Boingy Boingy Dot Com

Last night while he was sleeping, I finished his first mix. I'll let you figure out the rest:

1. Fuckup - Rock Plaza Central
2. 5 Years Time - Noah and the Whale
3. Jackeyed - Micah P. Hinson
4. Red and Purple - The Dodos
5. Fools Rush In - Etta James
6. Baby - Os Mutantes
7. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight - Bob Dylan
8. Please Don't Be Gentle With Me - The Minutemen
9. Give You My Lovin' - Mazzy Star
10. In My Lady's House - Iron and Wine
11. When I Hold You In My Arms - Neil Young
12. Welfare Bread - King Khan & His Shrines
13. July, July! - The Decemberists
14. White Water Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
15. Tume To Go - Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs
16. Paper Tiger - Spoon
17. Glad Tidings - Sound Team
18. Be Still My Heart - The Postal Service
19. Way Too Good - Figurine
20. Sweepstakes Prize - Mirah
21. My Slumbering Heart - Rilo Kiley
22. While You Were Sleeping - Elvis Perkins
23. Thirteen - Elliott Smith

Labels: lovedones, mixtapes, music

Sorry to have two mix'tape' related posts in a row, but, hello, I'm Summer, nice to meet you. I was telling Ryan last night about how sometimes when a situation gets to a point where I'm still thinking about it all the time but I've said everything there is to say and talking doesn't seem to help anymore etcetera etcetera, I make a mix - for myself - about it, just so I can continue to excavate my heart parts and 'let it out'. It's like writing a letter you'll never send, or talking into a tape recorder in your bathroom, or taking pretty pictures of yourself for someone who will never see them, or kissing a pillow, or punching a wall. It's like that. You should try it, it's good medicine.

Drink Myself Sober.
1. Bang On : The Breeders (Mountain Battles)
2. No Christmas While I'm Talking : The Walkmen (Bows and Arrows)
3. Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime : Beck (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Soundtrack)
4. Everyone Else In The World : Stina Nordenstam (This Is...)
5. The Wolves (Act I and II) : Bon Iver (For Emma, Forever Ago)
6. Sleep : The Notwist (The Devil, You + Me)
7. Pretend : Marvin Gaye (A Tribute to the Great Nat King Cole)
8. Here Comes That Feeling : El Perro Del Mar (El Perro Del Mar)
9. The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be : The Magnetic Fields (69 Love Songs)
10. He Don't Care : Kelly Willis
11. Love To A Monster : Okkervil River (Overboard & Down)
12. Milk Thistle : Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band (Live At 400 Bar, 12.29.07)
13. 'Iron and Sun' : Billy Harvey (unreleased)
14. Strange Empty Hollow : Jr Corduroy (Amos House Compilation)
15. Archipelago : Mirah (You Think It's Like This, But It's Really Like This)
16. Make Me Down A Pallet On Your Floor : Gillian Welch (Soul Journey)
17. Figure : Richard Buckner (Devotion + Doubt)
18. Baby Blue Sedan : Modest Mouse (Building Nothing Out Of Something)
19. Get Me : Dinosaur Jr (Where You Been)
20. Middle Of The Night : What Made Milwaukee Famous (What Doesn't Kill Us)
21. Roll On : DNTEL w/ Jenny Lewis (Dumb Luck)
22. Good Start : Maria Taylor (Lynn Teeter Flower)

Wooooo-ey!

All of that aside, I feel really good today. My yoga this morning was excellent despite bruises from wrasslin' and falling down stairs. Oh and I'm deleting my myspace tomorrow, so keep an eye here for more updates, writing, pic-shures, etcetera. Love love!

Labels: mixtapes, music

Hi. Sorry I have been lax in updating; life happened to me and I haven't fully recovered.

However, I will let you in on the best idea we [Mandy and myself] ever had.

Project Mix Tape!

It started at Hole In The Wall a few months ago. We wrote out a list of 'categories' and people we knew loved music, had lots of it, and actively make mixes. (Btdubs, we had to keep the list of people pretty short to accommodate party plans, and many of the people including were Mandy's friends, so please don't be hurt if you meet those criteria and you weren't part of the original group...). We sent the list out and everyone made apropos mixes, and then we had a party where we listened to some of the categories and drank and danced and loved each other's faces off. The party for the second go round happened Friday night. Both have been two of the best nights of my life. As I've explained it to some people -- "this is what parties would be like if everyone always acted exactly how I want them to."

Here are the lists & my picks:

Volume One:
The Theme Song To The Movie Of Your Life: That Summer Feeling - Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers
A Song That Always Makes You Happy: Love Power - Dusty Springfield
Your Favorite Song When You Were 13: Runaway Train - Soul Asylum
Your Mom's Favorite Song: What A Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong
A Song You Remember From the Best Live Show You've Ever Seen: Westfall (live) - Okkervil River
The Song You Would Most Like To Hear Live, But Haven't and Can't: Summer Babe (Winter Version) - Pavement
Your Bender / Lost Weekend Anthem: Kiss Off - The Violent Femmes
The Song You Want To Be Playing The First Time You Kiss Your 'One True Love': Astral Weeks - Van Morrison
The Ultimate Doin' It Song: Come On In My Kitchen - Robert Johnson
Your Favorite Beatles Song: Blackbird
A Song You Wish Was Written About/For You: Love And Some Verses - Iron and Wine
A Song For Riding Your Bike Around After The Apocalypse: Wake Up - The Walkmen
High Speed Car Chase Song: Let The Poison Spill From Your Throat - The Faint
'Guilty Pleasure' [A Song You Love But Would Never Put On A Regular Mix For Someone]: Bathwater - No Doubt
A Song You Should Have Written But Someone Else Did It First: A Better Son/Daughter - Rilo Kiley
A Song In A Foreign Language You Wish You Spoke: Tengo un Trato - La Mala Rodriguez
The Song That Always Makes You Cry: Two-Headed Boy Part Two - Neutral Milk Hotel
A Love Letter To Someone Specific: I'll Be Yr Bird - M. Ward
A Song You Want Played At Your Funeral: When I'm Gone - Phil Ochs
The Ultimate Dance Track: Let's Go Crazy - Prince

Volume Two:
Your Fight / Duel / WWF Song: To Hell With Poverty - Gang of Four
Your Favorite Song From The Last 12 Months: Paper Planes - M.I.A.
Explain 'Rock and Roll' To Aliens: Good Lovin' - Young Rascals
Your Father's Favorite Song: Be Here Now - Mason Jennings
Your Favorite Cover: Dancing In The Dark - Mirah
The Vocal Performance You Wish You Could Replicate: Bye Bye Baby - Mary Wells
The Ultimate Singalong Song: If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out - Cat Stevens
Your Favorite Instrumental Song: La Valse d'Amelie (piano version) - Yann Tiersen
A Song That Reminds Someone Of You: New Slang - The Shins
A Song Dedicated To Your Current Crush: Season Of The Shark - Yo La Tengo
The Ultimate Breakup Song: Do What You Gotta Do - Nina Simone
Your Favorite Country Song: Blue Wind Blew - The Flatlanders
Your Favorite Bob Dylan Song: You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
Your Favorite Holiday Song: Rebel Jesus - Jackson Browne
The Ultimate Summertime Roadtrip Song: Jogging Gorgeous Summer - Islands
The Best Fast Skate Song: A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday - De La Soul
Your Favorite Song About Death: Black Eyed Dog - Nick Drake

Volume Three is in the works. A slightly different format has been called for, and it might go something like this:

1. What does the place you're from sound like?
2. What does your heart sound like?
3. What does your brain sound like?
4. What does your body sound like?
5. What did being little sound like?
6. What did high school sound like?
7. What did college sound like?
8. What does DRUNK sound like?
9. What does winning sound like?
10. What does an orgasm sound like?
11. What does eye contact with a stranger across the room sound like?
12. What does falling in love sound like?
13. What do your dreams sound like?
14. What loneliness sound like?
15. What does your best friend sound like?
16. What does waking up sound like?
17. What does your future sound like?

We'll see! Do it with your friends! It's the most fun ever!

Pictures from the last party to give you an idea just how much fun we're talking here:

Labels: lovedones, mixtapes, music

I made this mix. I'll make copies for most of the folks I see regularly. It's a 'sequel' to a 'SummerCrush' mix I made a couple years ago. Sweater weather!

1. Winter Wooksie - Belle & Sebastian
All that snow makes it hard to see her, but did she wave to me?

2. Everything Disappears When You Come Around - Of Montreal
Birds have no heads when you come around. Everything loses it's legs when you come around.

3. You Trip Me Up - The Jesus And Mary Chain
Love's like the mighty ocean, when it's frozen, that is your heart.

4. Turn Me On - Nina Simone
My hi-fi is waiting for a new tune, my glass is waiting for some fresh ice cubes. I'm just sitting here waiting for you to come on home and turn me on.

5. Baby I'm In The Mood For You - Bob Dylan
But then again, but then again, I said oh, I said oh, I said oh babe, I'm in the mood for you.

6. Just Can't Get Enough - Nouvelle Vague
We walk together, we're walking down the street. I just can't get enough, I just can't get enough.

7. You Are Something - Love
But you do something to me, you’re driving me straight through the floor. Even if it should snow, still I want you to know -- love love, come on, come on and love!

8. Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken - Camera Obscura
Hey, Llloyd, I'm ready to be heartbroken. Cause I can't see further than my own nose at this moment.

9. When My Boy Walks Down The Street - The Magnetic Fields
There are whole new kinds of weather when he walks with his new beat.

10. Angel, Won't You Call Me? - The Decemberists
Though I am a lost cause, Angel won't you call me?

11. The Cold Swedish Winter - Jens Lekman
The cold Swedish winter is right outside, and I just want somebody to hold me through tonight.

12. Somebody's On My Mind - Billie Holiday
To dream my dream could be my mistake, but I'd rather be wrong and sleep right along than wait.

13. Poison Cup - M. Ward
If love is a poison cup, than drink it up.

14. Give You My Lovin' - Mazzy Star
When I see you, I want to kiss you. But I know that ain't right so I ask if I can hold you. Oh, babe, I need you so bad. Oh babe, I only want to make you glad.

15. I Touch Myself - Scala Choir
I love myself, I want you to love me. when I feel down I want you above me.

16. Hock It - The Blow
Your mean tricks, like the wetness of your lips when you say 'just put your heart here in my hand.' And though I know you might hock it, I can't keep it in my pocket. I've tried, but I can't. Oh man.

17. Gumboots - Paul Simon
I said 'hey Senorita that's astute' I said 'why don't we get together and call ourselves an institute?'

18. Gingernsaps - Britta Phillips and Dean Wareham
You can cut my hair, you can fill my cup, you can tell me lies, you can make it up. We're gonna make it after all.

19. Steady Boyfriend - April Young
We will party with your swinging crowd, when you're mine all mine I will be so proud.

20. Who's Your Boyfriend? - Adam Green
I joke around, but I don't look down because you could break my heart.

21. I Wanna Be Your Dog - Uncle Tupelo
So messed up, I want you here. In my room, I want you here.

22. Baby That's Me - The Cake
She always tells me just how nice you are, and how you kiss goodnight in your car. But maybe someday you will see all the things I want to be.

23. Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight - Whiskeytown
This situation keeps me drinking every goddamn day and night. This situation don't seem so right. So excuse me if I break my own heart tonight.

24. Share Your Love With Me - Aretha Franklin
Oh, how lonesome, how lonesome, how lonesome you must be. I tell you it would be a shame, a shame if you don't share your love with me.

25. I Want You - Tom Waits
Give you all my love, if only you would say 'I want you, you, you.'

26. Angel In The Snow - Elliott Smith
I'd say you make a perfect angel in the snow. All crushed out on the way you are, better stop before it goes too far.

27. Your Name - Tricky
If you like-a-me, like I like-a-you, and we like-a-both the same, I'd like-a say, this very day, I'd like-a-change your name.

28. Winte Weather - The Squirrel Nut Zippers
There's nothing sweeter, finer, when there's ice and snow. Don't you know I'll hold you tightly to me? And I will get that love that is due me.

Labels: love, mixtapes, music

Hello.

It is pouring rain for the third day in a row. Sunday night, Patrick and Larissa and I ran down Red River screaming and soaked and it was one of those times where you feel like you're in a movie directed by John Hughes. Now I am just sitting at Cafe Caffeine (stupid name, cute place) and listening to The Weakerthans on my ipod and staring at the rain and trying to decide what I have to say that could possibly interest you.

I have really fond memories of thunderstorms in Austin, and whenever one happens now I get the kind of nostalgia that gives me goosebumps all over my arm. I want to just lay in bed with the covers over my head and listen to the thunder crash straight into my nervous system.

I've had a really weird and difficult and emotional week for a lot of reasons I certainly don't feel like explaining here. But suffice to say my week has included: sleeping way too long for a normal person, crying in the manager's office, and screaming in Patrick's ear at Sidebar. It's been really hard to not cut my hair (my automatic defense mechanism for bad times).

Things I am grateful for when things are rough:
- My house.
- Braedyn and Larissa.
- Patrick.
- Margaret.
- My parents.
- Everyone else.
- Double iced mochas.
- Breakfast tacos.
- Mixtapes filled with sad songs.

Anyone got a mix CD theme for me? Kester, I'm working on your songs like photographs mix, again. It's been difficult to finish; I think I've been overambitious about it. I made a CD for some of our family friends titled "The New Classic" -- it's music made in the last ten years by people of (more or less) my generation that I hope will define 'my' time for my kids and their kids.

Here's the tracklist:
First Day Of My Life - Bright Eyes
Major Leagues - Pavement
There's Too Much Love - Belle & Sebastian
Wake Up - The Arcade Fire
Hey Ya! - Outkast
Rainbows In The Dark - Tilly And The Wall
Jackeyed - Micah P. Hinson
With Arms Outstretched - Rilo Kiley
A Passing Afternoon - Iron & Wine
Come Pick Me Up - Ryan Adams
Waltz # 2 - Elliott Smith
Good Woman - Cat Power
Monument - Mirah
Lost Cause - Beck
The Book of Love - The Magnetic Fields
Red Right Ankle - The Decemberists
War Criminal Rises & Speaks - Okkervil River
She's A Jar - Wilco
I'll Be Yr Bird - M. Ward
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel

Labels: lists, love, lovedones, mixtapes

When I was eighteen or nineteen my friend Rhymi and I started making tapes for each other with a theme. We would pick out songs that very specifically reminded us of the loved ones (or arch enemies) in our lives and mix them for each other, explaining who they reminded us of in the case notes. Michelle made one too (Quiche Lorraine reminded her of Josh Gauthreaux!)

Later, the tapes were expanded into elaborate CD plans. By the time the project lost it's steam, I had bought an entire set of children's books on manners I planned to use as packaging for the ultimate people mix CD collection. I still have Rhymi's elaborate tracklists, and some notes of my own.

Fast forward to a couple months ago, Larissa and I revisit the project and make lists of 20 of the most important people in our lives and assign them all songs. In the people projects, some of the songs remind you of people because you once listened to them together, or kissed to them, or danced to them. Others are intangible -- some part of the essence of the song bears a relation in your heart to the essence of that person. Others are very literal -- the lyrics of the song could easily be your own love letter to that particular friend. It just depends. Anyway, it's a fun experiment and you should try to remember some of the songs that remind you of your favorites.

Now, just because I am sick and bored, is a miniature version for you. This one is obviously incomplete in covering the important people in my life, and is really just a collection of a few songs that immediately spring to mind as being intrinsically linked to this person or that one.

Nature Anthem - Grandaddy dedicated to Braedyn.
Incidentally, a recording of Braedyn singing this song is the ringtone on Riss's phone right now.


Pale Blue Eyes - The Velvet Underground dedicated to Isaac.
Neither of us has pale blue eyes. When I got my wisdom teeth removed I listened to Isaac singing this song on repeat during most of the surgery.


Eau D' Bedrrom Dancing dedicated to Rebekah.
Even if she didn't love it so much I think it would remind me of her.


New Slang - The Shins dedicated to Jeff.


A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procul Harum dedicated to Brad.
I can't even remember why this song reminds me of Brad but a long time ago I started thinking of him when I heard it and now I always do.


The Ballad of El Goodo - Big Star dedicated to Kester.


So Begins Our Alabee - Of Montreal dedicated to Margaret.
For lots of reasons, beginning with the fact that Kevin Barnes' voice reminds me of Margaret's heart.

Labels: lovedones, mixtapes, music