Tracks

  1. Welcome to the Soft.Lightes — The Incredible Moses Leroy
    from The Incredible Moses Leroy Become the Soft.Lightes, 2003

    I heard "Country Robot/Song for Dorothy" (which you'll hear on a mix some day for sure) on KEXP in '03 and was instantly hooked. I still listen to this album fairly often, though sadly the band lost something in their transformation into The Soft.Lightes.

  2. Crooked Legs — The Acorn
    from Glory Hope Mountain, 2007

    Yet another KEXP discovery, I heard this band on Kevin Cole's show and was intrigued by their straightforward, raw and heartfelt approach to neo-folk. I especially appreciate that it's not freak-y (even if I like that kind of folk too).

  3. New Orleans Instrumental No. 1 — R.E.M.
    from Automatic for the People, 1992

    I swear I don't try to put an R.E.M. song on every mix… it just happens that way. This is one of my all-time favorite instrumental tracks from any rock band, and of course it appears on my all-time favorite album.

  4. Lying — The Twilight Singers
    live on KEXP, 2004

    Seriously, where would I be without KEXP? I don't even listen to it all that much anymore—I'm too busy listening to my own music mixes—but when I do I always find something new and wonderful, like this unreleased gem from Greg Dulli.

  5. Deep Blue Sea — Grizzly Bear
    live on Morning Becomes Eclectic, 2008

    I got this semi-recent live session from Grizzly Bear because I dearly, dearly love "While You Wait for the Others" (currently in the running for song of the year), but I'm entranced by this tune as well, which originally appeared last year on the Friend EP.

  6. Gagging Order — Radiohead
    from Go To Sleep, 2003

    This is saying something, yes, but this is quite likely my favorite Radiohead song ever. The quietude of it pulls me in, and then the gut-wrenching lyrics swallow me whole. For real. It's that good.

  7. The Pull — The Microphones
    from It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water, 2000

    Thank yous for this track go to, of all places, Amazon. Back when they had a smattering of free tracks to download (and back when you could actually browse an mp3 catalog in a few hours), I stumbled upon this. I'm still not quite sure how I feel about the rest of Mr. Elvrum's output, but this song gets me every time.

  8. Ramshackle — Beck
    from Odelay, 1996

    A deep cut from Beck's most famous record, Ramshackle is a welcome bridge between the Beck of old (One Foot in the Grave) and future (Mutations).

  9. Flume — Bon Iver
    from For Emma, Forever Ago, 2008

    Here's another artist you're likely to see on my best of 2008 in about 6 months. On first listen, I found this and other tracks off the album a little plain. Months later I can't stop listening to these terribly sad songs that somehow make me happy.

  10. The Past and the Pending — The Shins
    from Oh, Inverted World, 2001

    I kind of cheated with this one, because this song I always used to associate with the fall, mostly for that first line… but it just worked so well between Bon Iver and Nada that I had to sneak it in. Besides, this is early Shins at their shimmery best.

  11. Blonde On Blonde — Nada Surf
    from Let Go, 2003

    I always knew this song would be on this mix. In fact, I think I crafted everything around it. Something about it always screamed summer rain to me. I suppose it could be a wet fall day in NYC, but truthfully, that just doesn't sound quite as romantic.

  12. Perfect Disguise — Modest Mouse
    from The Moon & Antarctica, 2000

    I was a late-comer to the Modest Mouse party. I didn't really get them for a long time. Then I heard "Float On." And "Ocean Breathes Salty." And "Paper Thin Walls." When I eventually got around to buying this album, this tune was the ultimate proof: I finally get it.

  13. Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl — Broken Social Scene
    from You Forgot It In People, 2003

    I remember getting this album from my friend Laura about four years ago. I think I fell asleep to it on the flight home from New York. I didn't listen to it again until a couple years later. Now I'm just making up for lost time.

  14. The Lemon of Pink — The Books
    from The Lemon of Pink, 2003

    I got this album from Laura too, I think on the same mp3 CD even as BSS. I never could wholly get into The Books' found-object approach to music-making, but this song hit me on first listen and never stopped. I could listen to this all day.

  15. Dark State of Mind — Tuatara
    from Breaking the Ethers, 1997

    Tuatara is/was a side project for Barrett Martin & Peter Buck, among others. They pretty much tread entirely in this atmospheric world-meets-cinematic-score stuff; it's all instrumental. I used to listen to it a lot in high school, but not so much anymore. Shame, really.

  16. Aqueous Transmission — Incubus
    from Morning View, 2001

    All you haters can eat your crow: Incubus is actually pretty good. Or at least was. I kind of lost interest after this album, but boy is this one great from start to finish. I love the reedy noises and frogs here, and how the tone they set really does sound like "floating down the river."

  17. Tone Twilight Zone — Cornelius
    from Point, 2002

    Cornelius is this random Japanese dude who makes odd, semi-dissonant, occasionally mellow electro-pop. My favorite tracks are ones like these, towing the line between natural and digital.

  18. Slow Jam — Four Tet
    from Rounds, 2003

    Big props to Laura this time out, because I'm pretty certain she introduced me to Four Tet, too (though I think it was with their previous record, Pause). A perfect example of the union between acoustic and electronic sounds, Rounds might be my favorite instrumental album of all time.

cover: Columbia / May 25, 2008 / The Gorge, Quincy, Wa