Friday Mixtape Volume 151 By Mel of NewLeavesInMarch.com
jamie on December 21st, 2007
Lacking time or ability to really focus on mixtapiness this week, I’ve asked a good friend, fellow music aficionado and blogger to take the reins this week. She’s come through in stunning fashion. Thanks to Mel from New Leaves In March for keeping the Friday Mixtape tradition here going.
At the end of each year, I put together a mix cd that acts as a sort of musical yearbook for me. I try to capture new artists I discovered as well as the songs that really stood out on the ipod during the year. In doing this, there are always the hard cuts to make. Songs that don’t fit the overall mix, that are several years old, or even prominently featured in ads or tv shows are some of the reasoning behind the choices. When Jamie asked if I was interested in contributing a mix this week I knew exactly where to pull songs from. The following are tracks that didn’t make the mix this year and also weren’t already featured on Squirrelfood either.
Ben Lee - Gamble Everything For Love - I recently saw Ben Lee live for the first time and he performed this track from “Awake is the New Sleep.” I opted for a cut off his new album “Ripe” but still love that I rediscovered this song.
Black Lab - Gone - I remember listening to Black Lab in college, more specifically while nearly getting stuck on some back road in the mountains with my college roommate. Earlier this year, their song “This Night” was the song podcasters chose to “Bumrush the Charts” with. I subsequently bought their new album “Passion Leaves a Trace” which this song comes from.
Dr. Dog - Alaska - A friend suggested catching Dr. Dog at ACL Festival this year and so I did. That’s one of the great things about festivals, that you can wander around and discover new music so easily.
Ghostland Observatory - Sad Sad City - This is not the type of music I listen to at all, but damn if this song isn’t catchy. This is also a band I probably would never have listened to had I not moved to Houston.
Green River Ordinance - Here We Are (Big Stars) - I do a little work for Aware Music as a rep from time to time in the way of promoting bands, selling merch and whatnot. This track from GRO was one we were asked to listen to and later I was able to catch their show at Fitzgerald’s.
Melvern Taylor - Sad And Blue - Every few months Matt the Electrician and Southpaw Jones come through town and this is a song that Matt covered after playing a few shows with Melvern in the Boston area.
The Light Wires - Never Heard the Pin Drop - Came across a couple songs by The Light Wires from their 2003 release while browsing some other music blogs and instantly was hooked by the rawness in Jeremy Pinnell’s vocals.
Thom Stone - She Knows - Another artist that I discovered thanks to another music blog Come Pick Me Up (http://cpmu.blogspot.com). Being a British artist, I was a bit surprised that Jamie didn’t beat me to this one.
Vyvienne Long - Never Leave You - Vyvienne is the cello player that accompanies Damien Rice. She performed a mini-solo set during his concert here and I picked up her album after the show.
Ward Williams - Maybe Someday - As a long time fan of Jump, Little Children I probably should have checked out the solo works of the members, but it wasn’t until a few months ago with Jay Clifford putting out new material that I hopped over to Ward’s Myspace page where this song caught my ear.
Will Hoge - The Highway’s Home - I don’t listen to the radio. I won’t say that all radio sucks, because there are a few beacons of hope out there, but unfortunately I’ve not found one in Houston. I recently purchased a new vehicle and with it came a 3 month trial of XM radio. While skipping through channels I heard the familiar sound of Hoge’s voice coming through the speakers. Nice to see such a hard working rock and roll band getting some well deserved airplay.
Download it here while you can!
This week’s photo by: M J Ecker.
December 23rd, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Thanks for letting me share a few songs. Glad I could help keep the streak going with yet another Friday Mixtape.