So, I first would like to acknowledge pzantingh, also of the Monthly Mixtape community, from whom I brazenly stole this brilliant idea. The thing is, I make these mixtapes every month to send to one person. Occasionally, I'm proud enough of them to post them on the community board, but I still feel that they're being wasted to a certain extent. Also (to a lesser extent), I want the constructive criticism that inevitably comes from exposing your work to the much wider audience of musical sticklers that is Last.fm. Finally, a blog of this kind gives me the chance to make some of that cool cover art that everyone seems to like so much.

A couple of caveats: I won't tell you which ones are which, but there are definitely some of these mixes I'm more proud of than others. Looking back, there are definitely some things I would have changed, but I've put them up in their original condition, warts and all. You will also notice that there is no mixtape for November of last year. I didn't make one; November is always my worst month (which is why, no matter how much I want to, I will never finish NaNoWriMo). Finally: yes, it's true that there are several songs that appear more than twice in these twelve mixes. I make no apologies for this. If you feel like you're being gypped by my repeating songs...get over it?

So, here they are: a whole year's worth of mixes I made for the Monthly Mixtape, each one following a theme. The download links are in the art, which is included in the .zip files. Download, listen, critique or just enjoy. But if the spirit moves you, please leave a comment to show that the literal DAYS of work that went into this post were worth it...




(Theme: Numbers)

1. Carey Ott - Am I Just One
2. Josh Ritter - One More Mouth
3. The Beatles - Revolution 1
4. Band of Horses - Part One
5. Ben Harper - One Road For Freedom
6. Bob Marley & The Wailers - One Love/People Get Ready
7. Counting Crows - A Murder of One
8. Albert Hammond, Jr. - 101
9. Rogue Wave - 10:1
10. The Shins - One by One All Day
11. Sunset Rubdown - Us Ones In Between
12. Oasis - One Way Road




(The theme was instrumental, but I happen to hate instrumental music, so I did a more liberal interpretation and went with songs featuring violins. Ironically, I did end up including one instrumental song on the mix. I was rather sick of violins by the time I was done, hence the title.)

1. Final Fantasy - Furniture
2. Wilco - Jesus, Etc.
3. The Beatles - Yesterday
4. Oasis - Whatever
5. The One AM Radio - This Is a Document
6. Arcade Fire - Wake Up
7. Basia Bulat - Snakes and Ladders
8. Bright Eyes - Four Winds
9. The Who - Baba O'Riley
10. The Verve - Bitter Sweet Symphony
11. Ben Harper - Strawberry Fields Forever
12. Andrew Bird - Case In Point




(Theme: Soundtrack of my life, which means all these songs mean something to me for one reason or another. If this tape doesn't necessarily flow as well as others, it's because the songs are in chronological order--for my life, anyway. And yeah, that's my crazy-looking mug in the picture)

1. Elton John - Bennie and the Jets
2. Del Amitri - Roll To Me
3. Don McLean - American Pie
4. The Beatles - Hey Jude
5. Barenaked Ladies - The Old Apartment (live Acoustic)
6. Llama - Could Be Me (Live)
7. Speechwriters LLC - Acetate
8. Wilco - I'm the Man Who Loves You
9. Oasis - She Is Love
10. Rilo Kiley - Portions for Foxes
11. Ben Folds - Army (live)
12. Pavement - Range Life
13. Old 97's - Designs on You
14. Paul McCartney & Wings - Jet
15. Spoon - Me and the Bean




(Theme: summer. It occurred to me while I was typing this that I should have entitled this "Sitting By the Riverside," since that's what I was thinking of when I compiled it)

1. The Autumn Defense - The Sun in California
2. Speechwriters LLC - Dear Liz
3. Ryan Adams - Gonna Make You Love Me
4. Oasis - Flashbax
5. Albert Hammond, Jr. - Well...All Right
6. Beck - Qué Onda Guero
7. War - Low Rider
8. Pavement - Cut Your Hair
9. The Beatles - Come Together
10. Harry Nilsson - Everybody's Talkin'
11. The Kinks - Sitting by the Riverside
12. Belle and Sebastian - Women's Realm
13. Madeleine Peyroux - Don't Wait Too Long
14. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Three Little Birds
15. Wilco - I'm a Wheel
16. Carey Ott - You Got Love




(The theme this month was track-time related. My chosen method was to pick a short song, then make each subsequent track a minute--or nearly a minute--longer than the last, without going over an hour total time)

1. The White Stripes - Little Room
2. The Shins - The Celibate Life
3. The Autumn Defense - The World (Will Soon Turn Our Way)
4. Radiohead - Electioneering
5. Billy Bragg & Wilco - Airline to Heaven
6. Paul Simon - Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
7. The Flaming Lips - It Overtakes Me
8. The Doors - L.A. Woman
9. Blind Faith - Had to Cry Today
10. Ben Lee - Light
11. Wilco - Spiders (Kidsmoke)




(Theme: grief, I think. I decided to do the five stages of coping, with respect to love obviously)

1. Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - You Are What You Love
2. Wilco - The Thanks I Get
3. Ben Harper - Show Me A Little Shame
4. Britt Daniel - Bring It On Home To Me
5. Derek and The Dominos - Bell Bottom Blues
6. Jonah Smith - My Morning Scene
7. The Beatles - I'm So Tired
8. Rhett Miller - Come Around
9. Cataldo - Wedding Cake
10. Bob Marley & The Wailers - No woman no cry (live)
11. Speechwriters LLC - Or Something




(Theme: spooky, obviously)

1. The Beatles - Because (from Love)
2. The White Stripes - Little Ghost
3. Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Put a Spell on You
4. Drake Tungsten - let me roll it!
5. Wilco - How to Fight Loneliness
6. Golden Smog - You Make It Easy
7. Llama - Carry Me High
8. Josh Ritter - Mind's Eye
9. The Natural History - Beat Beat
10. Oasis - Columbia
11. Band of Horses - Is There a Ghost
12. Fingers-Cut, Megamachine! - Mud Hands
13. Grizzly Bear - Knife
14. Spoon - 10:20 am
15. Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - Happy (Reprise)




(Theme: Best of...whatever. I chose Britt Daniel of Spoon, my once and future music obsession. I don't know if this is truly a best of, but I like the way it turned out. There're some fun rarities on this mix anyway)

1. Britt Daniel - Bring It On Home To Me
2. Spoon - Utilitarian
3. Spoon - The Underdog
4. Spoon - Paper Tiger
5. Spoon - Tear Me Down
6. Drake Tungsten - This is a Whipping
7. Britt Daniel - Set Me Free (live acoustic)
8. Britt Daniel - Agony Of Laffitte (live acoustic)
9. Drake Tungsten - let me roll it!
10. Spoon - Change My Life
11. Drake Tungsten - Are You Part of the Movement
12. Spoon - I Summon You
13. Spoon - I Am the Key
14. Spoon - Jonathon Fisk
15. Spoon - I Could Be Underground




(Theme: The body. This is hands down the title I am most proud of. Props to Walt Whitman.)

1. Beck - Devil's Haircut
2. The New Pornographers - The Body Says No
3. Golden Smog - Frying Pan Eyes
4. Spoon - Headz
5. Interpol - Slow Hands
6. Jet - Skin And Bones
7. Oasis - Mucky Fingers
8. Wilco - A Shot in the Arm
9. The View - Face For The Radio
10. Cataldo - Lips and Dollars
11. The Beta Band - Needles In My Eyes
12. Voxtrot - Blood Red Blood
13. Radiohead - Bones




(For Valentine's Day, the theme was love. Easiest. Theme. Ever.)

1. Rilo Kiley - I Never
2. Fingers-Cut, Megamachine! - Our Love
3. Spoon - Anything You Want
4. The Beatles - I Will
5. of Montreal - Your Magic Is Working
6. Beck - Girl
7. The Doors - Love Her Madly
8. Ben Harper - Sexual Healing (Live)
9. Llama - To Believe
10. The Bens - Bruised
11. George Harrison - What Is Life
12. Josh Ritter - Kathleen
13. Rhett Miller - Terrible Vision
14. Oasis - Talk Tonight
15. Ben Kweller - Until I Die
16. Bob Dylan - Tangled Up in Blue
17. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Is This Love
18. The Beach Boys - God Only Knows




(Theme: names)

1. Supergrass - Grace
2. Oasis - Lyla
3. The Fratellis - Henrietta
4. De Novo Dahl - Jeffrey
5. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Susie Q
6. Ben Kweller - Lizzy
7. Ben Folds - Jane (Live)
8. Regina Spektor - Samson
9. Speechwriters LLC - Annie Dan
10. Simon & Garfunkel - Cecelia
11. The Beatles - Maggie Mae
12. Jet - Eleanor
13. Josh Ritter - Kathleen
14. The Broken West - Abigail
15. Spoon - Vittorio E




(Theme: Cover songs. The .zip file also includes the original versions of each song)

1. Reigning Sound - Stormy Weather
2. Feist - Sea Lion Woman
3. Britt Daniel - Bring It On Home To Me
4. The Walkmen - Another One Goes By
5. Albert Hammond, Jr. - Well...All Right
6. Spoon - I Am the Key
7. The Shins - We Will Become Silhouettes
8. Oasis - Heroes
9. The White Stripes - I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself
10. Wilco - Don't Fear The Reaper (Live)
11. Obadiah Parker - Hey Ya
12. Ryan Adams - Wonderwall
13. Josh Ritter - The River (Live)
14. Barenaked Ladies - Lovers in a Dangerous Time
15. Speechwriters LLC - Wedding Cake