The Mixtape 9/9/09: Crying Lightning 8 wks at #1.

Rather fitting that on this day of Beatles recognition and re-release that a British band sit atop the Mixtape. For the 8th week in a row. Honestly, Arctic Monkeys are my favorite band to come out of the UK since Oasis blew minds in the mid-nineties. Like Oasis, Arctic Monkeys came out with a bang and blew the UK music world open with their debut. Also like Oasis, AM is still branching out on their third album and making great music. For Oasis, album #4 was where it started to go downhill. Not saying the same will happen with Arctic Monkeys, but their three albums thus far have been impressive. The Mixtape sincerely hopes they string together a career's worth of albums that aspire to the Fab 4's level of creative output.

The top three remain the same this week. It's one of those weeks where it's about the setup for future Mixtapes that matters. Wavves is looking to crack the top ten next week with "Cool Jumper," up from 19-11 this week. No Age, whose Losing Feeling EP is highly anticipated here, flies from last week's debut at 28 to this week's number ten. The Sub Pop noise duo is maturing nicely and any output from them should see even more Mixtape action.

Four new entries this week including Jigga/Hova/Greatest Rapper Alive...hell, let's just call him Jay Z shall we? "Empire State of Mind" enters at 32 as The Blueprint 3 officially dropped yesterday. Portland band, The Shaky Hands have a new single, "Allison & the Ancient Eyes" which bows at #40. Magic Kids (39) and Sea Wolf (37) round out this week's new entries. Again, this week is more about what's to come than what is happening. Six songs look to be dropping off either next week or soon there after. Look for things to shake up soon. It might even start next week. Which is when the Mixtape will drop again. Happy Beatles Day!

1. Crying Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (8 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
2. Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
3. Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian iTunes MySpace
4. Walkabout / Atlas Sound iTunes MySpace
5. How I Got Over / The Roots iTunes MySpace
6. Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
7. Dance Little Liar/ Arctic Monkeys iTunes MySpace
8. At the Bottom/ Brand New iTunes MySpace
9. Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
10. You're a Target / No Age iTunes MySpace
11. Cool Jumper / Wavves iTunes MySpace
12. Be My Girl / Smith Westerns iTunes MySpace
13. Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
14. Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
15. Seasun / Delorean iTunes MySpace
16. Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast iTunes MySpace
17. Sour Milk, Salt Water / Port O'Brien iTunes MySpace
18. Action/Reaction / Choir of Young Believers iTunes MySpace
19. Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
20. Never Forget You / The Noisettes iTunes MySpace
21. Cheat On Me / The Cribs iTunes MySpace
22. Uprising / Muse iTunes MySpace
23. Madagascar/ Lake iTunes MySpace
24. My Sweet Lord / Yim Yames iTunes MySpace
25. Overboard/ Gucci Mane iTunes MySpace
26. It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
27. Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace
28. Fables/ Dodos iTunes MySpace
29. Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
30. My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
31. Forever / Drake (w/ Kanye, Lil Wayne & Eminem) iTunes MySpace
32. Empire State of Mind / Jay-Z (ft. Alicia Keys) (NEW) iTunes MySpace
33. The Ruminant Band / The Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
34. Flowers / Flight iTunes MySpace
35. I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
36. Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
37. Wicked Blood / Sea Wolf (NEW) iTunes MySpace
38. Bones/ A Mountain of One iTunes MySpace
39. Hey Boy / Magic Kids (NEW) iTunes MySpace
40. Allison & the Ancient Eyes / The Shaky Hands (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 9/2/09: Monkeys for 7

Arctic Monkeys make it 7 weeks on top, but some challengers to the throne have revealed themselves. Most notably, Arctic Monkeys themselves. "Dance Little Liar" moves from 16-8 in its third week on the Mixtape, giving AM a decent chance of knocking themselves out of number 1. Neon Indian (3) and Atlas Sound (5) continue their slow but steady climb upwards while Mos Def (2 and 6) and The Roots (4) continue to linger. Brand New join Arctic Monkeys in cracking the top ten this week at number nine with "At The Bottom."

After spending three months in the top ten, Animal Collective finally fall to 12. Summer has a few official weeks left in it, but the Mixtape's summer officially closes with the two juggernauts of the last three months finally both out of the top ten. Grizzly Bear's "Two Weeks," which spent 11 weeks in the top ten and AC's "Summertime Clothes" are prime candidates for Summer Song of 2009, both being on repeat from June-September. Of course there's the little issue of "Crying Lightning" having spent half the summer at #1, but, if hard pressed to pick a single song that defined 2009's summer, "Summertime Clothes" (regardless of its title) gets the nod. How can you deny a song that spent 4 weeks at number one and embodied the feeling of standing in the sun with only the respite a few ice cold drops of sprinkler-created rain?

Ok...enough about the past three months, the Mixtape is always about what's happening now. And what is happening this week is four new entries from No Age (28), The Cribs (32), Drake (34), and the Fruit Bats (39) with their second song on the 'Tape.

No Age and the Cribs are both hitting the Mixtape in advance of their respective Fall releases. The Cribs' Ignore the Ignorance - the band's fourth full-length in five years - will be released on iTunes Sept. 8 and in physical formats Nov. 10. No Age's Losing Feeling EP is set to be released Oct. 6 on Sub Pop.

Drake's first Mixtape foray is a "Swagga Like Us" style four-way battle between himself, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, and Eminem). Drake holds his own, but that's mainly because neither Wayne or West's lines are anything to brag about. Eminem, who could use a little reason to brag given that his most recent album, Relapse, wasn't particularly a stellar comeback bid, drops the most fiery verse of the four.

Wavves (19) and Choir of Young Belivers (24) are this week's big movers while the Fiery Furnaces (38) and Metric (40) both drop fifteen look to say goodbye to the Mixtape next week. Which is when you will see a new 40 with, possibly, a new number one. But I wouldn't hold your breath for that quite yet.

1. Crying Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (7 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
2. Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
3. Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian iTunes MySpace
4. How I Got Over / The Roots iTunes MySpace
5. Walkabout / Atlas Sound iTunes MySpace
6. Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
7. Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
8. Dance Little Liar/ Arctic Monkeys iTunes MySpace
9. At the Bottom/ Brand New iTunes MySpace
10. Never Forget You / The Noisettes iTunes MySpace
11. Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
12. Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
13. Seasun / Delorean iTunes MySpace
14. Be My Girl / Smith Westerns iTunes MySpace
15. Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
16. Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast iTunes MySpace
17. Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace
18. Sour Milk, Salt Water / Port O'Brien iTunes MySpace
19. Cool Jumper / Wavves iTunes MySpace
20. My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
21. Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
22. It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
23. Overboard/ Gucci Mane iTunes MySpace
24. Action/Reaction / Choir of Young Believers iTunes MySpace
25. Uprising / Muse iTunes MySpace
26. Madagascar/ Lake iTunes MySpace
27. My Sweet Lord / Yim Yames iTunes MySpace
28. You're a Target / No Age (NEW) iTunes MySpace
29. I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
30. Fables/ Dodos iTunes MySpace
31. Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
32. Cheat On Me / The Cribs (NEW) iTunes MySpace
33. Bones/ A Mountain of One iTunes MySpace
34. Forever / Drake (w/ Kanye, Lil Wayne & Eminem) (NEW) iTunes MySpace
35. Chosen Armies / Children Collide iTunes MySpace
36. The Other Side / AM iTunes MySpace
37. Flowers / Flight iTunes MySpace
38. The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
39. The Ruminant Band / The Fruit Bats (NEW) iTunes MySpace
40. Gold Guns Girls / Metric iTunes MySpace