Mixtape 5

Ok, I know I said I would post a new playlist each Monday but it was a busy week. So here it is, the last mixtape of '05. Let's get to it:



Mixtape 5



1. New Born - Muse
Good mixtapes kick your ass with the first track. You won't get up after this one.

2. Piazza, New York Catcher - Belle And Sebastian
Combines two of my favorite things: San Francisco and The New York Mets.

3. It's A Hit - Rilo Kiley
Frankly, it's the only song I've really listened to by Rilo Kiley, but it rocks.

4. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Death Cab For Cutie
Token Christmas song.

5. Deep Sea Diver - Grizzly Bear
Rebirth of The Beta Band.

6. You Vandal - Saves The Day
Big up to this band from my former scene.

7. Building - Sense Field
On every Sense Field album there is at least one upbeat track.

8. Get Big - Okkervil River
Song of the week (er, two weeks).

9. Never Understand - Jesus and Mary Chain
Finally, some good Jesus and Mary Chain on Rhapsody.

10. Cut Dead - Jesus and Mary Chain
Double take.

Mixtape 4

More upbeat than last week. The composition of this mixtape does not follow my typical fast-slow-fast-slow progression, but instead it's an good example of when the parts are greater than the sum. I'm totally fine with that.

In other news I found out yesterday that Lifetime, my favorite hardcore band from high school, is not only playing several more reunion shows (they broke up in '97, but played three reunion shows this summer), but will play them in California. On January 29th (one day before my birthday) they'll be taking SF by storm at Slim's. I already secured 4 tickets. I'm counting down the days.




Mixtape 4
(Requires a Rhapsody subscription for full access)




1. Glosoli - Sigur Ros
Atmospheric with a mighty crescendo. Classic Sigur Ros.

2. Get Over You - The Undertones
My second favorite Undertones song. The hook is the rhythm section in the chorus.

3. September Gurls - Big Star
I wish I had this on 8-track.

4. In The City - The Jam
A classic 80s song from 1977.

5. What Do I Get? - The Buzzcocks
You might have recognized this one from a recent car commercial.

6. Moscow - Orange Juice
Rounding out a 5 song block from the 70s is this catchy instrumental.

7. For Real - Okkervil River
My pick for song of the week 8 months over due. Better late then never.

8. Broken Breads - New Pornographers
My favotie Dan Bejar track from Twin Cinema.

9. Sock Hop - All-Time Quarterback!
A gem from this mediocore album.

10. A Long December - Counting Crows
For no other reason other then it's december.

Neutral Milk Hotel - Demos, Covers, and Live Songs

I recently uncovered a huge collection of demos, covers, and live mp3s from Neutral Milk Hotel. I decided to create a WebJay playlist and embed a flash mp3 player on this blog to play these songs. Just hit the play button. Enjoy!

Mixtape 3

The tracks on this playlist are more laid-back than normal--it was a rough week. Excellent choices nevertheless.





Mixtape 3
(Requires a Rhapsody subscription for full access)



1. Black Cab - Jens Lekman
He's typically compared to B&S. Try, but you won't get the chorus out of your head.

2. There's Too Much Love - Belle And Sebastian
Ah, how convenient--some B&S. Turn up the volume and let the spastic dance commence.

3. Fake Palindromes - Andrew Bird
The song that stuck the most after listening to his last album.

4. I Love How You Love Me (written by Phil Spector) - Jeff Mangum
The beginning of a Jeff Mangum (NMH) block. Excellent Phil Spector cover.

5. Engine - Jeff Mangum
Jeff's strength is his soulful vocal style, which shines on this track.

6. Naomi - Jeff Mangum
A hightlight from Neutral Milk Hotel's On Avery Island. Also check out Gardenhead.

7. Ole - The Bouncing Souls
Punk rock version of this classic futbol stadium anthem.

8. Per Second Second - The Wrens
In honor of last Friday's show.

9. Where Eagles Dare - Misfits
First of many Misfits appearances in this mixtape series.

10. Salesman at the Day of the Parade - Rogue Wave
A nice, breezy, catchy track from Rogue Wave's last release.

Mixtape 2

Back again. I decided to publish this one early since I'll be on vacation until Monday.

This was a short week so I had to dig deep, but the mix turned out great. Be sure to check out Oh Mandy by The Spinto Band--my favorite of the week.




Mixtape 2
(Requires a Rhapsody subscription)


1. Ziggurat Traffic (Without sample) - The Joggers
I can't figure out whether I like this band or not

2. Getting Nowhere Fast - The Wedding Present
I've been looking forward to listening to this album for awhile. This song was the first to catch my attention.

3. In This Home Of Ice - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Hypnotic and catchy with a great finish.

4. Someday You Will Be Loved - Death Cab For Cutie
One of the few highlights from Death Cab's new album

5. Gloria: In Excelsis Deo - Patti Smith
The female Iggy Pop?

6. Garageland - The Clash
WTF is a bullsh*t detector?

7. Complete Control - The Clash
Clash block. IMHO one of The Clash's top five songs.

8. Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues - Mclusky
Warning! Do not play this while driving.

9. Oh Mandy - The Spinto Band
You may have recognized the intro from a Sears commercial. Don't let that turn you off.

10. Nowhere Man - Low
Where is Alan Sparhawk on this track.

11. Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen
In honor of The Boss's 30th anniversary of his breakthrough album.

Mixtape 1

As promised, the first mixtape in a long line of weekly mixtapes.


Mixtape 1
(Requires a Rhapsody subscription)



1. California Uber Alles - The Dead Kennedys
Inclusion inspired by the Punk Rock Orchestra

2. Regress No Way - 7 Seconds
Old-skool hardcore

3. Just Like You - Weston
Every couple of years I come back to this album

4. Walking With A Ghost - The White Stripes
White Stripe's cover of Tegan and Sara's song of the same title. Pitchfork prefers WS--I think they're wrong

5. Jus A Rascal - Dizzee Rascal
Explosive track by this cockney-laden rap artist

6. Be My Head - The Flaming Lips
I espcially like the subtle use of echo on the vocals

7. Grey Ice Water - Sun Kil Moon
Mark Kozelek's slowed-down version of this Modest Mouse song illuminates the genius of Issac Brock's songwriting

8. At Least That's What You Said - Wilco
Live version of the best song from Wilco's last album

9. Pictures Of Matchstick Men - Status Quo
Timeless dreamy psych-pop from the 60's

10. Sliver (Solo Acoustic Demo) - Nirvana
The only version available on Rhapsody of this great Nirvana track

11. Lisa Says - Velvet Underground
Live version outshines the original

12. Soma - Smashing Pumpkins
Just in case you forgot about this album...

What about this idea for the blog?

On the ride home I began to think about my blog and how I haven't posted in over a week--ok, maybe it's been two weeks. The problem with blogs, especially ones that have no overriding theme is coming up with interesting, useful content to publish. Since I hadn't established a direction, it was very easy for me to neglect my blog and hence, no new messages in over a week.

So I came up with a plan. According to The Tipping Point, social epedemics are caused by three groups of people: mavens, salesmen, and connectors. Mavens are experts on a subject. Salesmen pursuade others on the merits of the subject. Connectors build and facilitate the social network for information to flow between people about the subject. I've recognized that I play the connector role in "tipping" trends in music--at least amongst my small group of friends.

My plan then is to create weekly "mixtapes", a Rhapsody playlist of ~10 songs published each monday. These songs can and will be anything I find interesting in that week period. New and old, obscure and popular, rap or rock--anything is fair game. My hope is that you will find my mixtapes interesting enough to come back each week to grab the next one. I may post about other topics, but as a guarentee you'll get a new mixtape every week.

Stay tuned...

NPR: Wikipedia, Open Source and the Future of the Web

I've just started listening to the webcast from today's Talk of the Nation, featuring Chris Anderson (Editor-in chief of Wired and long tail proponent), Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia), and Nicholas Carr (a major critic of IT). So far, so good. Here's the show's summary:

A new wave of Internet sites, like Wikipedia, invite their users to interact and contribute facts and opinion and edit each other. It's a more democratic way to present information. But is it more accurate?

University of Maryland -- Number 1 in....

... packing the stadiums. Hey, I'll take that. Go Terps!

Top 15 Albums Of The Year

I know we have 2 months to go until the end of December, but I've been thinking a lot about my favorites of the year so far. Why 15? There were too many amazing releases this year to narrow it down to 10. I've also included a Rhapsody link when available.

Here we go:

1. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Self Titled -
2. Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary -
3. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm -
4. Antony and the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now -
5. The Decemberists - Picaresque -
6. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema -
7. Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise
8. Iron and Wine - Woman King (EP)
9. Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better -
10. Rogue Wave - Descended Like Vultures -
11. Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock and Roll -
12. Spoon - Gimme Fiction -
13. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods -
14. Death Cab For Cutie - Plans -
15. M83 - Before The Dawn Heals Us -

Don't like my choices? Comment.

Where Have All of the Inventors Gone?

What happen to the Thomas Edisons, the Alexander Gram Bells, the Eli Whitneys of the modern era? We all know their names and what they invented, but what about the inventors of the products we use today? Who invented the computer, the DVD player, cell phone, or the internet (besides Al Gore)? Which inventors of the 20th century will 5th graders 100 years from now learn about?

I'm talking about the modern-day inventors here. Where have they gone? The ones slaving away in their basements with beakers, wire, and crazy contraptions, trying to discover the next best thing to make life easier, better for the rest of humanity?

I've puzzled over this question for the last couple of years and I've settled on three possible theories:

1. They work for corporations or well-funded organizations which take credit for their work. I know that Sony invented the Walkman, but I have no idea who within Sony came up with the idea.
2. They've turned into computer programmers. Significant software development is still possible without the support of a corporation or well-funded organization. Shawn Fanning (Napster) and Bram Cohen (Bittorrent) were capable of making products used by millions of people from the chair of their desk.
3. Modern society has lost the inventor spirit. Do we know who invented the light bulb because at the time of the invention to create such a life changing product elevated you to rockstar status? Now we have real rock stars to follow. Modern society is no longer interested in the personalities of inventors.

I'm personally going with theory 1 for now. Any other ideas?

Viral Education

Did I just coin a new term?

A Great Example of Social Software

Have you ever wanted to do something, but backed down because your friends or family wouldn't join you? I can't even count the number of great concerts I missed out on because I couldn't find anyone to go with.

Pledgebank aims to solve this problem--and i'm not just talking about increasing the number of concert goers. You pledge that you'll do X given that Y people also do X. Most of the pledges are for noble causes--blood donation, purchasing a hybrid vehicle, donating money to a charity in need. I'm not sure if this will work the way as planned, but it has the potential to be something great.

Wired News: E-Tutors: Outsourcing the Coach

First tech support, then application development, and now education. America's world dominance is slowly shrinking as the service industry, one of our last main competitive advantages in the global economy, is slowly slipping away. I think it's great--it keeps the US on its heals and forces us to be more aggressive in investing in education and technology.

Wired News: E-Tutors: Outsourcing the Coach

Great Stone Roses track

If I could only run one application on my computer it would be Rhapsody. It's the perfect product for a music lover--especially one that loves to channel surf. I've tried both Yahoo's Musicmatch and Napster's subscription based services, and they all pale in comparison. Rhapsody is the perfect combination of speed, usability, quality, and quantity.

You can even blog tracks. Like this one: Made Of Stone - The Stone Roses

Lists will set you free

I spent the sunday indoors, but it was great--I got so much done. Woke up, took a shower, and got to work on a list of 40 or so errands that I wanted to get done. By committing myself to this list I was able to stay focused. At the end of the day I was able to measure my progress and it was real--about 60% of what I wanted to do I accomplished. Lists are great.

BTW, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are amazing--I've been listening to them nonstop since they showed up on Rhapsody early in the week. Listen to this live show from Mornings Become Eclectic.

First Post

This is my first post. Right now I have nothing to say.