in: heavy rotation

The Dunce Cap: April 19, 2010

in: heavy rotation

Image courtesy of chrispartida.com.

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 4: It’s good having somebody good for a change.
(mix via 8tracks)

  1. “Heroes and Villains” – The Beach Boys
  2. “Kiss With a Fist” – Florence + The Machine
  3. “I Just Love You More” – Kate Nash
  4. “Sleep All Summer” – St. Vincent and the National
  5. “Cannibal Queen” – Miniature Tigers
  6. “Suzanne” – Weezer
  7. “Pachuca Sunrise” – Minus the Bear
  8. “Holiday” – The Films
  9. “A Well Respected Man” – The Kinks
  10. “The Light is You” – Said the Whale

As promised, The Dunce Cap presents this week’s second spectacular playlist, courtesy of RTVF 230. An intimate look at subcultures inspired this particular mix, with a number of familiar artists who once straddled the cusp between popularity and utter obscurity. Among these tracks are my favorite Kinks single (and a plug for Do it Again, the documentary which seeks to reunite the Kinks and has me beyond excited!), a beloved Weezer B-side, a new Kate Nash song and a very Brian Wilson-heavy Beach Boys tune. I love the Florence + the Machine track, and, in re-listening to her voice, I realized I’d been digging her for a while. Who knew?

Check out the mix, and look out soon for a profile on the excellent Downtown Sound free summer concert series.

Happy listening, and happy weekending!

The Dunce Cap: the birthday special edition!

in: heavy rotation

"I would like you to dance (birthday)."

[image courtesy of etsy]

You say it’s your birthday.

Today is my last day as a teenager. I am, in fact, 1.5 hours (30 minutes in home EST) from reaching my third decade of life. Excited? Definitely. And, for that, this week The Dunce Cap provides you with not one but two mixes.

This playlist is certainly a bit more focused and themed than most, and the tracks (particularly the last two) explore the juxtaposition between excitement and utter fear in reaching adulthood. I am the birthday girl!, and it’s certainly daunting to consider that, when prompted for my age, my response will now be a concise “TWENTY.”

So, in an ode to old(er) age and maturity and impending graduation, etc., I have compiled a list of songs about growing up happy. Really. It’s truly that simple. From the lightheartedness of Harlem Shakes to the enduring excellence of Patrick Stump (really), these are tracks of a moment, this moment, the moment of my 20th birthday. It’s been a whirlwind year of fisticuffs (only occasionally literally) and laughter, the charisma of a serial heartbreaker and realizing that I’m not, much to my chagrin, the same person I was when I was 16.

A toast to twenty, to a new year and the end of an era of youth. Terrifying, really. I suppose I’ll have to retire John Hughes and develop a deeper affinity for P.T. Anderson, and perhaps it’s about time I stop quoting J.K. Rowling and calling it art.

Happy birthday to me.

The Dunce Cap, special birthday edition: Long live Sunday seekers slack-jawed by the speakers.
(mix via 8tracks)

  1. “Birthday Girl” – The Roots
  2. “Sunlight” – Harlem Shakes
  3. “Yoo Hoo” – Imperial Teen
  4. “Walk on the Wild Side” – Lou Reed & the Velvet Underground
  5. “Blue Sky” – Hanson
  6. “Bicycles” – The Maccabees
  7. “Lump” – The Presidents of United States of America
  8. “Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe” – Okkervil River
  9. “Young Adult Friction” – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
  10. “I’m an Adult Now” – The Pursuit of Happiness

Happy listening.

(editor’s note) I have been told today is my “golden birthday,” as I am turning 20 on the 20th. This, I believe, calls for a super-special birthday celebration.

To a year of continued happiness.

The Dunce Cap: April 12, 2010

in: heavy rotation

Coca Cola summer 2009 ad campaign

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 3: Maybe you try to be pretty instead of kind.
(mix via 8tracks)

  1. “Summer Shakedown” – Slow Club
  2. “Whatever You Like” – Anya Marina
  3. “Heartbeat Radio” – Sondre Lerche
  4. “D.A.N.C.E.” – Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
  5. “Let Your Love Grow Tall” – Passion Pit
  6. “Back and Forth” – The Bright Light Social Hour
  7. “Styrofoam Boots/It’s All Nice on Ice, Alright” – Modest Mouse
  8. “Artificial Light” – Rainer Maria
  9. “The Summer” – Josh Pyke
  10. “That Time” – Regina Spektor

Hey there, kids! Get ready for a lesson in musikal edukation! In this week’s mix, The Girl with the Dunce Cap presents new artists! B-sides! songs from the back catalog! and the much-loved genre-crossing cover song. These songs make me want to smile and dance and throw my hands in the air and yell “WOOOO” at the top of my lungs.

Basically, I hope you love them as much as I do.

Happy listening.

The Dunce Cap: April 5, 2010

in: heavy rotation

I am quite pleased with this week’s mix. It’s got eight solid artists, a couple of covers and a delicious new track from one of my favorite artists, The Morning Benders. So, without further ado, The Dunce Cap, Vol. 2, presented as a playlist by 8tracks:

Natalie Dee comics

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 2: Slow it down, make it stop, or else my heart is going to pop. Just enjoy the show.
(mix via 8tracks)

  1. “You Can Make Him Like You” – The Hold Steady
  2. “Gravity Rides Everything” – Lenka
  3. “ONE” – Yeasayer
  4. “Let Forever Be” – The Chemical Brothers
  5. “The Past and Pending” – The Shins
  6. “You Wear It Well” – Rod Stewart
  7. “Excuses” – The Morning Benders
  8. “Gold Digger” – Glee Cast (OST)
  9. “The Show” – Lenka
  10. “You Gotta Dance (With Who You Came to the Dance With)” – The Hold Steady

This mix is a little bit different from the last. It’s chocked full of bizarre-o tracks that make me jive&dance&shake, some from television shows I’m excited about (“Gold Digger” from “Glee”) or movies I love (“The Past and Pending,” from “Garden State”), and even artists whose albums I’m highly anticipating (The Hold Steady). I hope you enjoy it.

I’m not linking each of the tracks to YouTube or the ilk because I hope to send some traffic to 8tracks. Check it out – it’s a fun playlist-making and listening site!

Happy listening.

(editor’s note – you can also link to the mix by clicking on the photo/album art!)

The Dunce Cap: March 29, 2010

in: heavy rotation

Jesse Freidin Photography

Here are ten tracks I’m listening to in heavy rotation for the week of March 29, 2010:

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 1: Dig your heels in, little girl.
(mix via 8tracks)

  1. “Daylight” – Matt & Kim
  2. “This Tornado Loves You” – Neko Case
  3. “Ignition (Remix)” – R. Kelly
  4. “Sequestered in Memphis” – The Hold Steady
  5. “Going to Georgia” – The Mountain Goats
  6. “Trash Day” – Butch Walker & the Black Widows
  7. “Hellhole Ratrace” – Girls
  8. “re: Stacks” – Bon Iver
  9. “Float On” – Goldspot
  10. “Me and You” – She & Him

Give this mix many, many spins. Really catchy and sunny – mostly – and full of artists I adore.

This will be a new series I’ll try and update once a week (Thursdays seem like a solid day, so expect that for now). I’d definitely appreciate any and all comments on the tracks, etc.

Leave ’em.