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