Every year for his birthday---in lieu of an actual gift---I give my roommate Jesse a mix CD. I don't remember when I started this tradition, though I imagine my finances were not in the best shape, but I do think there is something to be said for the lost art of making gifts. Too often, come birthday or holiday time, I am forced to select a present for this person or that person and, without much inspiration, I end up purchasing some item or another that, though enough to fulfill the great invisible gift-giving social contract, still feels, to me, somewhat... hollow.
In my eyes, mix CDs are a great alternative to all the charade and skulduggery that is modern gift-giving. Hell, they are as fun to make as they are to receive, especially if the recipient is that just-right kind of person who loves good music but, for whatever reason, can't seem to discover it on his/her own.
Like Jesse, for example.
The one I'm posting here, Jesse 5, is the latest (and definitely largest) of the Jesse mixes, crafted for the occasion of his 26th birthday. It's also the last one I intend to make him, at least for the foreseeable future. Why? Well, the kinda-downside to living with someone is that the awesome new music you're listening to doesn't sound quite so fresh to them after they hear you blaring it non-stop in the living room for weeks. So, I decided that---at least until we no longer share occupancy---this mix would be the last. Of course, this called for something special. But what? Then it hit me.
I had to attempt the oft-fabled double mix.
And so it began.
I don't prescribe to that many rules while making mixes, but I do follow one or two that I think help insure quality and originality. Here are a few of them:
1) Never start a mix with the first song from an album and never close a mix with the last song from an album (too obvious, too easy).
2) Never put two songs by the same artist on the same mix.
3) Never put the same song on mixes for two different people.
4) Always try and include at least two songs by female artists.
Though I admit to having broken all of these self-made rules at least once, this is, generally speaking, the code I live by.
Amateurs, take note.
To make things more complicated (for me), I've also established certain recurring rules for mixes made for specific people. Though it wasn't planned, the first two mixes I made for Jesse both contained 22 tracks. So, from the third one onward, all Jesse mixes contain 22 tracks. That's a lot of music, which usually means that CD-R is packed to the brim. It also means I have to get creative, finding cool shorter songs to fill gaps, and making sure longer songs earn their place.
All Jesse mixes also contain at least one Bob Dylan song, because Jesse (and everyone else, for that matter) needs to listen to more fucking Bob Dylan. I also occasionally find ways to sneak in even more Dylan via covers.
This mix in particular is also interesting because, similar to my Stoner Night Mix, it is separated into darker and lighter halves. Again, the first part (disc one) is filled with songs of a darker nature, more despairing and desperate both lyrically and musically than those found on the second part (disc two), which is considerably more hopeful and optimistic in tone. While this was challenging (and not totally rational, given the already lengthy list of criteria), it was definitely a refreshing experiment, and one that I think, in the long run, made for a more satisfying mix.
When I first began making mixes it was mostly a game of drag-and-drop from my mp3 library. As I got older, however, I began taking my time and paying more attention to detail; digging deeper for better and stranger songs while also discovering more and more amazing music in the process. That's another beautiful thing about mixes, they are for and about more than just the specific person you are making them for. They're also about the mixer himself (or herself).
For me, mix CDs are like musical time-capsules. They remind me of the things I've loved and the things I've lost, and how much (or little) I still have left.
And that's why I'm so very glad that I can begin sharing them with you. I sincerely hope that some of you enjoy listening to them as much as I enjoyed making them.
I sincerely doubt that's possible, though.
Here's the track-list:
Disc One:
01. Earth - "Tethered to the Polestar"
02. The Feelies - "Original Love"
03. Joy Division - "Passover"
04. Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Matt Sweeney - "Death in the Sea"
05. Sonic Youth - "Catholic Block"
06. Brian Eno - "Everything Merges with the Night"
07. The Mountain Goats - "Lovecraft In Brooklyn"
08. The Cars - "All Mixed Up"
09. Deerhunter - "Cassette Cathedral"
10. Black Flag - "My War"
11. Smog - "Bathysphere"
12. Mekons - "Club Mekon"
13. Antony & the Johnsons - "Hope There's Someone"
14. Wire - "Used To"
15. Art Brut - "Stand Down"
16. Radiohead - "Up on the Ladder"
17. Bob Dylan - "Cold Irons Bound"
18. Big Black - "Fish Fry"
19. Jana Hunter - "Recess"
20. Sebadoh - "Drama Mine"
21. Lifter Puller - "Star Wars Hips"
22. Sean Moriarty - "The Brown Thorn"
Disc Two:
01. The Futureheads - "Decent Days and Nights"
02. Neko Case - "Vengeance Is Sleeping"
03. New Order - "All Day Long"
04. Loudon Wainwright III - "The Swimming Song"
05. Dinosaur Jr. - "Freak Scene"
06. Taken by Trees - "My Boys"
07. Radiohead - "Lull"
08. Drive-By Truckers - "Self Destructive Zones"
09. John Cale - "Buffalo Ballet"
10. The Magnetic Fields - "Take Ecstasy with Me"
11. Lou Reed - "Nobody's Business"
12. Steve Reich - Nagoya Marimbas"
13. Big Star - "Thirteen"
14. Silkworm - "Dead Air"
15. Wilco - "Via Chicago"
16. St. Vincent - "Apocalypse Song"
17. Pixies - "I've Been Tired"
18. Fennesz - "Got to Move On"
19. Andrew Bird - "Fake Palindromes"
20. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - "Nothing Without You (Tery Bina)"
21. Yo La Tengo - "From a Motel 6"
22. Destroyer - "Don't Become the Thing You Hated"
And here's the (mammoth) download link:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=40JRMDSO
Enjoy (and share).
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