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.