bishop allen

The Dunce Cap: May 23, 2011

in: heavy rotation

My pup, my muse

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 34: Making time for ourselves and of ourselves isn’t love if we are selfishly prude. (click on link to listen to mix via 8tracks)

1. “The Weekenders” – The Hold Steady
2. “My Body” – Young the Body
3. “C’mon” – The Soft Pack
4. “You Oughta Know” – Das Racist
5. “Take Off Your Sunglasses” – Ezra Furman and the Harpoons
6. “Miss Teen Wordpower” – The New Pornographers
7. “I’d Have It Just the Way We Were” – White Denim
8. “If I Keep On Loving You” – Let’s Wrestle
9. “Chasing Pavements” – Adele
10. “Things Are What You Make of Them” – Bishop Allen

Oh hai, guys. I’m back two days in a row! It’s a non-Christmas miracle! And, to top it all off, I’ve got an 8tracks up on a Monday! Guys. This is a momentous evening.

But anyway. Enough gushing about punctuality and keeping promises. I’ve made this truly delicious mix, starting with one of my top three favorite Hold Steady songs (“The Weekenders” has pretty incredible lyrics – “She said the theme of this party’s the Industrial Age/And you came in dressed like a train wreck” seems to describe me in fairly great detail) and ending with a delightful Bishop Allen tune (“Things Are What You Make of Them” is allegedly about a really sour relationship). The year is winding down here, so I’ve got to be listening to some jams to get me through Reading Week and finals, and I think this mix is chocked full of ’em.

Not a whole lot more to say. There will be more on the way soon, I think and I hope and I wish.

Happy listening.

P.S. This photo is of my dearest pup, Chaucer, provided by my mother. She’s been living sans television and Internet access since the fire, and she’s just had dear ol’ Buster Baxter for company. So, this photo’s accompanying text message?

“…and for this evening’s live entertainment, we have a golden retriever incessantly humping his bed.”

Classy as always.

The Dunce Cap: August 16, 2010

in: heavy rotation

Marshall's very own Presidential Rob Scrawl!

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 21: You snooze, you lose. Well I have snost and lost. (listen to mix via 8tracks)

1. “I Hear the Bells” – Mike Doughty
2. “Everything Shines” – The Push Stars
3. “The Same Fire” – Bishop Allen
4. “How’s Your Sister?” – Flick
5. “Carry the Zero” – Built to Spill
6. “Shake the Sheets” – Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
7. “Banned (By the Man)” – Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin
8. “Wish You Were Here” – Ryan Adams
9. “The Lonely 1” – Wilco
10. “In the Beginning” – The Stills

This is an itty, bitty sleepy mix. Mostly. Let’s just say – this ought to be quite the departure from the past few mixes, so imbued with Craig Finn‘s sexy/raspy voice.

It’s been a hectic week here in Lalaland, and I’m jonesin’ for a playlist that’ll soothe my nerves – not increase them. There’s energy in these songs, sure, but there’s also a particular sonorous quality to each of these. Y’know, they make me want to sing along, still, but softly. Except “How’s Your Sister?” But that should go without saying, right? There’s a lyric “Now I – I’m just asking. There ain’t no reason for you to get uptight.” It’s an unnecessary little ditty. And it, of course, requires a louder voice. And, oddly, Flick is a band I can’t seem to find anything about online. This track is from the Cheap Date compilation.

But, seriously. There’s Mike Doughty (yes, from Soul Coughing. And, yes, this track is from one of the most famous scenes in this show I kind of like. Maybe you’ve heard of it. It’s called Veronica Mars.), and SSLYBY and The Push Stars (this sunshine-y song from the There’s Something About Mary soundtrack nearly makes up for the fact that a Google search for the band returns a glowing endorsement from Mr. Matchbox Twenty). It’s a pretty solid mix of tracks to make you smile and feel generally loved. Especially if you don’t pay too much attention to the lyrics. It’s all in the melody this week.

Happy listening, y’all.

Also – Reblogged from Confessions of a Pioneer Woman

The Pioneer Woman's dog Charlie

My dear pal Mike sent me this treasure. It’s from the The Pioneer Woman, a site I enjoy immensely. In this one, she combats the yawn-inducing country life with a little pet experiment. This one’s from June ’09, long before I started to read. It’s a major winner! Check it out at her site.

The Rob Scrawl: The 10 Best Tracks of 2010

in: heavy rotation, in: tens

Hoorah! What a marvelous day – a dual (a double, not a challenge) post. It’s a Dunce Cap top ten, the best tracks of the year (in my personal opinion). It’s a Rob Scrawl with a twist: An in tens (too cheesy?) playlist capturing the best songs of the year (as determined July 19, 2010). And, of course, WordPress still isn’t permitting users to embed 8tracks into a new post, so hosting on the other site’ll have to suffice.

Click the photo or link below to listen.

The best font ever!, courtesy of Core77

The Dunce Cap Special Edition: 10 Best of ’10: It’s a Hollywood summer. You never believe the shitty thoughts I think. We belong in a movie. (listen to mix via 8tracks)

My 10 favorite tracks of the year:

1. “O.N.E.” – Yeasayer
2. “Factory” – Band of Horses
3. “Good to Be” – Magic Kids
4. “Conversation 16” – The National
5. “Someday Soon” – Harlem
6. “Don’t Look Back” – She & Him
7. “Excuses” – The Morning Benders
8. “Crazy for You” – Best Coast
9. “Gold Skull” – Miniature Tigers
10. “Pretty Melody” – Butch Walker

This isn’t a playlist in need of too much explanation, so give the pretty list a whirl. 2010’s been a fair year for music, and a lot of my favorite artists were back in full force. The rest of the year is sure to be kind to my ears, with upcoming releases from Arcade Fire, Wavves, Klaxons, Of Montreal, Belle & Sebastian and many, many more (Pitbull!). And that Miniature Tigers album is going to be bomb. I fell in love with Tell it to the Volcano after seeing the band open for Bishop Allen, and the early sounds of Fortress, which hits stores Tuesday, seem even more mature and catchier than their first full-length.

And speaking of albums, I do, as a matter of fact, have a list of my favorite albums of the year thus far!

Critical darlings The Hold Steady, whose sonorous Heaven is Whenever made my Top 10 list.

My 10 favorite albums of the year:

LCD Soundsystem – This is Happening
The National – High Violet
The Hold Steady – Heaven is Whenever
Beach House – Teen Dream
Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
The Morning Benders – Big Echo
Jonsi – Go
Marina & the Diamonds – The Family Jewels
Phantogram – Eyelid Movies
Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

And a hilarious piece from Saturday’s Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! featuring The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn: Craig Finn of The Hold Steady Plays Not My Job

What do you think?
What are your favorite tracks/albums of the year thus far?

The Dunce Cap: May 24, 2010

in: heavy rotation

Image from unknown source

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 9: (S)he dances in secret, (s)he’s a part-time punk. (mix via 8tracks)

1. “Glue Girls” – Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin
2. “Gardenia” – Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks
3. “Outta My Head” – M. Ward
4. “Two Doves” – Dirty Projectors
5. “Eleanor” – Low Millions
6. “Seen the Light” – Supergrass
7. “The Blues are Still Blue” – Belle & Sebastian
8. “Abe Lincoln” – Bishop Allen
9. “It’s There” – All Girl Summer Fun Band
10. “West End Girls” – Pet Shop Boys

Okay, folks. It’s getting more and more difficult to compose thoughtful explanations for each week’s mix. So here’s the long and short of it: These are songs I like. They make me smile. I want to belt them out obnoxiously. I want to bask in the summer sun with these as my soundtrack. Period.

These are all fun, optimistic songs, about break-ups (“Eleanor” and “Two Doves” – kind of), crushes (“Glue Girls” and “Gardenia,” among others. I like songs about major league crushes) and all things in between. There’s a whole litany of strong and interesting artists, from the monumental Stephen Malkmus to the one-hit-wonders Low Millions, who wrote a whole album about break-ups, even naming each vixen by name. There’s some Pet Shop Boys paired alongside some light and enjoyable All Girl Summer Fun Band. It’s replete with soaring hooks and roaring sing-a-longs, and it’ll put your ma’s old mixtapes to shame.

Happy listening.

P.S. I love to shout out to some of my peers, including my former editor (and constant inspiration) Jeremy Gordon. He wrote a really great piece on Chuck Klosterman, a man who captured my heart at 15, on his site Taintbrush. Gordon created Taintbrush with fellow Northwestern student Emmy Blotnick, and the site is brimming with hilarious pop culture analysis. Check it out, and demand more updates soon!