Mixtape | A Round of Sound

A Round of Sound: 2019 Mixtape

January 30, 2020

Today I offer up my annual playlist that caps off my look back at the year in music. I find it way too difficult to do a ranking of songs, so this is my way to capture the tracks that defined the year. As always, I try to make a playlist that fits on a standard CD-R, as a way to limit myself. Keep in mind these aren’t necessarily my favorite songs of the year, or even my favorite song on its respective album (that happens A LOT this year) but rather the best mix I could come up with that I think gives a good look at what 2019 had to offer.

This year’s mix consists of a robust 21 songs. Eight of the songs come from albums in my top 10, with the remaining 13 songs coming from albums within my top 50.

Below, you’ll see the tracklist as well as the Spotify playlist (and you can use that to find links to my previous yearly mixtapes). And finally, this is the 12th straight year Amy Runner has provided the album art, which is maybe the greatest tradition of all time. Enjoy!

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1) “I Need a Teacher” – Hiss Golden Messenger :: Terms of Surrender

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2) “I Don’t Get Invited to Parties Anymore” – Alex Lahey :: The Best of Luck Club

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3) “Room Temperature” – Faye Webster :: Atlanta Millionaires Club

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4) “Dark Green Water” – Great Grandpa :: Four of Arrows

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5) “Harmony Hall” – Vampire Weekend :: Father of the Bride

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6) “Bad Guy” – Billie Eilish :: When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?

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7) “All Mirrors” – Angel Olsen :: All Mirrors

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8) “Anna” – The Menzingers :: Hello Exile

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9) “Head Alone” – Julia Jacklin :: Crushing

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10) “Capacity” – Charly Bliss :: Young Enough

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11) “Sha Sha Sha” – Fontaines D.C. :: Dogrel

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12) “Drunk II” – Mannequin Pussy :: Patience

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13) “Darkness and Cold” – Purple Mountains :: Purple Mountains

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14) “Southern Sky” – (Sandy) Alex G :: House of Sugar

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15) “Dylan Thomas” – Better Oblivion Community Center :: Better Oblivion Community Center

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16) “Comeback Kid” – Sharon Van Etten :: Remind Me Tomorrow

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17) “Hey, Ma” – Bon Iver :: i,i

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18) “Nighttime Drive” – Jay Som :: Anak Ko

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19) “Not” – Big Thief :: Two Hands

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20) “Rylan” – The National :: I Am Easy to Find

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21) “Mercury in Retrograde” – Sturgill Simpson :: Sound & Fury

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Leave a Comment » | Rounds of Sound, Top Albums of 2019 | Tagged: 2019 Albums, Albums, Mixtape, Music, round of sound | Permalink
Posted by Hawkins

A Round of Sound: 2018 Mixtape

January 25, 2019

This year’s mix consists of 18 songs. Eight of the songs come from albums in my top 10, with another eight of the songs coming from albums outside my top 10 but within my top 50. The remaining two songs are pulled from EPs (it was a great year for EPs).

Below, you’ll see the tracklist as well as the Spotify playlist (and you can use that to find links to my previous yearly mixtapes). And finally, this is the 11th straight year Amy Runner has provided the album art for the mix, but her first year as a mother! As if you couldn’t tell by the artwork. Precious.

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1) “Good As Gold” – Sarah Shook & The Disarmers :: Years

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2) “Sure” – Hatchie :: Sugar & Spice EP

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3) “Hangout at the Gallows” – Father John Misty :: God’s Favorite Customer

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4) “Night Shift” – Lucy Dacus :: Historian

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5) “Talking Straight” – Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever :: Hope Downs

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6) “Pristine” – Snail Mail :: Lush

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7) “U.S.A.” – Jeff Rosenstock :: POST-

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8) “In My View” – Young Fathers :: Cocoa Sugar

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9) “Me & My Dog” – boygenius :: boygenius EP

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10) “Tints (feat. Kendrick Lamar)” – Anderson .Paak :: Oxnard

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11) “Sober to Death” – Car Seat Headrest :: Twin Fantasy

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12) “Falling Into Me” – Let’s Eat Grandma :: I’m All Ears

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13) “Love It If We Made It” -The 1975 ::A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships

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14) “Pynk (feat. Grimes)” – Janelle Monae :: Dirty Computer

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15) “Nobody” – Mitski :: Be The Cowboy

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16) “Poem” – U.S. Girls :: In A Poem Unlimited

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17) “High Horse” – Kacey Musgraves :: Golden Hour

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18) “Whatever” – The Beths :: Future Me Hates Me

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Leave a Comment » | All, Music, Rounds of Sound, Top Albums of 2018 | Tagged: 2018 Albums, Albums, Mixtape, Music, round of sound | Permalink
Posted by Hawkins

A Round of Sound: 2017 Mixtape

January 25, 2018

This year’s mix consists of 20 songs. Six of the songs come from albums in my top 10, with the remainder coming from albums outside my top 10 but within my top 50. I usually have one or two that come from albums outside by rankings, but not this year.

Below, you’ll see the tracklist as well as the Spotify playlist. And finally, this is the 10th straight year Amy Runner has provided the album art for the mix. A full decade! And this year she knocked it out with child AND while dealing with strep throat. Commitment!

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1) “The Embers” – Vagabon :: Infinite Worlds

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2) “No Halo” – Sorority Noise :: You’re Not As _____ As You Think

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3) “Told You I’d Be With The Guys” – Cherry Glazerr :: Apocalipstick

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4) “Star Roving” – Slowdive :: Slowdive

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5) “Wave To Anchor” – Hundred Waters :: Communicating

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6) “Need To Feel Your Love” – Sheer Mag :: Need To Feel Your Love

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7) “Slip Away” – Perfume Genius :: No Shape

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8) “Motion Sickness” – Phoebe Bridgers :: Stranger in the Alps

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9) “Blood On Me” – Sampha :: Process

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10) “The Bus Song” – Jay Som :: Everybody Works

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11) “Die Young” – Sylvan Esso :: What Now

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12) “The Underside of Power” – Algiers :: The Underside of Power

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13) “Turn Out The Lights” – Julien Baker :: Turn Out The Lights

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14) “I Haven’t Been Taking Care of Myself” -Alex Lahey :: I Love You Like a Brother

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15) “Prom” – SZA :: Ctrl

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16) “Mythological Beauty” – Big Thief :: Capacity

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17) “City Music” – Kevin Morby :: City Music

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18) “New York” – St. Vincent :: Masseduction

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19) “Nail My Feet Down to the Southside of Town” – Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires :: Youth Detention

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20) “Perfect Places” – Lorde :: Melodrama

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Leave a Comment » | All, Music, Rounds of Sound, Top Albums of 2017 | Tagged: 2017 Albums, Albums, Mixtape, Music, round of sound | Permalink
Posted by Hawkins

A Round of Sound: 2016 Mixtape

January 19, 2017

option-2

Today I offer up my annual playlist that caps off my look back at the year in music. I find it way too difficult to do a ranking of songs, so this is my way to capture the tracks that defined the year. As always, I try to make a playlist that fits on a standard CD-R, to kind of limit myself. (I went 30 seconds over this year, so if you’re a weirdo who still likes to burn to discs, you’ll have to pick a song to cut.) Keep in mind these aren’t necessarily my favorite songs of the year, but rather a mix that I think is a good look at what 2016 had to offer. Also, the order is based on how the songs show up on their respective albums, and is in no way a ranking.

This year’s mix consists of 21 songs, I believe the most I’ve ever squeezed onto my mix. Nine of the songs come from albums in my top 10, with all but one of the remaining coming from albums within my top 40. That lone song from outside my top 40 being “Ch-Ching” off of Moth, the disappointing (and final) album from Chairlift. And yes, you perhaps will notice that that song, as well as “Weight In Gold” from the criminally underrated Gallant, were actually released as singles in 2015. But alas, I count songs for the year their respective album was released, so I’m off the hook.

Below, you’ll see the tracklist as well as the Spotify playlist. And finally, this is the 9th straight year Amy Runner has provided the album art for the mix. My lack of motivation to put much effort into this year’s list gave her very little to go on, but she still nailed it, so hooray for artistic freedom!

1) “Fill In The Blank” – Car Seat Headrest :: Teens Of Denial

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2) “Drone Bomb Me” – ANOHNI :: HOPLESSNESS

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3) “Nikes” – Frank Ocean :: Blonde

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4) “No Woman” – Whitney :: Light Upon the Lake

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5) “1000 Times” – Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam :: I Had A Dream That You Were Mine

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6) “Old Friends” – Pinegrove :: Cardinal

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7) “Burn the Witch” – Radiohead :: A Moon Shaped Pool

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8) “Masterpiece” – Big Thief :: Masterpiece

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9) “I Have Been to the Mountain” – Kevin Morby :: Singing Saw

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10) “Wedding Singer” – Modern Baseball :: Holy Ghost

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11) “Be Apart” – Porches :: Pool

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12) “Shut Up Kiss Me” – Angel Olsen :: My Woman

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13) “Adore” – Savages :: Adore Life

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14) “Best to You” – Blood Orange :: Freetown Sound

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15) “Ch-Ching” – Chairlift :: Moth

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16) “Your Best American Girl” – Mitski :: Puberty 2

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17) “Weight In Gold” – Gallant :: Ology

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18) “Berlin Got Blury” – Parquet Courts :: Human Performance

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19) “Brace For Impact (Live A Little)” – Sturgill Simpson :: A Sailor’s Guide To Earth

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20) “Come Down” – Anderson .Paak :: Malibu

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21) “Skyscraper” – Touché Amoré :: Stage Four

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Leave a Comment » | All, Music, Rounds of Sound, Top Albums of 2016 | Tagged: 2016 Albums, Albums, Mixtape, Music, round of sound, Top Albums of 2016 | Permalink
Posted by Hawkins

A Round of Sound: 2015 Mixtape

January 8, 2016

Option 1 Border

Now we come to my annual playlist that caps off my list. I find it way to difficult to do a ranking of songs, so this is my way to capture the tracks that defined the year. As always, I try to make a playlist that fits on a standard CD-R, to kind of limit myself. Keep in mind these aren’t necessarily my favorite songs of the year, but rather a mix that I think is a good look at what 2015 had to offer. Also, the order is based on how the songs show up on their respective albums, and is in no way a ranking.

This year’s mix consists of 19 songs, down one track from year’s past. Seven of the songs come from albums in my top 10, with five songs from albums in my 11-25 range, leaving the remaining seven from those outside my top 25. The lowest ranked album to have a song featured is Pagans in Vegas from Metric, whose new synth pop direction didn’t always work rendering it 64th in my rankings, but it did give us one of the year’s best pop songs.

Below, you’ll see the tracklist as well as the Spotify playlist (RIP Rdio). Also, Amazon has discontinued their Listmania service, which is dumb, but if you want to see my entire Top 25 in simple list form, I’ve got it here on the list app. And finally, this is the 8th straight year Amy Runner has provided the album art for the mix. She’s basically the only person who gets even a hint of how my list is shaping up, so you should be extremely jealous.

2016 has a tough act to follow, but some recent developments (LCD Soundsystem! Radiohead, maybe!) have me more excited than I was just a week ago.

1) “Let It Happen” – Tame Impala :: Currents

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2) “Strange Hellos” – Torres :: Sprinter

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3) “My Baby Don’t Understand Me” – Natalie Prass :: Natalie Prass

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4) “Pretty Pimpin” – Kurt Vile :: b’lieve i’m goin down

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5) “Pedestrian At Best” – Courtney Barnett :: Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit

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6) “Should Have Known Better” – Sufjan Stevens :: Carrie & Lowell

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7) “Raising the Skate” – Speedy Ortiz :: Foil Deer

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8) “The Shade” – Metric :: Pagans in Vegas

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9) “Something Soon” – Car Seat Headrest :: Teens of Style

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10) “King Kunta” – Kendrick Lamar :: To Pimp a Butterfly

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11) “Fade Away” – Susanne Sundfør :: Ten Love Songs

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12) “West Coast” – FIDLAR :: Too

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13) “Flesh Without Blood” – Grimes :: Art Angels

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14) “Dimed Out” – Titus Andronicus :: The Most Lamentable Tragedy

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15) “Clearest Blue” – Chvrches :: Every Open Eye

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16) “A New Wave” – Sleater-Kinney :: No Cities To Love

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17) “Demon” – Shamir :: Ratchet

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18) “Downtown” – Majical Cloudz :: Are You Alone?

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19) “I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)” – Jamie xx :: In Colour

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Posted by Hawkins

A Round of Sound: 2014 Mixtape

January 16, 2015

BW 2014

Now we come to my annual playlist that caps off my list. I find it way to difficult to do a ranking of songs, so this is my way to capture the tracks that defined the year. As always, I try to make a concise playlist that fits on a standard CD-R, so a bit outdated, but DEAL WITH IT. Keep in mind these aren’t necessarily my favorite songs of the year, but rather a mix that I think is a good look at what 2014 had to offer. Also, the order is based on how the songs show up on their respective albums, and is in no way an order of a rank.

This year’s mix consists of 20 songs, which has been typical the last few years, but is a little more varied from year’s past. Seven of the songs come from albums in my top 10, with seven songs from albums in my 11-25 range, leaving the remaining six from those outside my top 25. The lowest ranked album to have a song featured is I Never Learn from Lykke Li, which despite some great moments was an album I found a little too melodramatic for my liking, rendering it 51st in my rankings.

Below, you’ll see the tracklist as well as the Spotify playlist. I’ve also created Rdio playlist if that’s more your bag. And finally, this is the 7th straight year Amy ~~Boyd~~ Runner has provided my album art for the mix. It really is a highlight for me every year having her help out, and this year is no different. Great stuff.

2015 is already off to a fast start, and promises to be a freaking HUGE year for music. I can’t wait.

1) “Transgender Dysphoria Blues” – Against Me! :: Transgender Dysphora Blues
2) “Seasons (Waiting On You)” – Future Islands :: Singles
3) “Goshen ’97” – Strand of Oaks :: HEAL
4) “No Rest For The Wicked” – Lykke Li :: I Never Learn
5) “Water Fountain” – Tune-Yards :: Nicki Nack
6) “Archie, Marry Me” – Alvvays :: Alvvays
7) “Murmurs” – Hundred Waters :: The Moon Rang Like A Bell
8) “Queen” – Perfume Genius :: Too Bright
9) “Red Eyes” – The War On Drugs :: Lost In The Dream
10) “Just One Of The Guys” – Jenny Lewis :: Voyager
11) “Two Weeks” – FKA twigs :: LP1
12) “Alexandra” – Hamilton Leithauser :: Black Hours
13) “Your Love Is Killing Me” – Sharon Van Etten :: Are We There
14) “Do You” – Spoon :: They Want My Soul
15) “Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)” – Run The Jewels :: Run The Jewels 2
16) “War On The East Coast” – The New Pornographers :: Brill Bruisers
17) “Digital Witness” – St. Vincent :: St. Vincent
18) “Words I Don’t Remember” – How To Dress Well :: “What Is This Heart?”
19) “Coffee” – Sylvan Esso :: Sylvan Esso
20) “I’m Not Me” – Cloud Nothings :: Here And Nowhere Else

Leave a Comment » | All, Music, Rounds of Sound, Top Albums of 2014 | Tagged: against me, Alvvays, Cloud Nothings, fka twigs, future islands, hamilton leithauser, how to dress well, hundred waters, jenny lewis, lykke li, Mixtape, Music, perfume genius, run the jewels, Savages, Sharon Van Etten, spoon, St. Vincent, strand of oaks, sylvan esso, The New Pornographers, tune-yards, War on Drugs | Permalink
Posted by Hawkins

A Round of Sound: 2013 Mixtape

January 18, 2014

Finally, it’s time for the annual playlist that caps off my countdown. Rather than do a ranking of favorite songs, I choose to compile what I think is a good representation for the year in music, all on an 80 minute CD-R. Per the norm, plenty of my favorite songs couldn’t find their way on here due to length, or production techniques of the track, so in some cases I’ve got songs on here that aren’t even my favorite from its respective album.

Other notes: I managed to squeeze 20 tracks onto this years mix, same as last year. This is a very top 25 heavy playlist, as only two songs show up from albums outside my top 25. Those songs being The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die’s “Gig Life” and Tegan and Sara’s “Closer” from their very nice album Heartthrob, my #35 album of the year, which is the lowest ranked album to find a song on my playlist in 2013. Of the remaining tracks, 10 come from albums in my #11-#25 range, and 8 from albums in my top 10. The only top 10 albums that don’t have a representative on my mix are Sunbather and Reflektor. As always, the order of the Mixtape is not a ranking, but rather an order based on how the song appears on its respective album.

Below, you’ll see the tracklist, and after the jump you can listen to every track if you so choose. I’ve also created Rdio and Spotify playlists, the latter of which is embedded below. (Note, “new you” isn’t available on either service.) There’s also my Amazon.com list which has my entire top 25 albums of the year, nice and neat in a one page form (and access to my all my lists since 2001). And last but not least, this is the 6th straight year Amy Boyd has stepped up to provide me my album art. She actually spent part of her birthday working on this, but that’s why she gets paid the big bucks. (Disclaimer: there are no bucks being transferred, much less big ones.)

2013 was a great year for music, and a very tough act to follow. Let’s see what you got, 2014.

1) “Closer” – Tegan and Sara :: Heartthrob
2) “You & I” – Local Natives :: Hummingbird
3) “The Mother We Share” – Chvrches :: The Bones of What You Believe
4) “KV Crimes” – Kurt Vile :: Wakin On a Pretty Daze
5) “Backyard Skulls” – Frightened Rabbit :: Pedestrian Verse
6) “Counting” – Autre Ne Veut :: Anxiety
7) “Song for Zula” – Phosphorescent :: Muchacho
8) “Borrowed Time” – Parquet Courts:: Light Up Gold
9) “Royals” – Lorde :: Pure Heroine
10) “Step” – Vampire Weekend :: Modern Vampires of the City
11) “The Wire” – Haim :: Days Are Gone
12) “Byegone” – Volcano Choir :: Repave
13) “Sea of Love” – The National :: Trouble Will Find Me
14) “Dropla” – Youth Lagoon :: Wondrous Bughouse
15) “new you” – My Bloody Valentine :: m b v
16) “Hold On, We’re Going Home” – Drake :: Nothing Was The Same
17) “Avocado, Baby” – Los Campesinos! :: No Blues
18) “She Will” – Savages :: Silence Yourself
19) “Gig Life” – The World Is A Beautiful Place… :: Whenever, If Ever
20) “Doin’ It Right” – Daft Punk :: Random Access Memories

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Posted by Hawkins

A Round of Sound: 2009 Mixtape

January 17, 2010

Now that the countdown is complete, all that is left is to present my 2009 Mixtape, an annual mix of the songs that helped shape the past year in music. This is maybe becoming my favorite part of my yearly top albums tradition because it’s fun to see what tunes I can pack into an 80 minute disc. I started doing this on my own just to make a mix cd of some of my favorite songs of the year to keep for listening in my car, but it has evolved into a way for me to kind of summarize the best music of the year in just a “mixtape” form, especially since I find it pretty impossible to do a ranking of the best songs of the year. And people seem to enjoy it, so here we are again. By the way if you want to see my complete top 25 Albums of 2009 on one nice, put together page, head on over to my Amazon.com list to give it a look.

So, here’s some stats about the mix. This year I packed 19 songs on the disc (down one from last year’s 20), but as usual this does not necessarily mean these are my 19 favorite songs of the year. There a plenty of songs that I had to leave off because they were too long, or maybe they just didn’t fit with the mix. Also, as usual the order here is how they appear on my mix, but it is not a ranking. The songs are placed based on how they appear on their respective albums. For this year, 9 of the songs are off albums in my top 10 (Antony & the Johnsons is the only top 10 album not represented). Five of the songs are from albums in my #11-#25 range and two songs come from albums outside my top 25. The lowest ranking album with a song in the mix is Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free by Akron/Family (ranked #44) with “River”. And finally, three songs (“Blood Bank”, “My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille”, and “It Gets Your Body Movin'”) are songs off of EPs, and thus came from albums not eligible to be in my rankings. Most of these songs have been featured somewhere on this blog in the past, or in the top albums countdown, but now here they are all in one place!

The picture above is thanks to Amy Boyd, who for the second year in a row has provided me with the album art for the Mixtape. Another fine job indeed. Today is her birthday (as well as Zooey Deschanel’s) so she also has that going for her. Enjoy!

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[“French Navy” – Camera Obscura :: My Maudlin Career]