Mix it up

Although I've been busy lately, I believe I am in a knitting rut. It will pass, I'm sure, but if you have any suggestions for what might pull me out of it, I'm open to them. Projects that utilize leftover yarn could be especially useful.

In the meantime I compiled a mix CD for a friend and thought I'd share the playlist. (I'm amazed that I unearthed links for each song.) My favorite songs from 2007 is the organizing principle, but I tried to shy away from singles, although not in all cases. Track selection was also based on length, how the songs flowed together, and my friend's tastes. (For instance, I figured he probably wouldn't care for anything off the latest Bloc Party album.)

I did many airshifts at the radio station when I was in college and served as music director and program director among my responsibilities. Upon graduation my intention was to find an on-air job with an eye toward programming. That career was not to be--a bullet I didn't realize I had dodged at the time--but I still enjoy sequencing songs and finding interesting juxtapositions.

This isn't quite as handy as a CD, but hopefully you'll enjoy some of the music below. (Note: I haven't vetted all the links. NSFW content should be minimal, but I probably wouldn't go cranking the Kanye West track in the office, especially if you're sensitive to a racial slur commonly used in hip hop.)

1. Modest Mouse "Dashboard" We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
2. The Apples in Stereo "7 Stars" New Magnetic Wonder
3. Fountains of Wayne "Strapped for Cash" Traffic and Weather

(Go to the band's site for a higher fidelity version. Currently this song is the first one to pop up in the player.)

4. Hugh Grant "PoP! Goes My Heart" Music and Lyrics soundtrack
5. The Go! Team "Grip Like a Vice" Proof of Youth
6. Spoon "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
7. Kelly Willis "The More That I'm Around You" Translated from Love

(The free download of the album version shows off the girl group influence that isn't heard in the acoustic performance linked above.)

8. Rilo Kiley "Silver Lining" Under the Blacklight
9. The National "Apartment Story" Boxer
10. The White Stripes "Conquest" Icky Thump
11. Feist "Sea Lion Woman" The Reminder
12. The Arcade Fire "The Well and the Lighthouse" Neon Bible
13. St. Vincent "Apocalypse Song" Marry Me
14. Kanye West featuring Dwele "Flashing Lights" Graduation
15. Air "Left Bank" Pocket Symphony
16. Radiohead "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" In Rainbows
17. Lily Allen "Friday Night" Alright, Still
18. The New Pornographers "My Rights Versus Yours" Challengers
19. Wilco "Side with the Seeds" Sky Blue Sky

(Worth a listen for Nels Cline's solo starting at the 3:35 mark)

20. I'm From Barcelona "We're from Barcelona" Let Me Introduce My Friends
21. Jens Lekman "Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo" Night Falls Over Kortedala