Mixtape Philosophy: It's Brighter When the Lights are Out

The saga of the mix club continues. For anyone tuning in late, some friends and I have an arrangement for swapping Spotify playlists every week or so. Tonight I posted my second contribution, a mix called "It's Brighter When the Lights Are Out." Like I did last time, I thought I'd post the mix and a walk through.

Some months ago, I found a couple tracks by Simon Dawes (L.A. band Dawes's previous incarnation) and really loved them so I decided to build this mix around "The Awful Things," which is a punky-er turn on the Dawes sound. That set me on a mission to find songs that recalled guitar-bent, west coast music from decades past. That was not hard to do. A few that came to mind immediately were Howler's "Back of Your Neck" which I posted about this summer, "Learn How to Hang" by David Vandervelde, and The Explorer Club's "Do You Love Me," which is an awesomely bizarre combo of the Beach Boys and Phil Spector, essentially.

I also got the chance to work in some Madi Diaz, and because Madi Diaz and Keegan DeWitt are linked in my mind, I followed it up with "Jonti" by Wild Cub. It's a killer track that gets better with every listen. I cant' say enough good things about its sounds and spirit. "Jonti" is also where I got the name for the mix. DeWitt sings, "I see it now, it's brighter when the lights are out." I thought that was a great lyric and great name for the mix.

Record label samplers, NoiseTrade, and the like also helped me out this time around and I really did make some good finds. For example, "It Lingers" by Cheyenne Marie Mize and "How I Roll" by Charlie Mars, both important for the mix in terms of tone and pacing. Speaking of which, I thought the first couple drafts lacked something. Tthe mix needed one more song early on to bring things down just a bit for the middle section. I took to the ever reliable Paste Magazine and almost right off the bat ran into an article about a band from California called Allah-Las that have a kind of sepia-tinged retro thing going on and it was a real "bingo" moment. "Vis-a-Vis" fit perfect.

For the first time I included an instrumental called "Native New Yorker" by Booker T. which set up perfectly for "The Awful Things," and that pretty much brings us back to the beginning.

I've embedded the Spotify playlist above. I hope you take it for a spin. Sometimes you make these things and have no idea if A) anyone heard it or if B) anyone liked it. Anyway. There you have it. The very latest in mixtape philosophy.

The Musically Inclined's Top 10 Finds of 2012

I’m always a little fascinated by end-of-year lists. First off, I love them. I love the manic rush behind them. There’s a strange sense that some kind of door is closing and we have a rapidly shrinking opportunity to backtrack and squeeze in everything that was good about the year into December’s remaining weeks. If you missed Jack White’s album Blunderbuss, get it now or don’t bother because it won’t exist in 2013.

In the middle of this frenzy, The Musically Inclined tries to keep it simple. The premise of this list is that you’ve already read all about Kendrick Lamar and whomever else, and the Shins are great but we’ve had them a while. There’s a lot of good stuff out there. These are songs carefully collected over the past twelve months that meet the following criteria:

1. Any artist or band TMI hadn't listened to before January '12.
2. Songs have to have a stick factor to survive the year. Catchy? Bouncy? Quirky? Sure, but mostly they just have to be solid. Doesn't hurt to be fun and mildly screwy, either.

Sound good? Hopefully there are some tunes in here you’ll enjoy or reconsider before... the end. Totally kidding. Here's the Spotify playlist. Scroll on.

1. This Girl : Punch Brothers

The first time I heard Who’s Feeling Young Now?, this was the song that brought me back for multiple subsequent listens. With quirky stringed flourishes and a clever story about a backslider praying to win the heart of a church-going girl, “This Girl” exemplifies the many reasons why bluegrass outfit the Punch Brothers breathes new life into an old genre. Few others play with the precision and zest necessitated by both the tradition of their genre and the spirit of their youth.

2. Everybody Knows : Vacationer

Summer came early this year, and even if the thermometers refused to wise up, Vacationer’s debut album Gone got us through the last throes of winter and straight into some Polaroid your dad took at the beach in 1970. Popping, crackling, looping, and dreamily drifting off, “Everybody Knows” should have shut down all other attempts to make summer music this year.

3. Something Good : Alt-J

A local disc jockey recently compared lead singer Joe Newman’s voice to Adam Sandler. He was right. And yet, with this uncomfortable detail in mind, we listen on. Alt-J generated a buzz storm circa CMJ for their strange can’t-look-away blend of folk and (what is it?). “Something Good” is dark and gorgeous, shifting and flowing to different places, teasing you to listen again to figure out what it is.

4. Generals : The Mynabirds

From the dirty guitars to the vocals both sultry and defiant, “Generals” channels great strength. This track roars.

5. The House That Heaven Built : Japandroids

Japandroids gave us one of the most energetic, flat out joyous records of the year. “The House That Heaven Built” best exemplifies their exuberance. Favorite lyric: “If they try to slow you down, tell ‘em all to go to hell.”

6. Jonti : Wild Cub

Keegan DeWitt is no stranger to the list, which might violate rule no.1, but I’m ignoring that because Wild Cub is DeWitt plus fellow Nashville musician Jeremy Bullock. And "Jonti" is awesome. The song retains all the cool sounds and spunk that landed “Say La La” on the list a few years back. Danceable and worth many listens.

7. Bright Whites : Kishi Bashi

You’ve probably heard this song on commercials pushing Windows 8 (surprisingly not an Apple product because it’s just that kind of song.) It’s upbeat, catchy and hand-clappy. Almost enough to make you consider buying a PC. Almost.

8. Time to Run : Lord Huron

For a while I made some kind of wrong assumption about Lord Huron, expecting their music to be inaccessible and meandering, like Bon Iver gone wrong. I couldn’t really tell you why. Instead what I found was a wonderfully rustic album, Lonesome Dreams. This song in particular moves and shuffles in the most appealing way.

9. Is Your Love Big Enough : Lianne La Havas

I love La Havas’s full sound. The song alternates between slinking and swelling. If you caught her on Letterman a week or two ago, she’s a pretty decent guitar player too. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that some serious attention will come her way in 2013.

10. I Love It : Icona Pop

Trashy and I love it. You should too.

Well, that's it. See above for the Spotify playlist and happy listening.