Poetry on the Dashboard: Spring Mix #2

As promised, here is Spring Mix #2, the one I would have made ten years ago, had I been making spring mixes back then.

(This picture actually is me, circa 2000.)

Now, this is not entirely accurate since, unfortunately, I can't find my Juliana Theory CD but be aware, there would have been some JT on there had it been available. Also, this is constructed from memory, which is flawed, so some songs might have been released in 2001 or something but... I don't care. I'm more about the spirit of the mix than googling a bunch of dates and other such music geekery. There's probably a lot I'm leaving out... Alkaline Trio, Ben Folds Five, Blink 182... But these are the songs I especially remember listening to when it was getting warm out, these songs were the staples driving in the car with the windows down.

Poetry on the Dashboard

1. Morning Glory - Oasis  
2. Lucky Denver Mint - Jimmy Eat World
3. The Swiss Army Romance - Dashboard Confessional 
4. Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - The Police
5. My Name Is Jonas - Weezer 
6. Chinatown - Jets to Brazil
7. Red Letter Day - The Get Up Kids
8. Crash into Me (Acoustic) - Dave Matthews
9. In Circles - Sunny Day Real Estate
10. Little Dipper - Hum
11. Mysterons - Portishead
12. Nothing - Pedro The Lion
13. Paper Bag - Fiona Apple
14. Savory - Jawbox
15. Passenger - Deftones
16. Invalid Litter Dept. - At The Drive-In
17. crush on everyone - Onelinedrawing

Don't even THINK about giving me any gruff about that Dave Matthews tune, just thank your lucky stars there isn't more Dashboard Confessional on there. An actual mix from me in 2000 would have included at least three Dashboard tracks.

Ten years ago in the spring, I thought I had my whole life mapped out. I had no idea that by a mere year later, everything would have changed forever. Ah, spring.

Hey, if any of you all make springish mixes, would you let me know? I'm in the mood for new music.

Go Outside and See for Yourself: Spring Mix #1

Alrighty. This mix will come to you in two parts. First, we have a mix of current(ish) songs I'm digging at the moment. This mix is intended for windows down driving. Please take this mix with big gulps of fresh air and a generous helping of bare feet in new grass.

Go Outside and See for Yourself.

1. Moths Wings - Passion Pit  
2. The Loneliness and the Scream - Frightened Rabbit    
3. Young Sensualists - Throw Me The Statue
4. The Gardener - The Tallest Man on Earth  
5. I Am the Cosmos - Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
6. Optimist vs. The Silent Alarm (When The Saints Go Marching In) - Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
7. country radio - El Oso
8. Can I Buy a V_wel? - Into It. Over It.
9. Lay a White Rose - Serious Sam Barret
10. Bells - Hey Mercedes
11. Paper Tiger - Spoon
12. When I Am Gone - Sparrow House  
13. All Yr Songs - Diamond Rings
14. Keep The Car Running - The Arcade Fire
15. Under the Sun - J. Tillman

Mail Mix: A Mix for Stephanie

 

So, for this to make sense, you have to understand me and Stephanie. I have known Stephanie for longer than I have been friends with her. Basically, we each knew the other existed, seeing as our social circle is pretty much all the same people, but we're both shy and it wasn't until her boyfriend Nabeel (not shy) suggested that we should be penpals because we both have typewriters and it would give us an excuse to use our beloved machines and would obviously lead us to become awesome friends who geek out about all things mail and typewriter related. I gotta hand it to Nabeel. His plan totally worked. 

Stephanie is hands down my favorite penpal ever which is made extra awesome by the fact that I get to see her in real life quite often as well. Letters from Stephanie almost without fail will include a poem (or three or five) she has come across and typed up (not photocopied) for me to have. Sometimes they have little English professor type notes on them like, "Read this one aloud!" I am making a book of these poems.

So, obviously the theme is "mail," and now, hopefully, the reason for that theme is obvious as well. So the track listing is typed up and "mailed" with an air mail envelope I bought on etsy. I dug through my collection of stamps to find ones in denominations that corresponded with the track numbers.

And yes, I collected stamps at one time. Voraciously, in fact. I've recently re-embraced this part of myself that I'd lost for a while there. Anywho, all the tracks have to do with mail or the post office or typewriters. I was pretty thrilled to find that many tracks in my collection that fit the theme.

I have for the past few springs, made a spring-themed mix which I typically share on my other blog. I will again celebrate the coming warm weather with a mix and I will share it here this year because, I mean, this is my mix tape blog. It only seems right.

Excuses, excuses.

I know it's been a while. I've been busy, Christmas was the usual mess, blah blah blah. However, there are a couple key reasons why I've been held back from producing some new mix projects.

1. I haven't been listening to much new music. In fact, all I want to listen to is Joe Pug and Chris Bathgate. No one wants a mix of two artists.
2. I started my first group mix and not only can I not find the tracks I want, but the prototype I designed for the art was a massive failure. Frick.

So, here we are, blog void of new entries, me eating my way through a wheel of brie compiling my list of mixes owed.

A jolt in the arm was given to me a few days ago however, when my friend and letter writing partner Stephanie sent me a surprise mix which is comprised primarily of music from movie soundtracks. It totally hit the spot and I'm already starting a track list of a mix to hit her back with. One of the tracks, "Ooh La La" by Faces got me thinking about how out of all the mixes I have received, only twice have tracks repeated themselves. The aforementioned track was first delivered to me by my buddy Paul who made a mix of calming songs for me to listen to while giving birth to my third son. The lyrics, "I wish that I knew what I know now" struck me as both hilarious and awful when read in light of the anticipated events. As it turned out, there was no labor, only surgery, and the CD received multiple plays, along with a bunch of unreleased Meteah Strike tracks, during my recovery. Side note: I actually heard Paul playing this song just for fun at a bar with a couple of slightly inebriated patrons crooning along. Some songs just stay with us, I suppose. The other incidence of mix track doubling happened a few years ago when I received a mix from a friend with the track "Never Meant" by American Football, which first appeared on a post-breakup mix from my ex alongside other tracks such as "Radio" by Alkaline Trio. (The late nineties are unparalleled in their catalog of vicious breakup songs.)

As for me, I'm a track recycler. I will unabashedly take my favorite tracks from a mix received and include them on mixes I make to give away. I like the idea that I'm part of creating a web of all the people in my life who love music and share it with one another, connected by their most beloved songs. I love watching the journey of a song - hearing the story of where someone first heard it, listening to it on a mix, putting it on my own mixes and then seeing others share that same one song... there's something magical about that. Certain tracks are like precious heirlooms - you pass them on hoping they're treasured by their recipients as you have treasured them, and when you see your songs passed on, you know the connection was made and the real beauty and purpose of the mix is realized.

Anyway. All that to say, more is coming. I just have to get working on it.

I'm curious: What tracks do you find yourself putting on mixes repeatedly?