mixtape (september 2009)

Funny how her mouth tastes like linguine
Aimee Mann “That’s How I Know This Story Would Break My Heart”
Mark Lanegan “Pill Hill Serenade”
Elvis Perkins In Dearland “Slow Doomsday”
Ryan Adams “Harder Now That It’s Over”
The Rolling Stones “Sweet Virginia”
Yo La Tengo “When It’s Dark”
Dusty Springfield “I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today”
Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach “I Still Have That Other Girl In My Head”
Camera Obscura “James”
Bob Dylan “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”
Bright Eyes “First Day Of My Life”
M. Ward “Post-War”
Belle & Sebastian “The Boy With The Arab Strap”
Joni Mitchell “Cactus Tree”
Aretha Franklin “One Step Ahead”

Worthy ventures: Not being the most articulate motherfucker out there, I’m not surprised that I struggle most of the time to explain why making mixtapes is one of my favorite pastimes. Usually I just fumble along: last time I explained (or, over-explained) that it’s just like imaging doing a one-hour radio show or something. That’s not quite it, I think - plus I'm no Jack Frost -but this mixtape comes pretty close to that perhaps, a special hour show of familiar but unknown pleasures on some lost-highway radio station. I’m particularly fond of how the Ryan Adams song runs into the old Stones track. Randy Newman’s “I Think It’s Gonna Rain Today” is such a classic pop song, and I think I like Dusty’s version best; “Cactus Tree” is probably my favorite Joni Mitchell song of all-time, if I had to choose.