The May Mix: Just Because I'm On Your Side

Hi. Nice to see you. Kidding. Like you're there. Everyone's gone away. 

Everyone is finally gone, right? Cool. Now we can get real up in here. For example, I'm oddly attracted to the woman's voice at the end of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, chanting that phrase over and over. Yeah. Her and the automated teller that seems to only live inside the WestBank ATM on Burlington. That's the only place I've heard that lovely British woman ask me to wait while my "tranZACKshun is PROHcehssing." Hot.

After most of the last year largely living on Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook, a blog post feels so formal. Hilarious. Have I alrdy topt 140 chars? Prolly. Whatev. Texting jokes are so topical. You get it because you're topical too. Like an ointment. Free association. I'm alone. Whatever.

But that's the nice thing about the blog, right? Especially now that there's no one to get bored by what I'm typing, I can just type and type about werewolf ninjas or how I'm pretty sure that my car got bugged during the campaign last fall. That's the only explanation I can come up with to explain the hiccup it occasionally makes. I really wish those guys would come and disconnect their device. I won't even ask any questions, like what it was that made me so critical to the campaign and whether their efforts foiled me or made sure I wasn't foiled. I just want to know what kind of pawn I was. For my resume.

For reasons I won't go into, these days find me with a bit of extra time and a truckload of killer music. I've already kicked a couple artists at people over Twitter and Facebook, but it's just not the same. So, here comes the first mix in I don't even know how long. Two years? Gotta be. Thanks for being patient.

A couple of highlights to note in the mix. First, there are 14 actual named tracks and 2 bonus encore tracks that will remain unnamed for reasons that will become obvious once you hear them. Let's just say this: If you've been following my Twitter, they shouldn't be too much of a surprise. I've mentioned the tracks each recently. A big thanks to the man J. Steiner, who's helped me stay plugged in with band rec's over these last couple years of my general acousticity, if you'll extend the conceit. Telekinesis and The Thermals are all him. Gracias.

The National track is new, taken from Dark Was the Night, an AIDS Benefit compilation, curated by one of the members of the band. I highly recommend the whole thing. Just as No Alternative was a pretty decent cross-section of the "indie" music scene in the early '90s, DWtN foots that bill more than 15 years later. Minutemen are one of those "where the hell have I been all these years" bands that smacked me over the head a few months ago. That track is from an amazing album, Double Nickels on the Dime, which everyone should be willing to sacrifice half their libraries to own. This is more than desert album material, this is rocket-ship-to-Mars levels of worthiness.

The May Mix, as always in individual mp3 or zip form, is below the fold. Enjoy.