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Mix for That: Because (Almost) Everybody Loves Christmas

I suppose the effort and the timeliness of this Christmas playlist exemplifies the Christmas spirit that pneumonia and being snowed in for a week straight has harbored for me, personally. Regardless, though, I hope every one of you holiday lovers is basking in the heartwarming, cinnamon-scented, Poinsetta-motifed, red and green Christmas eve that today hopefully is.



1) Fairytale of New York (Pogues cover) - Stars
2) Baby It's Cold Outside (f. Kelsie McNair) - Stop for Capes
3) Oh Holy Night - Brand New
4) Handjobs for the Holidays - Broken Social Scene
5) It's Christmas So We'll Stop 2008 - Frightened Rabbit
6) My Dear Acquaintance (A Happy New Year) - Regina Spektor
7) Little Drummer Boi - Kelsie McNair
8) Sight to See, Or, Gaze at Your Shoes - Imagination Room (see also: Bryce Falcon)
9) Sister Winter - Sufjan Stevens
10) Listening to Otis Redding at Home During Christmas - Okkervil River

Please download the whole mix HERE!

(And have a very merry Christmas, if you please.)

Vol. 5: Rejuvenate Mah Shit

Well, shoot - I dropped the ball on this blog. Although I often make themed playlists, I've done nothing to get them up here, so I'm just going to jump right into this one. The theme is "Rejuvenate Mah Shit," an upbeat collection of songs to get you (and me) back in the game! Whatever that game may be.

The Perpetual Self, Or What Would Saul Alinsky Do? - Sufjan Stevens
The Heartbreak Moment - Her Space Holiday
Singer Songwriter - Okkervil River
To Be Young - Ryan Adams
Come Together - the Beatles
This Side - Nickel Creek
The Fix is In - OK Go
We Will Become Silhouettes (Postal Service cover) - the Shins
The Crane Wife 3 - The Decemberists
More Adventurous (live @ Fingerprints) - Rilo Kiley

Download the whole mix HERE!



Unfortunately you won't be able to download the individual songs anymore because they just end up getting taking down anyways 'cause of copyright stuff. I promise the mix(es) are worth listening to. Hope you like this one! Let me know :)

Vol. 4: I Wish I Had Windows So I Could Roll Them Down

(Does this scene from Britney Spears' 2002 hit movie "Crossroads" remind you of YOUR life?)

I consider myself lucky to have just two wheels instead of four ever since gas prices cracked the four dollar mark. But in the prime heat of my summer in Boston, I do miss navigating the winding roads and tree-bordered freeways of the Pacific Northwest - my windows down and the volume up high enough that the music can drown me out when I'm singing along at the top of my lungs. The shower and a roommate-less apartment just aren't quite the same.

1) Inches and Failing - The Format
2) Wouldn't it Be Nice - The Beach Boys
3) Mr. Jones - Counting Crows
4) With Arms Outstretched - Rilo Kiley
5) Grace Kelly - Mika
6) Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
7) Two Princes - Spin Doctors
8) Mr. Brightside - the Killers
9) Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues - Bob Dylan
10) I Would Walk 500 Miles - the Proclaimers

Download the entire mix for free HERE!

There's less than a month left - get out on the open road and start wailing.

Vol. 3: Sometimes People Listen to Songs That Aren't in English to Compensate for Feeling Uncultured

I have been taking five hours of Spanish a day for a month now and have proudly achieved a first-grade reading level, and an appreciation for Manu Chao. I would guess that most people reading this blog don't understand the lyrics to songs in different languages. Listening to songs like Lady Marmalade, for example, give you an advantage, because then you know how to communicate in another language - nevermind that your communication is limited to asking, "Do you want to sleep with me (tonight?)" over and over again.

(Note: a couple songs on here are not completamente in other languages. Lo siento.)

1) Anna (El Negro Zunbon) - Pink Martini ( mp3 )
2) Me Gustas Tu - Manu Chao ( mp3 )
3) Les Champs Elysées - Joe Dassin ( mp3 )
4) La Viajerita (Zamba) - Mercedes Sosa ( mp3 )
5) Life on Mars? (Bowie cover) - Seu Jorge ( mp3 )
6) Elias - Dispatch ( mp3 )
7) Bella Ciao - Mirah & The Black Cat Orchestra ( mp3 )
8) Dokkoise House (With Face Covered) - Anathallo ( mp3 )
9) Chicago - Weit Weg ( mp3 )
10) Hoppipolla - Sigur Rós ( mp3 )
[translated lyrics to Hoppipolla - very beautiful]

I just thought the idea of South American emo was kind of funny, so here is a bonus track: Duas Lágrimas (acústico) - Fresno ( mp3 )

Download the entire mix for free HERE!

Let me know what you think of this mix by leaving me a comment!

Vol. 2: F*** S*** Up

Nearing my one-month mark of living in Boston, I remain unemployed after many fruitless attempts to convince another indifferent manager that I am capable of delivering plates of food from point A to point B. Well I've got another interview tomorrow at The Country Club in Chestnut Hill - which apparently is actually the first country club in America, which I suppose grants it the right to its name. Anyway, I go into this interview with renewed vigor and a determination to "f*** s*** up". I guess I could just say "rock the interview" or even "kick ass," but both of those just don't sound as awesome.

1) To Be Young - Ryan Adams ( mp3 )
2) Bittersweet Dirt Off Your Shoulder - The Verve v. Jay Z ( mp3 )
3) Cheated Hearts (Peaches remix) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs ( mp3 )
4) Hot Boyz - Chilly Willy ( mp3 )
5) Killing in the Name Of - Rage Against the Machine ( mp3 )
6) Dead Disco - Metric ( mp3 )
7) Seven Nation Army - SaviorSelf ( mp3 )
8) The Final Countdown - Europe ( mp3 )
9) Most Likely You Go Your Way (I'll Go Mine) [Mark Ronson remix] - Bob Dylan ( mp3 )
10) Here's Your Future - The Thermals ( mp3 )

Download the entire mix for free HERE.

If this job doesn't work out, I should probably reconsider blogging about potential future employers on the internet.

Vol. 1: Inside on a Rainy Sunday

On Sundays, we wake up to the settled chaos of the night before. Lazy bodies and quiet minds wind down to gather composure, with the unfortunate knowledge that Monday will come too soon. Boston weather is anything but moderate - although the temperature averaged ninety degrees the past week, today the skies exploded into one of the loudest and most terrific thunderstorms I can remember experiencing. I sat inside watching a bootlegged version of "The Dark Knight" with an underlying train of thought for the following...

There's a mix for that.

1) Keep it Loose, Keep it Tight - Amos Lee ( mp3 )
2) Damn, Sam (I Love a Woman That Rains) - Ryan Adams ( mp3 )
3) Desperado - Sarah Bolger (from "In America") ( mp3 )
4) Every Day is Like Sunday (Morrissey cover) - Colin Meloy ( mp3 )
5) Illusions - Matt Nathanson ( mp3 )
6) New England Rain - Matt McIntosh ( mp3 )
7) Look Up - Stars ( mp3 )
8) Gotta Have You - The Weepies ( mp3 )
9) City Life - The Profits ( mp3 )
10) Butterfly - Weezer ( mp3 )

Download the entire mix for free HERE.