Category: Five Song Mixtapes

“Indie Waltz”

The waltz is a time signature we are all familiar with (ONE two three, ONE two three), but it’s connotations are mostly with baroque ballrooms and high school dance classes. However, musicians continue to utilize the unique rhythm to this day, and here are a few examples that take the waltz into a new place. These aren’t your typical brush kit plus piano waltzes here.

1. Arcade Fire Crown of Love
2. Iron & Wine Flightless Bird, American Mouth
3. Bright Eyes False Advertising
4. Josh Ritter The Curse
5. Radiohead Wolf at the Door

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“Ohio”

We’ve all heard countless songs about Los Angeles and New York. We’ve gotten our share of songs about Texas, learned how great Chicago is, and listened to songs tell of streets in San Francisco. But I’d like to take this time to pay tribute to one of the lesser appreciated regions of our great country. With that, I present to you five songs written about the Buckeye State… Ohio. 1. Over the Rhine Ohio 2. The Low Anthem To Ohio 3. Sun Kil Moon Carry Me Ohio 4. The Ravenna Colt South of Ohio 5. Bob Miller Ohio Prison Fire

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“World Tour”

The premise here was simple: simple find a nice mix of songs wherein the band names reflected different countries, continents or providences around the world. I omitted cities and states because who knows, I may do a 50 states mix at some point in the future, or a City Life theme. Anything’s possible. At any rate… Enjoy!

1. Boards of Canada Music Is Math
2. Manitoba Skunks
3. Afrika Bambaataa Planet Rock
4. Portugal. The Man Lovers In Love
5. British Sea Power Man of Aran

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“Indie Falsetto”

I decided to limit the falsettos here to just the indie genre, though the likes of Roy Orbison, Prince, Frankie Valli and Michael Jackson belong in their own hall of fame altogether. Enjoy!

1. Sigur Rós Gobbledigook
2. Bon Iver Brackett, WI
3. The Low Anthem Charlie Darwin
4. Shearwater The Snow Leopard
5. Jeff Buckley Corpus Christi Carol

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“The Accordionists”

I know, the accordion may conjure imagery of going to the Wednesday night pot luck and polka at the local Lion’s Club with your grandparents, but the accordionists I’m referring to here are making music we youngsters can appreciate. I’ve never had a problem with this instrument, not in the way I loathe the saxophone, but enough about my peeves and how about the music? Enjoy!

1. R.E.M. You Are the Everything
2. Beirut La Llorona
3. Arcade Fire Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
4. Bowerbirds In Our Talons
5. Devotchka How It Ends

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“Mountain Music”

A simple theme this week: Songs about mountains. There are many to choose from, but I felt like this was a good mix. Enjoy!

1. Fleet Foxes Blue Ridge Mountains
2. M83 Dancing Mountains
3. Fionn Regan Snowy Atlas Mountains
4. Manitoba Kid, You’ll Move Mountains
5. Ryan Adams Magnolia Mountain

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“Indie Autotune”

Auto-tune. Vocoder. A sound we’ve come to associate with the hip-hop and R&B genre, with artists such as Kanye West, Jamie Foxx, T-Pain and others using and abusing the technique. Jay-Z wants it to die, but the indie genre has other plans. Here is a selection of tracks with an interesting and sometimes unexpected use of auto tune. Enjoy!

1. School of Seven Bells Chain
2. Animal Collective Summertime Clothes
3. Discovery Can You Discover?
4. Alaska in Winter Your Red Dress
5. Bon Iver Woods

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(This is a new section, which I plan to update weekly. Each week I will build a five song playlist around a theme. I will try to be as specific and unexpected as I can, while still offering up cohesive mixes. Enjoy!)

“Houndstooth Blues”

My very first theme is what I’m calling the Houndstooth Blues. Each of these songs conjured images of a lonely Scotsman in his bedroom on a rainy afternoon, thumbing his Houndstooth vest with vacant eyes gazing past his ruddy window sill. If you’re not sure what Houndstooth is, well, nevermind then!

1. Ed Harcourt Shadowboxing
2. Andrew Bird Armchairs
3. Duran Duran Ordinary World
4. July Skies The English Cold
5. Thomas Dybdahl One Day You’ll Dance for Me, New York City

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