ra ra riot

The Dunce Cap: May 09, 2011

in: heavy rotation

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 33: But a weekend in Utah won’t fix what’s wrong with us. (click on link to listen to mix via 8tracks)

1. “Boy” – Ra Ra Riot
2. “New Drink for the Old Drunk” – Crooked Fingers
3. “Rill Rill” – Sleigh Bells
4. “I Know I Know I Know” – Tegan & Sara
5. “Wake and Be Fine” – Okkervil River
6. “Barely Breathing” – The Hold Steady
7. “The Mess Inside” – The Mountain Goats
8. “Dreams” – The Morning Benders
9. “Rappin’ 2 U” – Das Racist
10. “Do You Mind?” – The XX

Happy spring, readers! It took long enough to get us here, but I am ridiculously excited for sunshine and warmth and sundresses to come my way. It has been, as I always apologize for, way too long since I last blogged. It seems like a lifetime has passed since I last made a fun li’l Dunce Cap, and, in some ways, it has been. I’ve been riding a crazy-fast wave of adventure in the last few weeks, and I haven’t felt this light and blithe in years. It’s hard to even begin to explain what I’ve been up to. There was the strip club debauchery, the familial daytime drinking, the lakeside fireworks, the Journey to the End of the Night and the Mud Olympics and post-event rock climbing and Lake Michigan rinse. Then there were the plans to rappel, the unbelievable sleep schedule, the hours and hours in cars with friends, the wind in my hair during day drives and the spring in my step, well, always. It’s amazing how shockingly different this quarter has been from the last, and I can’t say I’m sorry for the drastic change. Last quarter sucked.

This mix is just…a mix. There’s certainly a recurring theme throughout all of my previous mixes, and I think it’s surely something about love lost, but these are also just songs I really like. There’s something about “Barely Breathing,” off of The Hold Steady‘s Heaven is Whenever, and about “Rappin’ 2 U” by Das Racist which just remind me of, well, me (the latter pays homage to “Young cocoa butter,” my nickname in high school, and talks of Coca Cola and Conde Nast magazines). And I adore The Morning Benders‘ cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” which is just stellar. Seriously. This is a mix of songs I’ve just been digging, and I hope you’ll like it too.

Coming up (maybe even tonight!), details on my rising status as a fashion maven; my newfound obsession in television title cards; and much, much more.

Happy listening and hella happy times!

The Dunce Cap: June 28, 2010

in: heavy rotation

From Anchor Tattoos and Piercings

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 14: I like the face you make and when you dance with me. (mix via 8tracks)

1. “Factory” – Band of Horses
2. “Boyfriend” – Best Coast
3. “She’s Electric” – Oasis
4. “You Always Make Me Smile” – Kyle Andrews
5. “Doctor My Eyes” – Jackson Browne
6. “Get You Back” – Oh Mercy
7. “Can You Tell” – Ra Ra Riot
8. “Fireworks” – Tender Trap
9. “Be Here Now” – Ray LaMontagne
10. “Rainbow Everywhere” – Wavves

Sorry this one’s coming oh-so-late, folks. It’s been a hectic week.

This week’s mix is a grab bag of songs n’ handclaps. We start off with the first single from the killer new Band of Horses album, Infinite Arms. Band of Horses is a band I’ve really been digging for a while now. They have a really reverb-y sound that allows for these soaring choruses and rushing guitar lines (see their excellent track “Is There a Ghost?” from 2007’s Cease to Begin), and they manage to convey emotion without sounding too heady. Then there’s a really terrific diddy from L.A.’s Pitchfork darlings Best Coast, an adorably cheeky song reminiscent of early girl groups. There’s my favorite Ra Ra Riot track (for the Duckster, of course), a cool Tender Trap track (say that five times fast!) and an entirely endearing song from Oh Mercy, a band I stumbled across while watching – like every other preteen in America…oh, wait – ABCFamily’s “Pretty Little Liars.”

It’s a playlist with a lot more sappy emotion than I usually permit, but, I suppose, I’m missing a certain someone, and it’s starting to show in my recent mixes. You’d like him too, y’know. Try not to gag; it’s really not too totally saccharine. Nothing with Wavves can really ever be marred – even by Jackson Browne.

Happy listening.

(editor’s note – this photo comes from Ryan and Brooke Cook. Happy Fourth. Stay safe and enjoy some of the Dunce Cap while you’re grilling out!)