Playlist: Sad Songs for Summer [2012]
I may have mentioned it here before, but making mix tapes is one of my favorite hobbies. At some point during high school, which I mostly found unbearable, I distinctly remember thinking that I had all these great sad songs, but they were spread out over too many different albums. Why not combine them into one powerful tape of self-loathing? Seemed a great idea at the time. I don't know about anyone else, but when I'm feeling down, I just can't stand upbeat music. I'd rather play something that echoes my mood; it's always done a much better job of helping me careen off an emotional abyss than silence alone.
As I've gotten older and away from that teenage angst, I still gravitate toward sad songs sometimes. But they're a comfort now, something to still the anxiety of adulthood rather than worship the depression of adolescence. Recently I put together a bunch of my favorite sad songs of 2011 and 2012 (I think a few from 2010 slipped in there, as well), and figured I'd share it. I hope you enjoy.
And here's the Spotify version (minus Ramesh Srivastava's "The King," which unfortunately isn't available there):
Top 50 Songs of 2011
Here are 50 songs that defined 2011 for me. This year, I only included one song per band, as I wanted to feature as many bands as possible.
Listen. Enjoy. Tell me what you think.
And yep, that's my ugly mug on the cover.
Here's the playlist:
1. Wilco - One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)
2. City Reign - Anywhere Anyway
3. The Mountain Goats - Never Quite Free
4. Zaac Pick - Whitewater
5. Yuck - Holing Out
6. The Tallest Man on Earth - Weather of a Killing Kind
7. Ryan Adams - Dirty Rain
8. Laura Marling - My Friends
9. The War on Drugs - Best Night
10. Bright Eyes - Shell Games
11. Radical Face - Always Gold
12. Beirut - East Harlem
13. Carter Tanton - Murderous Joy
14. Air Review - America's Son
15. Michael McGraw - Poorboy
16. The Middle East - Land Of The Bloody Unknown
17. The Antlers - Putting The Dog To Sleep
18. Megafaun - State / Meant
19. Bon Iver - Holocene
20. Robbers On High Street - Monkey
21. The Whiskey Saints - Curtains
22. The Far West - Bound to Lose
23. Dan Mangan - Oh Fortune
24. James Vincent McMorrow - Sparrow and the Wolf
25. James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
26. Siskiyou - Twigs And Stones
27. Foo Fighters - Walk
28. The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
29. Iron & Wine - Walking Far From Home
30. Joshua Hyslop - If I Was a Better Man
31. J Mascis - Is It Done
32. Kurt Vile - Baby's Arms
33. Girls - Die
34. R.E.M. - It Happened Today
35. Fruit Bats - WACS (ft. J Mascis)
36. the august arrival - Through it all
37. Young Liars - Colours
38. Sporting Life - Immigrant
39. Alela Diane - To Begin
40. The Rest - The Last Day
41. William Fitzsimmons - The Tide Pulls From The Moon
42. The Rural Alberta Advantage - Stamp
43. Wye Oak - Civilian
44. Jim Ivins - House Of Three
45. Real Estate - It's Real
46. Snowmine - Curfews
47. David Thomas Broughton - Apologies
48. Creepoid - Old Tree
49. Cut Off Your Hands - You Should Do Better
50. The Dodos - When Will You Go
8tracks: Autumn Mix, Part 2
The second part of Given and Taken in Ink's autumn mix is now up on 8tracks:
Every time I make a new list, I think it's the best one I've ever done. Sometimes that's actually true. This just may be one of those times. There's the pure pop joy (no pun intended) of "Murderous Joy," the quirky brilliance of Siskiyou, and the weary rasp of Dan Mangan. I love the tranquility of "State / Meant" juxtaposed with the anxiously dreamlike "Curfews." "Ghost Towns" and "My Friends" are highlights of two masterful albums. And I can't get "The Lion's Roar" out of my head. So many great songs were released in the latter part of 2011; it's going to make my inevitable Best Songs of 2011 list much more difficult to write. Check out the whole thing on 8tracks, and please remember to "Like" it if you're enjoying it as much as I am.
Here's the entire playlist:
1. Carter Tanton - Murderous Joy
2. Siskiyou - Twigs And Stones
3. Creepoid - Old Tree
4. Dan Mangan - Oh Fortune
5. Megafaun - State / Meant
6. Snowmine - Curfews
7. Radical Face - Ghost Towns
8. Michael Beach - Straight Spines
9. Kurt Vile - Baby's Arms
10. The Mountain Goats - Thucydides II-58
11. Real Estate - Green Aisles
12. Elvis Depressedly - Mickey Yr A Fuck Up
13. The Black Keys - Lonely Boy
14. Caveman - Thankful
15. Hezekiah Jones - Borrowed Heart
16. First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar
17. Laura Marling - My Friends
18. J Mascis - I've Been Thinking
19. Tyler Ramsey - The Valley Wind
20. Air Review - Waiting Lessons
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