My car is an '04 Corolla that has no Bluetooth and no AUX. It has the radio and a CD player. Sure, I could get a new stereo system installed, but I've weirdly fallen back in love with the art of the mix CD. No matter how well they come together, Spotify playlists always feel unfinished to me, whereas with a mix CD, you finalize a playlist and actually create a physical artifact of it. Much more satisfying. Less practical, of course, but more satisfying.
So this is the most recent one that I've made, and it's a collection of some of my favorite songs that have been released this year so far. It's not comprehensive, and it definitely wasn't made for public consumption, but it hasn't left my CD player for two weeks now, and it's what I have for you. Here's a quick rundown of the track list. Sorry if this is weird, I don't know what the hell life is anymore.
1. Lætitia Sadier - "Cloud 6"
The last song on Rooting for Love, which is probably my favorite Sadier solo record. The abrupt, borderline jump-scare ending is brilliant.
2. Amaro Freitas - "Sonho Ancestral"
Brazilian jazz piano. Buoyant and reflective.
3. Grandaddy - "Long as I'm Not the One"
A shiny, mid-paced sad-sack ballad among a collection of shiny, mid-paced sad-sack ballads.
4. Gesaffelstein - "Hard Dreams"
Reminds me of the golden age of electroclash.
5. Chelsea Wolfe - "Whispers in the Echo Chamber"
From the whispered breakdown to the riff-y ending that quickly redlines: she's in her NIN era.
6. meth. - "Shame"
Devastating, merciless noise-sludge. Title track from what's probably my AOTY at the moment.
7. Mizu - "Pump"
Ambient cello/electronics/field recordings.
8. Itasca - "Tears on Sky Mountain"
Weightless, gently psychedelic folk rock. The song from which I lifted the pretentious name for this mix. Again, I wasn't planning on sharing this when I made it.
9. Julia Holter - "Something in the Room She Moves"
Y'all probably know this one.
10. Kelly Moran - "Dancer Polynomials"
Hypnotic, cascading piano.
11. Ildganger - "Dans Om Tomhedens Mund"
Depressive, atmospheric, anxious yet majestic, raw-ish black metal.
12. Elegý - "Ship of Hopes"
Melodic, epic DSBM/post-BM.
13. Lila Ehjä - "Rust"
Slow-burning electro-darkwave track that takes on a shoegaze-like wall of guitar as it progresses.
14. Six Organs of Admittance - "Slip Away"
A spacious, haunting, acoustic-led psych-folk elegy that tends to make me cry.
Hopefully this doesn't result in Google deleting my blog. Enjoy!
Great mix, I'm quite similar and still make mix CDs for my car. I like the format, the restrictions on length, the physical copy and the fact you can't alter it once you've made it.
ReplyDeleteThat Ildganger track is great. Never heard of them before.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100%! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeletegreat share today! still in the CD era over here. happy to see grandaddy in this mix
ReplyDeleteThanks for this! I have had a listen and I will be pursuing some of the artists(Lila Ehjä, Gesaffelstein, Mizu). Speaking only for myself, the list of songs (with the comments) would have been sufficient. All of this is probably available on Youtube
ReplyDeleteI adoooore the old mixtapes. Just for the record, I have a '05 VW, same: no bluetooth. However, I have a bt transmitter, works fine if you find a free FM frequency. I stream from my phone to the bt transmitter.
ReplyDeleteAmazing ish right here! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLet me just say that that I am a mix / mixtape / mix cd enthusiast and junky and maker from when I was a kid working with a dual tape deck and I still make mixes is analog ways as well as just like making a mix on iTunes, because I still use that, I don't do the streaming thing at all and I don't like mixes not built by humans. I've got hundreds and hundreds over the years and they are very precious to me. It's a fucking art that is lost in the modern world of nonsense and it is SO SO nice to see this post. I get it, I get you I love this. I'd be into more like this. It doesn't get more personal or give more of a picture of how someone's mind or heart or aesthetics work. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! On the off chance anyone who comes across this is a Deezer user, I've created your playlist there for anyone to listen to: https://www.deezer.com/us/playlist/12762700481
ReplyDeleteThat's cool, thanks for doing that! Wasn't familiar with this site, definitely gonna spend some more time with it. One note: it's missing the Kelly Moran song, track 10.
DeleteAdded!
DeleteFuck yes. Great post and mix.
ReplyDeleteAnyone into interesting playlists should have a look at oranglucky.blogspot.com - some amazing music to discover, loads interesting mixes made by Lucky over many years, although I see they only go back as far as 2022 on the site. I know he's been going a lot loger than that.
ReplyDeleteKelly Moran - Sodalis (II) is sublime... Thanks for link...
ReplyDeleteLove these personal mixes, there's usually something lurking inside that takes your breath away. Many thanks!
ReplyDeleteblack metal and indie rock, this blog is an awesome discovery!! thx from italy
ReplyDeleteСпасибо .сейчас послушаем
ReplyDeleteСпасибо сейчас послушаем
ReplyDeleteThank you .
ReplyDeleteMy car is an old Toyota Verso which I love for its CD player and I like listening to my friends' playlists on it.
ReplyDeleteYour blog takes me places I don't usually go and offers me nice surprises*.
I will take advantage of this summer selection, thank you very much!
*I just bought Lila Ehjä on Bandcamp.