The Mixtape 7/29/09: The (new) Songs of Summer

I don't know where you're living, but my normally cool 'hood is on fire right now. Portland, OR gets a 100 degree day every couple summers, but we are in the midst of a record-breaking heatwave that saw 106 yesterday and is set to 107 today. Ridiculous heat, but good fodder for a segue into new Mixtape music this week.

This week on The Mixtape, seven new songs bump off much of the "old guard" that has called the 'Tape home for much of this year. Songs (with weeks on the Mixtape in parentheses) that finally fell off the chart this week include:

Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs (22)
Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups (18)
Seaside / Kestrels (23)

Replacing them are a batch of songs that either evoke summer in some form or have a summery reference in their title:

Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast enters at 40 this week in all of its "lo-fi by way of Sixties Girl Group with the melody buried in the mix" glory.

Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian arrives at 39 in a Casio-blip fury, not really evoking summer, but making the head bob ever so slightly nonetheless.

Atlas Sound's "Walkabout" nods ever-so-slightly to the Mark Ronson aesthethic that has influenced popular music the last couple years as much as that damn swing/jive revival that happened a decade ago. In doing so, Bradford Cox's other band manages to meld 1960s easy breezy pop with modern-day electro-indie flavor courtesy of Animal Collective's Noah Lennox.

The Noisette's second Mixtape appearance ("Scratch Your Name" scratched the 'Tape's surface briefly last year) debut at 34 with a song that sounds like Amy Winehouse and the aforementioned Mark Ronson aesthetic, but with more soul. And in this heat, any song that starts with "Whatcha drinkin', rum or whiskey? Now wontcha have a double with me?" sounds pretty good to me. The fact that the updated Sixties-soul vibe at the heart of "Never Forget You" sounds so lush in its blend of orchestration and fuzzed-out guitars - the canvas on which leadd singer, Shingai Elizabeth Maria Shoniwa, laments over love lost - makes the track even better than its alcohol-tempting first couplet.

Seasun / Delorean has a strong debut at 33, especially for a song first heard by The Mixtape yesterday. The track soaks in it's slow, synthy build - dotted by vocal drops of "aaaaah"for about 2:40 before it morphs in to a contemporary version of Madonna's "Ray of Light." And then, the fun starts.

Finally, Jimmy Fallon's house band debuted "How I Got Over" (27) some weeks back on that late night show, but the real deal dropped this week and it finds The Roots as comfortable in a laid-back groove since this song became part of the dialog for The Mixtape's 100 favorite songs of all time.

Not to be left out, but certainly not summery unless acid trips at the beach are part of your fun in the sun, The Flaming Lips followup their amazing cover of Madonna's "Borderline" with an all-new song, "Silver Trembling Hands." The track is part of a three-song EP titled Embryonic Digital and looks to be included on the Lips' new album, Embryonic, which is due September 29.

As for the rest of the 'Tape: not too much in the way of big moves this week. Arctic Monkeys pretty much took care of that last week and remain at #1 for a second week. Interestingly though, Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective flip-flop at #s 2 and 3. Those two songs, sharing the top three for the sixth week in a row, are the absolute front runners for Summer Song '09 - Animal Collective's "Summertime Clothes," which revels in walking around on the very sun-scorched pavement and Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks," a Beach Boys-esque lilting piece of ear candy that will float you high above the heat of the street.

Stay cool wherever you are, regardless of the temperature. See you next Wednesday.

1. Cryin' Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (2 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
2. Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
3. Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
4. Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
5. Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
6. Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
7. Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
8. Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace
9. It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
10. Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
11. You'll Disappear / The Phenomenal Handclap Band iTunes MySpace
12. Temecula Sunrise / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
13. Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
14. 21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
15. The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
16. Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
17. Caterpillar Playground / Nurses iTunes MySpace
18. Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
19. Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
20. Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
21. Song For No One / Miike Snow iTunes MySpace
22. Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
23. My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
24. Feel Like Taking You Home / Brendan Benson iTunes MySpace
25. You Never Know/ Wilco iTunes MySpace
26. I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
27. How I Got Over / The Roots (NEW) iTunes MySpace
28. Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
29. Death of Auto Tune / Jay-Z iTunes MySpace
30. L.A. Guitar Dream / Spanish Prisoners iTunes MySpace
31. Beggar's Bowl / Polvo iTunes MySpace
32. Chosen Armies / Children Collide iTunes MySpace
33. Seasun / Delorean (NEW) iTunes MySpace
34. Never Forget You / The Noisettes (NEW) iTunes MySpace
35. Walkabout / Atlas Sound (NEW) iTunes MySpace
36. Sacred Trickster / Sonic Youth iTunes MySpace
37. I Want You to Know/ Dinosaur Jr. iTunes MySpace
38. Silver Trembling Hands / The Flaming Lips (NEW) iTunes MySpace
39. Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian (NEW) iTunes MySpace
40. Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 7/22/09: Flying Monkeys, Spoons, and Bats

Things are changing. For starters, The Mixtape will now be out each Wednesday instead of the traditional Friday release. The real change, of course, is all over the 40 songs below and it starts at the top as all good change should.

Arctic Monkeys grab the top spot this week 'Tape with "Cryin' Lightning," the Josh Homme-produced lead single off the band's upcoming third full album, Humbug. As any follower of The Mixtape knows, Arctic Monkeys have a very secure place in our heart and ears. "Cryin' Lightning" entered last week at 25, but was overshadowed by Dirty Projectors' twin entries at 12 and 13 as well as Mos Def's twin 'Tape tunes. A week passed and AM's track was on repeat the whole time, its noir-ish guitar solo and cryptic lyrics sounding better with each listen, culminating in a 24-song leap frog to the top in its second week.

This is rare, though not unheard of. Spinnerette went to #1 earlier this year with "Ghetto Love" after debuting at #4 a week before. Silversun Pickups' "Panic Switch" got to #1 in its third week on. But Arctic Monkeys clearly trumped both of those songs with such a dramatic ascent.

Speaking of dramatic ascents (and we were), Spoon, another venerable Mixtape act, jump from 24-11 with "Got Nuffin," a song that grooves as hard as anything the band has ever released. Miike Snow moves from 39-22 with "Song For No One" and Fruit Bats' "My Unusual Friend" takes flight from 40-25.

The top ten gets a little shakeup, not only from Arctic Monkeys' aforementioned bionic jump, but a few other new entries as well. Dirty Projectors move from 12-4 with one of their two debuts from last week, the 'why didn't Nelly Furtado release this five years ago?' single, "Stillness Is the Move" and Wilco climb from 18-9 with "Bull Black Nova," a downward-spiraling track full of paranoia and regret. Mos Def's "Casa Bey," last week's #11, is this week's #8 and the first of the Mos Def back-to-back - "Life In Marvelous Times" climbs from 9-7.

Green Day (two songs), Silversun Pickups, and Handsome Furs all fall out of the top ten this week to make room for the new kids at the top. Change is imminent and it is all over this week's Mixtape. Even the combo of Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear are forced out of their month-long residency at #s 1 and 2 respectively. Despite all the movement, only one new song appears on this week's chart. Children Collide enters at #40 with "Chosen Armies."

With Modest Mouse, Silversun Pickups, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kestrels, and Camera Obscura all looking ready to make their exit, next Wednesday should bring at least a few tunes to the 'Tape. See you then.

1. Cryin' Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (1 week @ #1) iTunes MySpace
2. Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
3. Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
4. Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
5. It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
6. Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
7. Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
8. Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
9. Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace
10. You'll Disappear / The Phenomenal Handclap Band iTunes MySpace
11. Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
12. Temecula Sunrise / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
13. Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
14. Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
15. 21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
16. The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
17. Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
18. Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
19. You Never Know/ Wilco iTunes MySpace
20. Caterpillar Playground / Nurses iTunes MySpace
21. Feel Like Taking You Home / Brendan Benson iTunes MySpace
22. Song For No One / Miike Snow iTunes MySpace
23. Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
24. Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
25. My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
26. Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
27. Sacred Trickster / Sonic Youth iTunes MySpace
28. I Want You to Know/ Dinosaur Jr. iTunes MySpace.
29. Death of Auto Tune / Jay-Z iTunes MySpace
30. I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
31. Tokyo / Telekinesis iTunes MySpace
32. L.A. Guitar Dream / Spanish Prisoners iTunes MySpace
33. Beggar's Bowl / Polvo iTunes MySpace
34. Since We've Been Wrong / The Mars Volta iTunes MySpace
35. French Navy/ Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
36. Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
37. Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
38. Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
39. Satellite Skin / Modest Mouse iTunes MySpace
40. Chosen Armies / Children Collide iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 7/10/09: Seeing Double

Double vision seems to be the theme for this week's Mixtape. It's the second week the top three remain the same. Five acts (Green Day, Mos Def, Dirty Projectors, Wilco, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs) have two songs on the 'Tape. One (Silversun Pickups) even has three -they have for the last ten weeks. It's not that there's a lack of great music out there, it's just so hard to deny these acts multiple entries when their songs (and albums) are this good.

One of those two-song band's is this week's highest debut. Make that debuts. Dirty Projectors makes a grand entrance on the Mixtape this week with back-t0-back entries from their brilliant album, Bitte Orca. The high-altitude twin debuts of "Stillness Is the Move (12) and Temecula Sunrise (13) trump a pretty respectable debut from Mixtape favorite - Arctic Monkeys.

Any other week, "Cryin' Lightning" would be the big deal, but Arctic Monkeys' latest single settles in quietly at 25 in its first week. Expect big things from the song. The Monkeys' third full-length album, Humbug, will hit the US August 25, and, if history is any indication, will produce several Mixtape tracks. This week, however, belongs to Dirty Projectors. Did I mention the album is brilliant?

Other new entries this week include the band with the singer who's the nephew of the guy that pretty much runs the show that is The Flaming Lips. Dennis Coyne obviously spent his formative years listening to Uncle Wayne's band as Lips-ish psychedelic experimentation is a cornerstone of Dennis' band, Stardeath and White Dwarfs. If the name sounds familiar it's because the band collaborated with The Flaming Lips earlier this year on Madonna cover (and Mixtape top-ten), "Borderline." "I Can't Get Away" (34) is the first proper entry for Stardeath and White Dwarf. Miike Snow (yes, double "i" - the theme of the week continues) enters at 39 with "Song For No One" and the Fruit Bats occupy the leadoff position at 40 with "My Unusual Friend."

It's a busy week on the Mixtape and the next few months should be just as action packed. Aside from all the left-field suprises that makes seeking out new music so worthwhile, some big names are set to drop new releases. August albums from Jimmy Fallon's house band (The Roots - 8/11) and the aforementioned Arctic Monkeys (8/25) as well as September releases from Jay Z (9/11), Beastie Boys, Grand Archives, and Q Tip (9/15), and even Pearl Jam (9/22) should keep the Mixtape interesting to say the least.

1. Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective (4 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
2. Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
3. It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
4. 21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
5. Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
6. Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
7. Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
8. Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
9. Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
10. You'll Disappear / The Phenomenal Handclap Band iTunes MySpace
11. Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
12. Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors (NEW) iTunes MySpace
13. Temecula Sunrise / Dirty Projectors (NEW) iTunes MySpace
14. You Never Know/ Wilco iTunes MySpace
15. Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
16. Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
17. Sacred Trickster / Sonic Youth iTunes MySpace
18. Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace
19. I Want You to Know/ Dinosaur Jr. iTunes MySpace.
20. The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
21. Caterpillar Playground / Nurses iTunes MySpace
22. Feel Like Taking You Home / Brendan Benson iTunes MySpace
23. French Navy/ Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
24. Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
25. Cryin' Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (NEW) iTunes MySpace
26. Since We've Been Wrong / The Mars Volta iTunes MySpace
27. Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
28. Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
29. Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
30. Death of Auto Tune / Jay-Z iTunes MySpace
31. Satellite Skin / Modest Mouse iTunes MySpace
32. Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
33. Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
34. I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs (NEW) iTunes MySpace
35. Tokyo / Telekinesis (NEW) iTunes MySpace
36. Beggar's Bowl / Polvo iTunes MySpace
37. L.A. Guitar Dream / Spanish Prisoners iTunes MySpace
38. Dream City / Free Energy iTunes MySpace
39. Song For No One / Miike Snow (NEW) iTunes MySpace
40. My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 07/03/09

Happy Fourth of July to all and Happy Birthday to America.

Last week, The Mixtape took a vacation. That's a bit misleading. Vacation implies that there was fun and merriment, which isn't the case. The dynamic of life altered a bit (for the good, mind you) and, as a result, last week's Mixtape didn't see the light of web. The quick and dirty on it is that the top three remained the same and two new songs entered - the recently re-formed Polvo and the greatest rapper alive (no need for quotes - Hova solely deserves that title. Weezy...whatever) - aka S. Carter aka Jigga aka Jay-Z. So there's that.

This week, the top two remain the same. Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear have been the 1-2 punch of summer listening for a few weeks, but that could be changing. Most of the top ten songs have remained the same for the last few weeks, but Sonic Youth (9) and Deer Tick (10) represent the newest top-ten entries.

The real action occurs just a bit farther down at numbers 16 and 17 where Mos Def drops two brand new songs - "Life In Marvelous Times " and "Casa Bey" respectively - on to the 'Tape. Honestly, Def's whole album, The Ecstatic, could go on there, but that wouldn't be fair to Telekinesis, Spoon, Spanish Prisoners , DJ Kaos, and Wilco who also have new entries this week.
So two it is for now. But here's a spoiler alert - The Ecstatic will definitely be in The Mixtape Top Ten Albums of 2009.

Have fun and be safe this weekend. See you next Friday.

1. Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective (3 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
2. Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
3. It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
4. Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
5. 21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
6. Rain On/ Woods iTunes MySpace
7. Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
8. Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
9. Sacred Trickster / Sonic Youth iTunes MySpace
10. Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
11. French Navy/ Camera Obscura iTunes MySpace
12. You'll Disappear / The Phenomenal Handclap Band iTunes MySpace
13. Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
14. You Never Know/ Wilco iTunes MySpace
15. Satellite Skin / Modest Mouse iTunes MySpace
16. Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def (NEW) iTunes MySpace
17. Casa Bey / Mos Def (NEW) iTunes MySpace
18. Seaside / Kestrels iTunes MySpace
19. I Want You to Know/ Dinosaur Jr. iTunes MySpace
20. Feel Like Taking You Home / Brendan Benson iTunes MySpace
21. The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
22. Caterpillar Playground / Nurses iTunes MySpace
23. Psychic City/ YACHT iTunes MySpace
24. Devotion / Viva Voce iTunes MySpace
25. Raindrops / Basement Jaxx iTunes MySpace
26. Panic Switch / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
27. Zero / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
28. Since We've Been Wrong / The Mars Volta iTunes MySpace
29. Dream City / Free Energy iTunes MySpace
30. Bull Black Nova / Wilco (NEW) iTunes MySpace
31. Silver Among the Gold / Grand Archives iTunes MySpace
32. Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
33. Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
34. Death of Auto Tune / Jay-Z iTunes MySpace
35. Fire / Kasabian iTunes MySpace
36. Got Nuffin' / Spoon (NEW) iTunes MySpace
37. Beggar's Bowl / Polvo iTunes MySpace
38. L.A. Guitar Dream / Spanish Prisoners (NEW) iTunes MySpace
39. Tokyo / Telekinesis (NEW) iTunes MySpace
40. Love The Nite Away (Tiedye Mix) / DJ Kaos (NEW) iTunes MySpace