Songs for Your Existential Crisis

"The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules."

As with Kath's last playlist, I encountered a problem with Mixwit's selection of music, as it is sometimes unfortunate. That being said, this tape is a bastardized version of its true form. I will post the completed list as always, and feel free to contact us to get a full version.

Apart from the technicalities, this tape is the soundtrack for your existential crisis. Have fun with that, by the way... I tried to create a mix with the feeling of being lost, being moody, being confused, and being in crisis. The styles of music vary from folk, to rock, to death-country, to... well, Beirut.

Enjoy.

original track list
01. "Gulag Orkestar" - Beirut (Gulag Orkestar)
02. "My Body is a Cage" - Arcade Fire (Neon Bible)
03. "Both Crosses" - The Hold Steady (Stay Positive)*
04. "King's Crossing" - Elliot Smith (From a Basement on the Hill)
05. "Dramamine" - Sun Kil Moon (Tiny Cities)
06. "Tatou" - Brand New (Deja Entendu)*
07. "Hospital Beds" - Cold War Kids (Daytrotter Session)
08. "The Cold Part" - Modest Mouse (The Moon and Antartica)*
09. "Chuckwagon" - Elliott Brood (Mountain Meadows)*
10. "The Pelican" - Menomena (Friend and Foe)
11. "Dilaudid" - The Mountain Goats (The Sunset Tree)
12. "SW" - Blonde Redhead (23)
13. "Leif Erikson" - Interpol (Turn on the Bright Lights)
14. "The Swell Season" - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (The Swell Season)*
15. "This Place is a Prison" - The Poastal Service (Give Up)
16. "Nude" - Radiohead (In Rainbows)
17. "Going, Going, Gone" - Stars (Nightsongs)*
18. "Zombie" - The Cranberries (Stars)
19. "The Apartment Song" - Do Make Say Think (Goodbye Enemy Airship)*
20. "Gouge Away" - Pixies (Wave of Mutilation)
21. "Wolf Like Me" - TV on the Radio (Return to Cookie Mountain)

sweat, sunset (sex you regret already) -- july 15 / 08

First, a caveat: so many songs are missing on the Mixwit incarnation of this mixtape that it actually pains me to post it. For the sake of aesthetics, I'm still posting the nifty little tape, but if you even remotely like what you hear/see on the playlist, ask me, and I will give you the zip, because there are some gems of obscure little songs that generally comprise the heart of the mood. (anyone playing a drinking game with this blog: drink!) Consider this mixtape a spin-off in a different direction from the brash (and awesome) "Bend Over".

This mix is one part obsession, one part dilemma; two parts a humid summer night and beads of sweat standing distinct and potent on a shoulder blade; three parts the act; all regret. It begins with a tangled sense of euphoria and impending disaster, and almost revels in the glory of misdeeds, the regret already tangible but suffused with heat. The second half finds, subdued, the gritty taste of consequence and self-loathing. This is how physical contact becomes martial, a study in subdued aching violence.

"Betrayals in war are childlike compared with the betrayals during peace. New lovers are nervous and tender, but smash everything. For the heart is an organ of fire."

original track list
o1. "Sticky" - Willard Grant Conspiracy (Mojave);
02. "Tonight" - Ryan Adams (Cold Roses); *
o3. "I've Made Enough Friends" - The Wrens (Secaucus);
o4. "Like a Friend" - Pulp (Great Expectations OST);
o5. "The Moth" - Aimee Mann (Lost in Space);
o6. "Strong Chemistry" - David Wilcox (Big Horizon); *
o7. "I'm Your Man" - Leonard Cohen (The Essential Leonard Cohen);
o8. "Yes" - Coldplay (Viva La Vida, or Death and All His Friends);
o9. "Playhouses" - TV on the Radio (Return to Cookie Mountain);
10. "Mess We're In" - PJ Harvey feat. Thom Yorke (Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea);
11. "Rapture" - Pedro the Lion (Control);
12. "Obstacle 1" - Interpol (Turn on the Bright Lights);
13. "Beautiful Lie" - Yoav (Charmed and Strange);
14. "One More Night (Your Ex-Lover Remains Dead)" - Stars (Set Yourself on Fire);
15. "Title Track" - Death Cab for Cutie (We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes);
16. "Skin Is, My" - Andrew Bird (The Mysterious Production of Eggs);
17. "Whitewashed" - Lilium (Short Stories); *
18. "The First Time You're Unfaithful" - Arab Strap (Philophobia); *
19. "Wrong Choice" - The Lovely Feathers (EP);
20. "Fuck Was I" - Jenny Owen Youngs (Batten the Hatches);
21. "What's a Girl to Do?" - Bat for Lashes (Fur and Gold);
22. "How Soon Is Now?" - The Smiths (Singles);
23. "As Ugly As I Seem" - The White Stripes (Get Behind Me Satan);
24. "Scotch Grove" - The Mountain Goats (The Coroner's Gambit);
25. "Dirty Half" - David Byrne (Lead Us Not into Temptation); *
26. "A Thousand Kisses Deep" - Leonard Cohen (The Essential Leonard Cohen);
27. "Leave You on the Pavement" - Catherine Feeny (s/t);
28. "Start a War" - The National (Boxer); and
29. "9 Crimes" - Damien Rice (9);

NOTE: Cassette Shelf only endorses mixtape repeats of the same artist if said artist is: Leonard Cohen and the Beatles.
ALSO NOTE: Yes, Kath will have The Mountain Goats on every tape.