with that. nick cave is a curious character to me, and i won't be the first to say that he reminds me of tom waits somewhat, mostly because there are songs of his that i absolutely love and absolutely can't stand. wilco has a new album out, but i just heard this b-side on the last episode of the wilco podcast and thought it had a nice summer evening feel to it. feist also has a new album out, although i kind of think that tracks 1-2 are very similar to the last album (which is not a problem since one of those tracks was mushaboom). i love i feel it all. i'm ok with thinking that the jayhawks are kind of poppy in a ryan adams kind of way, but i'll chalk it up to a guilty pleasure. i have to say, i'm completely undecided about beirut. i've had friends argue the case for and against beirut and his band of gypsy-amelie-followers, but i have to say that the album has yet to really grow on me. that being said, i love scenic world. ever since i heard ferraby lionheart a month and a half ago when the first incarnation of this mix was finished (sorry!) i've been reading about him all over the place. definitely pretty similar to elvis perkins, but meh. i've really been digging the rest of the immaculate machine's killer album, ones and zeros. it definitely has a great classic rock feel to it, with the tight, diatonic vocal harmonies. it's especially apropos since i think they sound a lot like the next band on this mix. yes, adriane, you finally got me into mates of state. susanna can also take a lion's share of the credit for telling me about them like a year ago, and adriane beat it over my head in a couple of mixes so there it is. i am unbelievably excited about seeing the sea and cake at the pitchfork festival in chicago this summer. i've seen sam prekop live twice (dev we need to hang out!) and i think they're super. it's funny, sometimes i think matthew dear sounds like tunde adebimpe from tv on the radio, but other times not so much. i (of course, of course) really love the four tet remix. groove armada has a new album out, and it's so club-heavy that it's almost alienating to someone like me, but i would still love to see them live again. this mellow track is on their new album, soundboy rock. and i really hope you make it all the way through the mix because this serena maneesh track is absolutely fucking amazing. be patient. the last half makes it totally worth it.

Jack Sou Brasileiro

*a guest mix from an avid friendlymixtape follower who we'll call "jack".

I've got a whole creative process I go through when I put a mixdisc together, but the most important rule is that it's got to make sense, there's got to be something holding it all together. In this case, there's a theme here: this is about the end of a relationship. I tried to take it from the good times (All I Want) to the break-up (Swans) to that time where there's a lot of confusion and feelings going on (You Still Believe in Me) to depression (The Medication is Wearing Off) to anger (A Little Bit More) to denial (What a Fool Believes) to acceptance (Keep Me in Your Heart).

1. Joni Mitchell – All I Want – This is one of my favorite love songs. Joni has such a talent for exaggerating the tone of the song… she makes happy songs ecstatic and sad songs heart-wrenchingly depressing. This is one of the former. And it fits me pretty well, very self-depreciating.

2. Nada Surf – Do It Again – Okay, a handful of these songs don't fit perfectly in my little theme, but I put them in anyway. Although I think "It" is sex. More than anything, it's about how difficult things are.

3. Rufus Wainwright – Instant Pleasure – A cover of Seth Swirsky, off the Big Daddy soundtrack. Pretty simple really, lets us know where his priorities are.

4. Nouvelle Vague – Teenage Kicks – The (of course) bossa nova cover of the Undertone's rather unknown single. It's incredibly infectious piece of pop, and I love it. And you will too.

5. Marisa Monte – Pale Blue Eyes – Wow, third cover in a row. Here, the original is by The Velvet Underground, and I don't have to tell you that this version by probably one of the best vocalists ever to come out of Brazil is 307 times better than Lou Reed.

6. Griffin House – The Guy That Says Goodbye to You Is Out of His Mind – The title pretty much says it all here.

7. Betty Johnson – It's Been a Long, Long Time – A short and sweet little ditty. Thematically, this song is end of the good times.







8. The Pretenders – Human – One of my favorite bands. Here we begin with the hurt feelings and broken promises, with a catchy beat.

9. Unkle Bob – Swans – Yeah yeah, I heard this on Grey's Anatomy with everyone else. It's got one of the saddest lines I've ever heard: "You tell me that you love me, but you never want to see me again."

10. Psapp – Calm Down – I don't even remember how I got into Psapp, but I now hear them on every other commercial. This one's been on ads for VW and the New York Times. And I love it.

11. Feist – 1234 – New single from Feist. It's got my two favorite instruments here: the banjo, which has a naturally happy sound, and the trumpets, which I feel can make just about any song better. I love it when anyone makes happy songs out of sad subjects, but Feist is really good at it.

12. Paul Simon – Everything About It Is a Love Song – I think this song is about getting old. But maybe everything about that is about love… or something like that.

13. M. Ward – You Still Believe in Me – Since this is an instrumental version of the Beach Boy's song, I'm using it to represent that nebulous area during the breakup where, yeah, the relationship is over, but maybe you'll get back together, nobody knows… that's a fun area. But, as always, a great performance from M. Ward.

14. Steely Dan – Black Cow – This is another song that doesn't really fit, but for the mood. And let's us know it's over now. I'm a huge Dan fan, and this song is great. The bass line really drives the song, and it's got a great hook.

15. Eels – The Medication Is Wearing Off – Really, really depressing (but that's how I roll). The depression in this guy's life is probably from a few sources, but I love how this constant reminder of him is right there on his wrist.

16. Shout Out Louds – Please Please Please – Another great pop song… this is in the denial/begging stage. The lead singer, who looks like Jason Schwartzman, is a total asshole.







17. Jamie Lidell – A Little Bit More – Yes, from the Target commercial. Here one of two is really just telling the other off. Just try not to dance to it (bouncing in your chair counts as dancing).

18. The Doobie Brothers – What a Fool Believes – This one kinda echoes the last one, in that one of them wasn't taking the relationship as serious as the other. In this one, the guy is obviously blind to her signals that it's over over. He can't help it. What a great song.

19. Neil Young – Long May You Run – Sometimes, even though it ends, we just want the best for the other person (sometimes we become a bitter, empty shallow of a person, but that's neither here nor there). The liner notes say he wrote this for "a girl and a car."

20. Johnny Cash – I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen – A real classic. I got the whole story on this from a woman at Breuger's: written by a Canadian for his homesick Irish wife. I've always wanted to sing this as a bar is closing.

21. Norah Jones – Wurlitzer Prize (I Don't Want to Get Over You) – A cover of Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. The imagery here is great: going back to that place you used to go and play the old songs. So sad, but really, who hasn't been there?

22. Jorge Calderón & Jennifer Warnes – Keep Me in Your Heart – This is the last song Warren Zevon wrote after learning he had lung cancer. From that perspective, it's about remember the best about someone after they've died, but it works for anyone who's gone away that you care about. This version is from the tribute album "Enjoy Every Sandwich," and it's just heartbreaking.

Download: Here