Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun: a melt-the-snow mix

Winter is officially upon us - the snow is dusting my front lawn as I type, and my heart is constantly threatening to cease blood-flow to my toes. I figure there's nothing better than a bit of music to heat up the atmosphere and bring some life back into the frozen corners of our homes and automobiles.

Here is a mix that might aid that effort. Merry Christmas!


1. Ce Matin-La / Air
2. D.A.N.C.E. / Justice
3. Seasun / Delorean
4. New Theory / Washed Out
5. In The Morning (featuring Andi Toma) / Junior Boys
6. As Serious As Your Life / Four Tet
7. Ready 2 Wear / Felix Da Housecat
8. Transformers (Ghosthustler Remix) / Futurecop!
9. All My Friends / LCD Soundsystem
10. Hello Jenn, I'm A Mess / Evangelicals
11. Fragile / God Is An Astronaut
12. No Comply / Studio
13. Baptism / Crystal Castles
14. Up, Up, Down, Down, L, R, L, R / Truckasauras
15. Windowdipper / Jib Kidder
16. A Paw In My Face / The Field
17. Don't Save Us From The Flames / M83
18. Flim / Aphex Twin

Download the full mix here.

Favorite Albums of 2010

20. KORT
Invariable Heartache

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19. Sam Amidon
I See The Sign

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18. Kanye West
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

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17. The Black Keys
Brothers

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16. Janelle Monae
The ArchAndroid

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15. Laura Veirs
July Flame

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14. Tame Impala
Innerspeaker

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13. Cotton Jones
Tall Hours in the Glowstream

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12. Wild Nothing
Gemini

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11. Flying Lotus
Cosmogramma

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10. Beach House
Teen Dream

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9. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy & the Cairo Gang
The Wonder Show of the World

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8. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti
Before Today

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7. Deerhunter
Halcyon Digest

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6. Sam Quinn
The Fake That Sunk A Thousand Ships

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5. Arcade Fire
The Suburbs

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4. Joanna Newsom
Have One On Me

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3. The National
High Violet

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2. Sufjan Stevens
Age Of Adz

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1. LCD Soundsystem
This Is Happening

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WILD MOUNTAIN THYME: an autumn mix

There are plenty of reasons to hate Fall. All the swimming pools are closing, school is beginning, things are dying, and winter is coming. But the general mood and overall spirit of the season make it my favorite time of year. It is a season of remembrance.

So here is a digi-mix for those who enjoy sustaining the color of autumn with some tunes. Enjoy!


1. Been So Long / Vetiver
2. Graceland (Paul Simon cover) / The Tallest Man On Earth
3. Spanish Pipedream (John Prine cover) / The Avett Brothers
4. Ol' Man River (cover of the Show Boat tune) / The Beach Boys
5. Sweet Black Magic / Ryan Adams
6. Jens Lekman's Farewell Song To Rocky Dennis / Jens Lekman
7. 1979 (Smashing Pumpkins cover) / HoneyHoney
8. Salvador Sanchez (Acoustic) / Sun Kil Moon
9. Thirteen (Big Star cover) / Wilco
10. Crayon Angels / Judee Sill
11. Sally Goodin / Heron
12. Saro (Traditional) / Samamidon
13. Dump The Dog / Loudon Wainwright III
14. Toboggan / Breathe Owl Breathe
15. Les Champs-Élysées / Joe Dassin
16. Into The Mystic / Van Morrison
17. Ooh La La / The Faces
18. Roll On Babe (Derrol Adams cover) / Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance
19. Buffalo / Mountain Man
20. Back to Tennessee / Christabel & The Jons
21. Walk Out / Justin Townes Earle
22. Horn / Nick Drake
23. Wild Mountain Thyme (William McPeake cover) / White Antelope
24. Communion Cups and Someone's Coat / Iron and Wine
25. The Beginner / Wheat
26. 1 John 4:16 / The Mountain Goats
27. You Should've Seen The Other Guy / Nathaniel Rateliff

Download the full mix here.

black dog, part one

Crickets rubbed their legs together somewhere in the monkey grass. The chirp always came from further away than four or five feet, for the noise stopped as soon as a large presence was felt. It really didn't matter how quietly he walked. It didn't matter if he was skinny and light and had all the little muscles in his feet trained to bend and bow and breathe in just the right rhythm. They knew he was there, not by sound, but by some other sense. It seemed the air must twinge and ripple with some force that only crickets detect. He was given away before he even knew what was in his plans.

He continued, however, to walk softly. There was no real reason to, but it was one of a few things at this point out of which he drew any measurable amount of pleasure. Unfiltered, rosy pleasure. He had, of course, learned to gain an amazing amount of perverse pleasure from other hidden things of a much more self-destructive bent, but he was not so far gone that the sweet satisfaction of moving across the earth unheard and unseen was beyond him. He still enjoyed sweeping his bare feet above the braille of the soft grass and twisted roots of the trees and the sharp ends of loose gravel in his driveway. As he moved, he wondered what the crickets were keeping secret. He wondered if their secret was as special as his own.

The shape of his car appeared. The moon wasn't glowing, but he had been in the darkness long enough and his night vision was engaged. He didn't know where he was going, but he proceeded with a specific, quiet purpose. He opened the door, threw himself in the front seat, groped for his keys in his pocket, slammed down the clutch and started the car. The top was already down and a fresh layer of midnight dew had settled inside the cabin. The steering wheel was wet, and he could feel the moist seat below him. He took in a healthy whiff of the condensation. It smelled like camping. He threw the car in gear and quietly coasted out of sight.

a new wave

Well, I've been married for over 3 months now, so I guess I should start posting on here again. I've been told many times over the past few years that I have a way with written word, but after being told several times in the past month that I really need to be doing something with it, I have begun a strict regimen of daily writing. (Not really strict, but it may become that way. Who knows?) And like most other young white men with a beard, a college degree and a laptop, I want to write the next Great American Novel... or at least the next indie novel that is made into a movie by the Coen Brothers. The fruit of those efforts will often end up on here, but not always.