Zoe 2 [December 2006]

This is by far the oldest mix I've posted so far. It's also one of my favourites. Like my friend Jesse (whose Jesse 5 mix I posted a while back), Zoe is the other person I make birthday mix CDs for instead of giving actual gifts. Not that I think either of them mind. In fact, mix CDs aside, I can be a pretty mediocre gift-giver, so it's really a win-win for everyone involved.

That being said, if you want to be added to the birthday-mix-in-lieu-of-real-present list, just let me know. I'm more than happy to accommodate.

What I actually remember most about this mix is that, not long after I gave it to her, she requested another copy. Why? Because she lent it to a friend who, the story goes, loved it so much that she refused to return it. Which, despite being kind of a shitty thing to do friend-wise, was a pretty nice compliment for me.

Listening to it now, I'm mostly happy with it, though I'm not certain why I thought putting a "Love Will Tear Us Apart" cover on there was good idea (even one performed by a decent band like Calexico). Note to aspiring mix-masters: covers are cool (the weirder/rarer the better), covers of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (and, while we're on it, "Hallelujah") are, well... considerably less cool.

Also: remember Peter, Bjorn and John? Me neither. But they were pretty popular for about a minute there. I actually saw them open for Depeche Mode a few years ago (how I ended up there is a story for another blog-post).

One final note: I have never heard any other songs by Bound Stems but I think "Western Biographic" is pretty damn sweet.

Here's the track-list:

01. Swan Lake - "The Freedom"
02. TV on the Radio - "Snakes and Martyrs"
03. Band of Horses - "The Funeral"
04. Spoon - "Don't Let It Get You Down"
05. Joanna Newsom - "Peach, Plum, Pear"
06. Califone - "Our Kitten Sees Ghosts"
07. Bound Stems - "Western Biographic"
08. Modest Mouse - "Black Cadillacs"
09. Calexico - "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
10. Herman Dune- "When the Water Gets Cold & Freezes on the Lake"
11. The Hold Steady - "You Can Make Him Like You"
12. Sleater-Kinney - "Entertain"
13. The Thermals - "I Hold the Sound"
14. Sunset Rubdown - "The Empty Threats of Little Lord"
15. Peter, Bjorn and John - "Objects of My Affection"

And here's the download link:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=U26PIO47

Enjoy (and share).