I haven't posted in a while because I was on vacation (Boston's awesome - most polite drivers of any city I've been in, most random spaghetti bowl of public transit, made me depressed about massive Minneapolis front yards, stuffed my face with seafood etc) last month and we moved across the lake last week. I have a couple of mixes for the three of you left that RSS this bad boy and still download them. We don't have the internet yet though (I'm tethering on my iPhone at the moment - it's too slow to seed, plus it goes away when I go outside) so I'll be posting a mix in the next week or two, and another mix shortly after that. The music is there, it's just waiting to get out.

I saw this sign on Cedar & Lake. Too bad I'm not in the mood for any sarcastic furniture.

There's some good music by new artists here. Some of it came out at the very end of 2008 and took a while to move through the filter. Some of it is brand new. Don't mistake the inclusion of a Decemberists track as an endorsement of the album. It's a horrible record, just with one good pop song near the end. If a band is going to move away from pop music and attempt some serious music, we're going to judge it based on real things now. You can't just fly by on catchy melodies and a cutesy voice anymore. This album is just painful to listen to. A lot of people are calling it brilliant, but it's not brilliant to write a rock opera when you don't know anything about writing actual music. It's pathetic. There's one passage that made me want to throw my iPod in the river, where there's about 45 seconds of parallel sixths in the harmony in this melodramatic duet between Mr Meloy and some woman. They really should have stuck to their schtick. It was a good one (listen to the song here - even that is schmaltz) The Hazards of Love is a poor man's Dream Theater, and that's being generous.

Passion Pit seems like kind of the star here. I feel weird falling for hipster electro dance pop, but this gets catchier every time. It sounds like Jay Dee producing for the Dirty Projectors.

Baseball starts tonight!

1. Passion Pit - Cuddle Fuddle
2. DOOM - Ballskin
3. Now, Now Every Children - Not One, But Two
4. Julie Doiron - Nice to Come Home
5. Bill Callahan - All Thoughts Are Prey To Some Beast
6. Telekinesis! - Coast Of Carolina
7. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Runaway
8. Throw Me The Statue - Written In Heart Signs, Faintly
9. Deer Tick - Art Isn't Real (City of Sin)
10. Women - Group Transport Hall
11. The Girls - Transfer Station
12. The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned)
13. Laura Veirs - Wildwood Flower

Download link [ ? ]
Previously: Mix #38, March '09

If anybody's looking for a fantasy baseball league, let me know. We've got one opening in our 14 team head to head. The draft is tomorrow at 1:30 central, but email me anyway if you're too late and want to play anyway.

It must be singer songwriter month. I hurt myself so I had to buy a car to get to work.

1. Laura Gibson - Spirited
2. Coeur de pirate - C'était salement romantique
3. Swan Lake - Peace
4. Mirah - Bones & Skin
5. Andrew Bird - Oh No
6. M. Ward - Blake's View
7. The Decemberists - Sleepless
8. Zu - Chthonian
9. A Camp - The Crowning
10. Vetiver - Everyday
11. Dj Signify - Sink or swim (ft Aesop Rock)
12. Suturee - Afraid of Hands
13. Fbcfabric & Reindeer - Soulsuck

Download link [ ? ]
Previously: Mix #37, December '08, 2008 Songs

So Sigur Ros made the upbeat mix, and there wasn't really debatable. It's not even the most chipper song on the album. There are always great songs on EPs, singles, and otherwise awful albums that are pretty great. This year, 16 of the 42 songs are from artists who aren't on the albums list. Even Conor Oberst, who had never written a song worth anything, suddenly has a pretty good song closing out his new record.

Part One

1. Throw Me the Statue - About to Walk
2. David Karsten Daniels - Martha Ann
3. Why? - The Hollows
4. Deerhoof - My Purple Past
5. Sigur Rós - Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
6. The Walkmen - In the New Year
7. the morning benders - damnit anna
8. The Plastic Constellations - Disastrophe
9. The Dead Science - Make Mine Marvel
10. Tokyo Police Club - Sixties Remake
11. Guilty Simpson - The American Dream
12. The Decemberists - Valerie Plame
13. Dilla Ghost Doom - Murder Goons feat. Ghostface Killah
14. The Hold Steady - Slapped Actress
15. Jake One - Trap Door (feat. MF DooM)
16. Stereolab - Self Portrait with Electric Brain
17. Tobacco - Dirt (ft. Aesop Rock)
18. Wolf Parade - Call It A Ritual
19. Black Moth Super Rainbow - Black Yogurt [With Mike Watt]
20. One Day As A Lion - If You Fear Dying
21. Red Sparowes - We Left The Apes To Rot, But Find The Fang Grows Within

Part Two

1. Why? - The Vowels Pt. 2
2. Cat Power - New York
3. Dr. Dog - The Breeze
4. The Walkmen - Canadian Girl
5. These United States - Kings & Aces
6. Shearwater - Rooks
7. Tokyo Police Club - Listen To The Math
8. The Notwist - Boneless
9. Unbunny - The Path
10. Cryptacize - Dig That Treasure
11. Mogwai - I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead
12. Eef Barzelay - Lose Big
13. Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood
14. What Laura Says Thinks And Feels - Dot Dot Dot
15. Megafaun - Find Your Mark
16. Camphor - Confidences Shattered
17. Conor Oberst - Milk Thistle
18. Damien Jurado - Trials
19. Parenthetical Girls - Four Words
20. Jolie Holland - Mexico City
21. Adem - Unravel

Download link [ ? ]

Previously: 2007 Songs, 2008 Albums

Me: (clinking my glass with Eliot's) Salud!

Eliot: Salud!

Me: Pass the carne roast!

Eliot: Pass the daddy horse!

I should have comments fixed. Email if there's a problem. Ryan at cedarave.com

First of all, Bon Iver is not on the list because you're a year late to the party. Secondly, every time someone talks about how great the record is, they talk about one thing: the first track. There are awkward sentences spoken like "All I could listen to all summer was Flume. It's such a great album." You fail. I've even heard people try to extrapolate some sort of metaphor for the current state of the economy from the style of the album, which is interesting, since when the album was actually released in June 2007, everybody thought Google was going to hit $1000. Plus Damien Jurado's been doing the exact same thing since before the last recession. As Eliot would say when her brother tries to eat her cereal in the morning, "Go away, you bother me."

All in all, 2008 was pretty tepid. Like Bon Iver, the year was much better for individual songs than for albums. Blame iTunes if you want, I don't care. The top 10 is pretty good though. Sigur Ros went all Avey Tare on us. The Plastic Constellations went all Brett Favre* on us. Ben Folds made a terrible terrible terrible record.

* How many times have they broken up and put out a new album? Plus just when you think they might be as good as any band, they throw an interception at the exact moment that ruins every thing. Aaron Rodgers looks pretty freaking awesome. I just wish he'd grow that awesome moustache again.

The Dead Science did on this record what they do on every record. It's just brilliant stuff that's criminally underappreciated. The Walkmen came up with a fantastic return to relevance after their disaster of an album last time around. David Karsten Daniels had the best newcomer album, but I was also very very interested in Throw Me the Statue, who might have written the best song of the year, and the Morning Benders, who also might have, although it's been all over their first couple EPs. Parenthetical Girls are getting more consistent, and I like that direction.

One more year.

1. Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell
2. The Dead Science - Villainaire
3. The Walkmen - You & Me
4. David Karsten Daniels - Fear of Flying
5. The Notwist - The Devil, You + Me
6. Cat Power - Jukebox
7. Sigur Rós - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
8. Retribution Gospel Choir - Retribution Gospel Choir
9. The Plastic Constellations - We Appreciate You
10. Parenthetical Girls - Entanglements
11. Tobacco - Fucked Up Friends
12. Mount Eerie & Julie Doiron - Lost Wisdom
13. Shearwater - Rook
14. Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins
15. Peter Broderick - Float
16. Jolie Holland - The Living and the Dead
17. Jeremy Messersmith - The Silver City
18. Devotchka - A Mad & Faithful Telling
19. Throw Me the Statue - Moonbeams
20. the morning benders - talking through tin cans
21. Mount Eerie - Dawn
22. Damien Jurado - Caught In The Trees
23. Stephen Malkmus - Real Emotional Trash
24. Musee Mecanique - Hold This Ghost
25. Mogwai - The Hawk is Howling
26. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
27. These United States - A Picture Of The Three Of Us At The Gate To The Garden Of Eden
28. Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood
29. Dr. Dog - Fate
30. The Black Keys - Attack and Release
31. Why? - Alopecia
32. Lightspeed Champion - Falling Of The Lavender Bridge
33. Destroyer - Trouble in Dream
34. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Lie Down In The Light
35. Inara George & Van Dyke Parks - An Invitation
36. Stereolab - Chemical Chords
37. Neil Halstead - Oh! Mighty Engine
38. The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath
39. Hayden - In Field & Town
40. Laura Marling - Alas, I Cannot Swim
41. Sun Kil Moon - April
42. Randy Newman - Harps And Angels
43. Mount Eerie - Black Wooden Ceiling Opening
44. Deerhoof - Offend Maggie
45. Aimee Mann - @#%&*! Smilers s
46. Death Vessel - Nothing is Precious Enough for Us
47. Calexico - Carried To Dust
48. The Sea and Cake - Car Alarm
49. Paper Airplanes - Scandal Scandal Scandal Down In The Wheat Field
50. Nana Grizol - Love It Love It
51. Lackthereof - Your Anchor
52. Kayo Dot - Blue Lambency Downward
53. Josephine Foster - This Coming Gladness
54. Haley Bonar - Big Star
55. Elephant9 - Dodovoodoo
56. Cryptacize - Dig That Treasure
57. Blind Pilot - 3 Rounds and a sound
58. The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
59. A Weather - Cove
60. Vetiver - Thing Of The Past
61. Sydney Wayser - Silent Parade
62. Department of Eagles - In Ear Park
63. Meneguar - Strangers In Our House
64. Matmos - Supreme Balloon
65. Kimya Dawson - Alphabutt

Year end mix soon.

We took the kids to the Macy's 8th floor thing last night. Eliot was wide-eyed and loved it. Turns out, I was there as an elf. I made sure I didn't touch him, just in case we'd blow up or something.

I've been working on finishing my top 65 records list (not to mention being outnumbered by people under three feet tall and watching Mad Men), and I got sidetracked, forgetting to put up December's mix. We'll have to see if anyone other than Zakcq still reads this thing. The year end mix and top 65 list should be up very soon.

Stupid Mark Teixiera and CC Sabathia.

1. Tobacco - Dirt (ft. Aesop Rock)
2. Unbunny - The Path
3. Jeremy Messersmith - Dead End Job
4. Mount Eerie - Who?
5. Department Of Eagles - No One Does It Like You
6. Sydney Wayser - Ode To A Frenchman
7. Guilty Simpson - The American Dream
8. From Monument To Masses - Beyond God & Elvis
9. Jolie Holland - Mexico City
10. Cold War Kids - Against Privacy
11. The Uglysuit - Let it be Known
12. Plus-Minus - Snowblind
13. Koufax - Drivers
14. Tokyo Police Club - The Baskervilles f. Aesop Rock and Yak Ballz (Amplive Remix)

Download link [ ? ]
Previously: Mix #35, September '08