Ithacamafia Mixtape: vol. 10.

A double-barrel blast of mixmaking has arrived on your doorsteps, kids. Over the last number of months cd's and albums and songs have piled up on my desk and hard drive, unlistened, unlooked, unloved. You see, I get an inundation of free goods from Hyrdo and the "Late Show" train, coupled with Little D's indie gifts and my own cheap-as-free blog downloads. That's a lot of music. Over the summer I started work on "Summer Jamz '06", but got too caught up in the Covers mix to follow thru. So, I went back, took a few songs I had layin' around, and mixed them with a large helping of new stuff that I've gotten recently. What you have, then, are two companion mixes -- Mixtapes #9 & #10. They go together like Hall & Oates. Enjoy.

-- Kluv

1. - "You're Gonna Miss Me" by Thirteen Floor Elevators

Recently, I took out my High Fidelity DVD and popped it into the player. This was one of the songs from the film I forgot about. It's the one that he pops on the stereo when they break up in the beginning, so be like Rob -- and turn this one up LOUD. Just because you can.

2. - "The End of Medicine" by The New Pornographers

A grrrrrrrrrrrrreat track from the Pornographers album "Electric Version". I actually found it when I went back to check on them after listening to Neko Case's latest. Anyways, it's a really catchy & rollicking piece of pop-rock, which is a great thing. Two thumbs up.

3. - "Penny on the Train Track" by Ben Kweller

The second entry by Mr. Kweller, it's one of those songs that is a definitely pick-me-up in the morning on the way to work. I also love the way he sings about just waitin' on that track to get squished & also checkin' out his baby's legs & also the fact that he's lookin' for some direction all in the same breath. Kick-ass, Ben.

4. - "Strange Apparition" by Beck

The last entry to this mix, I picked up Beck's new one right before this one went to the presses. I think what I like most about this track is the fact that he tapped into that 70's Rolling Stones honky-tonk soul feeling. And that's a good thing.

5. - "I Wish I had An Evil Twin" by The Magnetic Fields

6. - "District Sleeps Alone Tonight" by The Postal Service

After we caught Death Cab this spring, the Little D. turned me onto The Postal Service. This is one of my favorite tracks of theirs, right next to "Such Great Hights". Love it.

7. - "Diamonds From Sierra Leone" by Kanye West

Why do I like this song? A.) Undeniable groove & delivery layed down by Kanye & Jay-Z. B.) Shirley Bassey. C.) Musings about out social responsiblity to the atrocities of the diamond trade versus wanting to look goooood. D.) I just want to say "Forever-ever? Forever-EVER? FOREVER-EVER?" E.) All of the above. George Bush hates black people.

8. - "In the Ghetto" by Elvis

C'mon, kids. It doesn't get much better than this. I also whip it out once a year when we randomly end up doing Karaoke.

9. - "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" by Dropkick Murphys

I would like to congratulate our boys the Murphys on some well-earned exposure from "The Departed" thanks to this song. While I wasn't crazy about this album as a whole when it came out last year, I did pluck this one out for some repeat usage. It's a great example of what the Murphys do best. And by that, I mean, making songs that make me want to run and beat the shit out of someone.

10. - "Blue Light" by Bloc Party

Bloc Party are another one of my "nighttime bands". Little D. managed to see them at the McCarren Park Pool in Brooklyn, and said they were unREAL. Wicked. I can see myself having a few drinks and losing my mind to a concert of theirs. In a good way, of course.

11. - "Hideaway" by Rock Kills Kid

A Late Show pick. I picked it because I just thought it was a flat-out good anthemic rock song. I'm always a sucker for them.

12. - "St. Elsewhere" by Gnarls Barkley

The poster boys for "Summer Jamz '06", Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse OWNED the summer with "Crazy". One of the most unlikely success stories in recent memory (I remember falling in love with this album when I got it from my co-worker in April, but didn't imagine how big it would blow up here in the US -- by that point, "Crazy" had become the first #1 single in the UK to ever hit that number based on internet downloads alone), who would have thunk that a neo-soul singer and a Baltimore DJ who brought us "The Gray Album" would give us this year's "Hey Ya!"?

"Crazy" is a great song, but I have a soft spot for the feeling behind the title track. It's also fantastic to see them perform live, if you get the chance -- they clearly enjoy having fun while playing -- and you can see it in the fact that they always wear costumes while performing. My personal favorite was the Big Lebowski costumes, followed closely by Star Wars. Kids, if you can't get into Gnarls (especially live), then you're just drinking the hateorade.

13. - "Oh Lately It's So Quiet" by OK Go

OK Go are friends with both "This American Live" & They Might Be Giants. They describe their music as "part indie rock, part stadium rock, part straight up pop with the occasional whiff of Weezer or The Cars or Elliott Smith." I don't think I need to say anything else.

14. - "Spill the Wine" by Eric Burdon & WAR

I recently came into posession of "The Animals: Retrospective" CD's. Fantastic stuff. This one is actually a track from WAR & Eric Burdon (the Animals' lead singer). After the Animals were over, Burdon (a heavy drinking Geordie from Newcastle) was about to quit the music biz. A producer friend of his saw WAR playing at a topless beer bar. He put the two of them together. And here you go.

15. - "Baby I'm Drunk" by Reverend Horton Heat

Love the Rev. Love to Drink. Love to sing this when I'm drunk.

16. - "How to Save A Life" by The Fray

This one's a WB's Smallville special. Let's hear it for the piano-pop, okay?

17. - "It Beats for You" by My Morning Jacket

This track has a bit of the Flaming Lips and a bit of Death Cab in it for me. Which, would explain why I like it so much. The voice, it haunts me. It beats for youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

18. - "High Fidelity" by Elvis Costello

It's been a while since I dropped some Elvis Costello. In an ironic twist, this song wasn't used in the movie "High Fidelity" -- his heartbreaker, "Shipbuilding" was. Layers, man. Oh, and I love this song. I make funny faces when I sing it, I think.

19. - "Carry Me" by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds

Nick played wayyyyyyyy back at Lollapalooza '95. I think he was the first act of that mammoth day when we saw Pumpkins, Beasties, Funkadelic, etc. This track is from the double album he released at the end of '04. He's still at the top of his game, in my humble opinion. The dark man, he haunts me.

20. - "Casmir Pulaski Day" by Sufjan Stevens

Whether or not you can say Sufjan correctly, I hope you can appreciate this song. It kills me (in a good way) every single time I listen to it -- which, according to iTunes, is over sixty-two times. A simple story about life, faith, leukemia and loss; all from the perspective of a kid. I think the words I'm looking for are "hauntingly beautiful". Thanks Sufjan.

(soof-ee-yahn)