Singles Club

The mixtape is an endangered species and an anachronism, duh. There was a time when making mixtapes was fun, exciting, and romantic. Well that time is now over as everyone just crams their iTunes full of songs. At least I know I do. Between Pandora and Shufflr, I barely know what artists I'm listening to, much less the names of the songs. I used to be religious about finding/owning the MP3 of a favorite tune but now I just keep an email draft with track names because it's almost easier to Google or Youtube a song on demand.

"In getting at why music is magic it makes an argument for all pop culture, for things that we assume are transient, whether that’s a chart-topping single or youth, sex, heartbreak, a glance across a room or the moment that just the right song hits your ears and you hit the dancefloor and just can’t pretend for one more second that you’re too cool."
-Phonogram is a comic about how music is magic-

Still, there are some tracks that stand out and just need to be shared. Plus, it is nice to load a curated playlist on your iPhone and drive away into the sunset -- or to the grocery store. So here's a bit of music that's been making my rounds this spring and summer. Featuring the vocal stylings of people you've probably heard of but I hadn't, including Siobhan Wilson, Freelance Whales, and Starfucker. With old favorites Ra Ra Riot, Mos Def, Mayer Hawthorne, and Peaches. Most of this stuff is pulled off my little "Listening to" blurbs. Enjoin.

(031) Sounds of Summer
Track list - Zip file
31 songs, 1 hr 50 mins, 164.5 MB
*I'd say listen to it sorted by the time column, short to long, but it really doesn't matter. The shuffle function helped kill the mixtape and I concede the point.

ps. I know the ideal mixtape is not thirty one tracks long, and it makes more sense to present something that could potentially fit on one compact disc. However, I already trimmed down from eighty four songs -- and tried to hit twenty five -- so it was just too painful. Think of this as a double album, like Tupac released post-jail with All Eyez On Me. I guess this summer has felt like jail in a way. But a luxurious jail located ten minutes away from the beach. It's all relative. Or you know what they say, "The medium is the message."