8/26/09: #1: Crying Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (6 weeks).

Nothing too new or exciting this seek. Arctic Monkeys on top for week #6. The rest of last week's top five just change places (2 & 3, 4 & 5 swap spots). Actually, this is only the third time this year where the top ten didn't seen any new songs in it. Add to that the fact that #11-13 remain as they were last week and there just isn't a lot of movement happening. Until you go down a bit further.

Arctic Monkeys' second Mixtape entry off Humbug is moving toward the top ten (surprise surprise). "Dance Little Liar" is up from last week's debut at 27 to this week's 16. Brand New get the biggest jump of the week honors with "At the Bottom" moving from 32-17.

Only three new songs on the 'Tape this week. Hey, every week can't be as crazy as the last month or so. New bands Flight (40), Wavves (30), and sort of new act Yim Yames (35) all make their entry this week.

Yim Yames is actually Jim James of My Morning Jacket. "My Sweet Lord" is indeed a cover of the classic George Harrison track and James or Yames or whatever you want to call him has recast the tune (along with five others on his Harrison love letter, Tribute To) as meditative and solemn, something Mr. Harrison would no doubt give his blessing to. The Tribute To ep was recorded in 2000 and brings back to light the early sound of MMJ; highly reverbed vocals and a warmly hushed vibe that has all but disappeared from the band's more recent work.

1. Crying Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (6 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
2. Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
3. How I Got Over / The Roots iTunes MySpace
4. Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian iTunes MySpace
5. Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
6. Walkabout / Atlas Sound iTunes MySpace
7. Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
8. Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
9. Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
10. Never Forget You / The Noisettes iTunes MySpace
11. Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
12. Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
13. Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace
14. My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
15. Seasun / Delorean iTunes MySpace
16. Dance Little Liar/ Arctic Monkeys iTunes MySpace
17. At the Bottom/ Brand New iTunes MySpace
18. Be My Girl / Smith Westerns iTunes MySpace
19. Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast iTunes MySpace
20. Sour Milk, Salt Water / Port O'Brien iTunes MySpace
21. I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
22. It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
23. The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
24. Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
25. Gold Guns Girls / Metric iTunes MySpace
26. Overboard/ Gucci Mane iTunes MySpace
27. Chosen Armies / Children Collide iTunes MySpace
28. Uprising / Muse iTunes MySpace
29. Madagascar/ Lake iTunes MySpace
30. Cool Jumper / Wavves (NEW) iTunes MySpace
31. Fables/ Dodos iTunes MySpace
32. Bones/ A Mountain of One iTunes MySpace
33. Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
34. My Sweet Lord / Yim Yames (NEW) iTunes MySpace
35. Silver Trembling Hands / The Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
36. The Other Side / AM iTunes MySpace
37. Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
38. Break Bones / Internet Forever iTunes MySpace
39. Action/Reaction / Choir of Young Believers iTunes MySpace
40. Flowers / Flight (NEW) iTunes MySpace
    

8/19/09: #1: Crying Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (5 weeks).

Arctic Monkeys hold on to the top for the fifth week, making "Crying Lightning" tied with Deerhunter's "Nothing Ever Happened" for the second-longest stay at #1 this year. "Crying Lightning" will need another month at the top just to tie Silversun Pickups' "Panic Switch," which spent nine weeks at the top this past spring. This may not be too far-fetched though given the fact Arctic Monkeys has turned away a pair of Mos Def jams, stalled the Roots out at number two after a speedy ascension up the Mixtape, and fought off Grizzly Bear and Animal Collective for a month.

Pretenders to Arctic Monkeys throne this week include the aforementioned Roots and Mos Def tracks which are all stuck in a holding pattern (#2-4), Neon Indian's bippy bleepy day dreamy "Deadbeat Summer" (moving from 10-5) and Atlas Sound's collabo w/ Panda Bear from Animal Collective, "Walkabout" (last week's 11, this week's 8). After that, nary a threat to our Sheffield boys lies waiting. At least not for the immediate future.

Smith Westerns have this week's biggest mover - one of the best of the recent glut of fuzzed-out homages to 60s pop - with "Be My Girl" (34-23). Hell, the Monkeys biggest competition might be themselves. A second track from Humbug, the band's third full-length release - out next Tuesday, is this week's highest new entry at 27. "Dance Little Liar" is currently a stand-out on an album that truly does get better with each listen. More on Humbug here.

Other new entries this week come from rapper Gucci Mane (30), the perennially overlooked Brand New (32), Lake (35), AM (39), and Choir of Young Believers (40). There are a lot of songs on the bubble, just waiting to crack next week's Mixtape. It looks like there will be room for three with Handsome Furs (36), Miike Snow (37), and Dirty Projectors (38) all taking dives this week. Perhaps we'll see Michael Franti and Spearhead's latest, "Say Hey (I love you)" crack the 40. The Big Pink's "Dominos" and Flight's "Flowers" have both been waiting patiently the last few weeks as well. We will know next humpday. Until then, soak up the rays and enjoy the summer days. They'll be gone before you know it.

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

The Mixtape 8/12/09: Monkeys Make It Four.

Not much to say this week. Arctic Monkeys remain at the top for the fourth week. Mos Def has two songs in the top five. Both the Mos Def and Arctic Monkeys albums are outstanding; Mos Def's 16-song trip spanning a variety of producers and styles and the Arctic Monkeys' focused 10-song declaration that the influences of Josh Homme and Alex Turner's solo-project of last year - The Last Shadow Puppets - can make for some pretty dark and dense tales.

After the last few weeks of big moves and plentiful debuts, this week's Mixtape finds a calmer terrain. Aside from The Roots' jump from 8-2 with "How I Got Over," there isn't too much in the way of bold statements. Delorean (19), Fruit Bats (16), Noisettes (12) and Atlas Sound (11) all make steady moves toward the top ten while Internet Forever (31) makes the biggest jump of the week, moving up nine.

Three new tracks enter the 'Tape - Smith Westerns (34), Dodos (35), and A Mountain of One (40). This week might be the last for both of Green Days 21st Century Breakdown representatives as well as Nurses and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. There isn't a shortage of new music right now so it's fair to say next week should see at least four new songs enter. Come back next Wednesday to see who debuts and if The Roots can use their momentum to knock "Cryin' Lightning" out of the top.

See you next humpday.

1. Cryin' Lightning / Arctic Monkeys (4 weeks @ #1) iTunes MySpace
2. How I Got Over / The Roots iTunes MySpace
3. Life In Marvelous Times / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
4. Casa Bey / Mos Def iTunes MySpace
5. Stillness Is the Move / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
6. Summertime Clothes / Animal Collective iTunes MySpace
7. Easy / Deer Tick iTunes MySpace
8. Two Weeks / Grizzly Bear iTunes MySpace
9. Got Nuffin' / Spoon iTunes MySpace
10. Deadbeat Summer / Neon Indian iTunes MySpace
11. Walkabout / Atlas Sound iTunes MySpace
12. Never Forget You / The Noisettes iTunes MySpace
13. Bull Black Nova / Wilco iTunes MySpace.
14. The End Is Near / The Fiery Furnaces iTunes MySpace
15. It's Nice to Know You Work Alone / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
16. My Unusual Friend / Fruit Bats iTunes MySpace
17. Upside Down / Banjo or Freakout iTunes MySpace
18. Lost Words / Ganglians iTunes MySpace
19. Seasun / Delorean iTunes MySpace
20. I Can't Get Away / Stardeath & White Dwarfs iTunes MySpace
21. Catch and Release / Silversun Pickups iTunes MySpace
22. Radio Kaliningrad / Handsome Furs iTunes MySpace
23. Song For No One / Miike Snow iTunes MySpace
24. Chosen Armies / Children Collide iTunes MySpace
25. Temecula Sunrise / Dirty Projectors iTunes MySpace
26. Sun Was High (So Was I) / Best Coast iTunes MySpace
27. You'll Disappear / The Phenomenal Handclap Band iTunes MySpace
28. Silver Trembling Hands / The Flaming Lips iTunes MySpace
29. Sour Milk, Salt Water / Port O'Brien iTunes MySpace
30. Gold Girls Guns / Metric iTunes MySpace
31. Break Bones / Internet Forever iTunes MySpace
32. Games For Days / Julian Plenti iTunes MySpace
33. Uprising / Muse iTunes MySpace
34. Be My Girl / Smith Westerns (NEW) iTunes MySpace
35. Fables/ Dodos (NEW) iTunes MySpace
36. 21st Century Breakdown/ Green Day iTunes MySpace
37. Caterpillar Playground / Nurses iTunes MySpace
38. Murder City / Green Day iTunes MySpace
39. Skeletons / Yeah Yeah Yeahs iTunes MySpace
40. Bones/ A Mountain of One (NEW) iTunes MySpace

The Mixtape 8/5/09: Four For Flying

Major movement. That's the theme for this version of The Mixtape. After seven new songs made their way on board last week's 'Tape, it was pretty much implied that some of the tunes would be climbing upward this week. What wasn't implied was how many (four) would make such huge leaps this week, let alone, who would make the biggest. Funny what can happen when songs marinate in your head for a week.

The Roots' "How I Got Over" was a given to make a decent move. After all, it's The Roots. ?uestlove, Black Thought, and the rest of the Roots crew bust into the top ten in their second week on, landing at #9 after debuting at #27 last week. Not too shabby, but not the biggest move this week either.

At first listen, The Noisettes seemed like another act hitching on the Mark Ronson/ Amy Winehouse aesthete that has spawned a movement the last couple years. "Never Forget You" is not just another soulful song with a Sixties throwback approach though. Shingai Shoniwa's vocals have the soul all right, but they also have a personality about them. Enough personality to help the song split the distance from it's #34 debut last week by jumping up to #17.

Bradford Cox employs Jack White's work ethic. Cox leads Deerhunter - last year's Microcastle and "Nothing Ever Happened" were both in the top 5 of The Mixtape's Best Albums and Singles of 2008 respectively - and also cranks out Atlas Sound albums and EPs like the dude is hooked up to a Red Bull drip. Based on Atlas Sound's 2008 album, Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel, there might have been a bit of morphine coming through the IV line as well. Atlas Sound's next album, Logos, is set for release on Oct. 20, 2009. First single, "Walkabout," which features vocals from Animal Collective's Noah Lennox, goes light on the morphine and heavy on the Sunny D. The song is as accessible as anything Atlas Sound has released and Lennox's (aka Panda Bear) influence is all over the track's layered vocals and free floating vibe. Last week's quiet debut at #35 is this week's loud leap to #15. See you in the top ten soon boys.

Finally, the biggest jump of the week. From a band that isn't even on iTunes yet. Yet. Neon Indian's "Deadbeat Summer" goes batshit crazy, jumping 27 spots from #39 to #12. The song feels old and new; poppy and indie at the same time. Synths rule the terrain, but it's Alan Palomo's vocals and melodies that sell the song. Best listened to while sitting on a beat-up couch on the front porch, staring at the sun and sippin' on the syzzurp of summer. Drink it in people. It goes down real smooth. Even on the 20th listen.

As for next week's potential big movers, the bottom five of this week's Mixtape is where the new entries live this week. Debuts from Port O'Brien (36), Metric (37), and Muse (39) represent the Mixtape vets. There is also a new entry from first-time 'Tapers, Internet Forever (40). And some guy named Julian Plenti (38) who is better known as Interpol lead-singer, Paul Banks. So that secret's out. See y'all next humpday.

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

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