10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
“Two Doves” by Dirty Projectors “O Please Bring Her Back” by Panda Bear “The Ballad of Lady Godiva” by King Khan and the Shrines “Love Lust” by King Charles “I’ll Be On the Water” by Akron/Family
If I had to choose my favorite of these mixes, this would probably be it. This was the first mix I made in college, squeezing it in between classes. I remember having my headphones plugged into my laptop in the DePaul’s Student Center so I could eat lunch while I put it together. Overall, I think this mix has the widest variety of songs. A true mix, I guess you could say. There are a few stripped down folky songs (“Rush Apart”, “Kickin’ Jams”, “I Saw Lightning”, “Two Doves”, “O Please Bring Her Back”), a spoken word piece (James Yorkton), and audio ripped from a clip from The Jerk (the ukulele and trumpet duet on the beach). This is also one of the more contemporary-heavy mixes, with only “Never My Love” and “Tonight You Belong to Me” being recorded before 1998. I was growing up and branching out of my comfort zones, music tastes included. 2011 – Age 19 1. “Another Green World” by Brian Eno 2. “Hold On” by Yellow Ostrich 3. “Romance Is Boring” by Los Campesinos! 4. “Love Vigilantes” by Iron & Wine 5. “Armchairs” by Andrew Bird 6. “German Love” by Starfucker 7. “Rise To Me” by The Decemberists 8. “The One You Really Love” by The Magnetic Fields 9. “Black Flowers” by Yo La Tengo 10. “Not Your Lover” by Blitzen Trapper 11. “The Twist” by Frightened Rabbit 12. “A Girl in Port” by Okkervil River 13. “With Strangers” by Little Joy 14. “These Days” by The Black Keys Late 2009 and early 2010 were good for me: I began to exercise and eat healthier, lost a lot of weight, and was living in my first apartment in Chicago. I was feeling confident and independent. A lot of these songs reflect that: “Romance Is Boring”, “Not Your Lover”, “The Twist.” There are a few sexy songs too, with “A Girl In Port”, “Armchairs”, and “These Days” being some of my go-to make out jams. Surprisingly, this is also the first mix to include The Magnetic Fields, who’ve recorded some of the cleverest and infectious love songs ever and are famous for their ambitious album 69 Love Songs. But in the end, as of this writing, they’ve appeared on more of my Valentine’s mixes more than any other artist. 2012 – Age 20 1. “All My Hollowness to You” by Tall Dwarves 2. “Feelings Called Love” by Wire 3. “Love’s Made a Fool of You” by Buddy Holly 4. “I Just Want to Make Love to You” by Etta James 5. “Made for Love” by Gene Austin 6. “Skeletons” by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. 7. “Too Much” by Sufjan Stevens 8. “Lonesome Hunter” by Timber Timbre 9. “If I Wanted Someone” by Dawes 10. “The Book Of Love” by The Magnetic Fields
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