en http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000 60 http://www.audioscrobbler.net/data/webservices http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal The Last.fm journal for laura_mac. Last.fm journals are a place to talk about all things music. http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/12/30/3ajtji_mixtape:_my_2009 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:12:39 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/12/30/3ajtji_mixtape:_my_2009 Perhaps you noticed I've been out of the mixtape game for the past several months. Honestly, it was getting to be more of a chore than a fun diversion, so I decided to take a break--which has made me extra ready to compile my second annual year-end mixtape! For those of you who weren't around last year, I keep a smart playlist on iTunes that tracks what music I've added to my library over the past year and how much I've played it. At the end of the year, I compile a playlist of new-to-me songs that have made their mark on me over the past twelve months. The song of 2009 was, for me, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals' "Cold Roses." I first heard it while "cramming" for his show at the War Memorial Auditorium on March 15, and it was a standout for me from the opening chord progression. Hearing it live really cemented this as one of my all-time favorite songs--I'm still obsessed with it nine months later.

Without further ado, "Cold Roses" and 17 other tracks that meant something to me this year. (No cover art 'cause I didn't feel like it.)

Download here.

1. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cold Roses
2. Led Zeppelin - Hey, Hey What Can I Do
3. Vampire Weekend - Everywhere
4. Duffy - Mercy
5. The Kinks - Lola
6. Ray LaMontagne - You Are The Best Thing
7. M. Ward - Never Had Nobody Like You
8. Yes - Owner of a Lonely Heart
9. The Cars - Just What I Needed
10. The White Stripes - You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do as You're Told)
11. Spoon - Got Nuffin
12. Wilco - You Never Know
13. The Features - The Drawing Board
14. Kings of Leon - Use Somebody
15. Wolfmother - Vagabond
16. Neal Casal - Freeway to the Canyon
17. The Whigs - In The Dark
18. The Monkees - Apples, Peaches, Bananas and Pears]]> http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/09/01/2z9rwj_august_mixtape:_crash_course Tue, 1 Sep 2009 02:39:50 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/09/01/2z9rwj_august_mixtape:_crash_course This month's theme was partner request, so I put together a playlist of songs representative of artists from my top played list that my partner didn't know. Normally I would mix it up a little more, but I wanted each set of songs to sound like a little EP. It would have been too long if I had done four songs for every band, so I threw in a few singles from the bands lower on the totem pole to round it out.

Enjoy!



By Spoon:
1. Utilitarian
2. Anything You Want
3. The Underdog
4. The Infinite Pet
By Oasis:
5. Mucky Fingers
6. She Is Love
7. Cigarettes & Alcohol
8. Champagne Supernova
By Josh Ritter:
9. Good Man
10. The Temptation of Adam
11. Kathleen
12. Harrisburg
By Wilco:
13. Jesus, Etc.
14. You Never Know
15. Impossible Germany
16. Theologians
17. Ben Kweller - Commerce, TX
18. Speechwriters LLC - Acetate
19. The Whigs - Technology]]> http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/08/20/2y9ieb_bonus_mix:_silly_cover_songs Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:49:25 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/08/20/2y9ieb_bonus_mix:_silly_cover_songs This was a mix I did for a friend in our local mixtape club. I was having trouble coming up with a theme until I thought (during the McCartney concert last weekend) why not a cover album of all McCartney songs? So here it is.



1. Drake Tungsten - let me roll it!
2. The Judybats - Love In Song
3. The Black Hollies - Heart Of The Country
4. Virgos - Maybe I'm Amazed
5. Nick Cave - Let It Be
6. Matthew Sweet - Every Night
7. Gomez - Getting Better
8. The Broken West - Eat at Home
9. Travis - Lovely Rita
10. The Finn Brothers - Too Many People
11. Slade - Martha My Dear
12. Dead Kennedys - Back in the USSR
13. Ted Leo - Back Seat of My Car
14. Bodies of Water - Dear Boy
15. Robbers on High Street - Monkberry Moon Delight
16. Duffy - Live And Let Die]]> http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/08/17/2y097p_paul_mccartney_live:_piedmont_park,_atlanta,_81509 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 03:00:20 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/08/17/2y097p_paul_mccartney_live:_piedmont_park,_atlanta,_81509 Sat 15 Aug – Paul McCartney - The Green Concert

So, this won't be a long entry. I don't have any photos to post, and the setlist is too long to reproduce here (if you're interested, it's here. 34 songs! Two encores! Unbelievable.)

Mostly, what I want to say is that it was like a surreal dream come true. I really, truly thought that I would never get to see him live. It seems like something that only a person with serious time and money at their disposal would be able to do (not to mention a person living several decades ago; I still find it unbelievable that I am lucky enough to live in a period in history in which Paul McCartney is still touring. And if that sounds melodramatic, it is, but if you didn't expect that you don't know me very well). So thank god for Piedmont Park and their green concert series for selling tens of thousands of general admission tickets at a price a regular person can actually afford. It was worth the 8-hour roundtrip drive and the worst hotel room in the history of the hospitality business.

Secondly, Paul McCartney is still at the top of his form. He sings, he growls, he falsettos exactly as he did on the in his 20s. He still looks great, if a little jowl-y. And he's still got that great sense of humor as well as the sentimentality (and maybe a bit of a raffish streak) that just edges out George to make him my favorite Beatle. I love that he can still make the girls (or, you know, the "gels") scream and throw bras (really. it happened.) and you can tell he still enjoys it.

Finally: he whistles! he plays George's ukulele! he rips through a Jimi Hendrix riff! he tells stories about Eric Clapton!

I know. I'll stop. Just know that this man is a treasure, and if you ever get a chance to see him, take it. Maybe the tributes to John and George made me a little morbid, but you never know what's around the next corner.

Uhh...imagine something uplifting here, because I don't want this to end like that...how about just one photo?



Yeah, that's better.]]> http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/07/22/2vw863_july_mixtape:_a_lover%27s_faq Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:19:26 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/07/22/2vw863_july_mixtape:_a_lover%27s_faq The theme this month was "questions and answers," which made this a particularly fun mixtape to put together. When the challenge primarily involve title themes, I often discover stuff I've never listened to while combing through my library for appropriate songs. This month I seem to have unintentionally put together a kind of hapless lover's FAQ. I hope you enjoy! As always, click on the pic to download.



1. The Strokes - Is This It
2. The Redwalls - You'll Never Know
3. The Apples In Stereo - Can You Feel It?
4. Feist - I Feel It All (Britt from Spoon Remix)
5. Spoon - Is This The Last Time?
6. The Grays - Oh Well Maybe
7. Jack Peñate - Have I Been a Fool?
8. Pico Vs. Island Trees - More Than You Could Know
9. She & Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?
10. The White Stripes - You're Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)
11. Wilco - Why Would You Wanna Live?
12. Oasis - To Be Where There's Life
13. The Guess Who - Do You Miss Me Darlin'?
14. Bob Dylan - Most Of The Time
15. Ryan Adams - Why Do They Leave?
16. M. Ward - To Go Home]]> http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/06/28/2ty1nl_june_mixtape:_dancing_naked Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:12:21 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/06/28/2ty1nl_june_mixtape:_dancing_naked This month's theme was "dancing naked," and while I have never actually danced completely naked (that I can remember) I do appreciate the greatness of stepping out of the shower and putting on some raucous music while you get dressed for a night out. Thus, I feel like I captured the feeling pretty well on this mixtape.

Click on the pic, download, and enjoy!



1. The Spencer Davis Group - Gimme Some Lovin'
2. Jet - Skin and Bones
3. The Whigs - Technology
4. The Clash - Train in Vain (Stand by Me)
5. Wreckless Eric - Whole Wide World
6. Ryan Adams - Shakedown on 9th Street
7. The Who - My Generation
8. Reigning Sound - Stormy Weather
9. The Beatles - Oh! Darling
10. Spoon - Utilitarian
11. Cream - I Feel Free
12. Indigo Girls - Closer To Fine
13. Ben Harper - Show Me A Little Shame
14. Billy Squier - Lonely Is The Night]]> http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/06/05/2rw4ea_may_mixtape:_the_scenester%27s_shopping_list Fri, 5 Jun 2009 01:32:10 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/06/05/2rw4ea_may_mixtape:_the_scenester%27s_shopping_list For once, I'd say this theme needs no explanation.



1. Little Cream Soda - The White Stripes
2. Cigarettes and Alcohol - Oasis
3. Peanuts - The Police
4. Cheap Wine - What Made Milwaukee Famous
5. Tylenol - Ben Kweller
6. Tasty Fish - Spoon
7. Eggplant - Train
8. Shaking Sugar - Wilco
9. Chips Ahoy! - The Hold Steady
10. Milk And Money - The Fratellis
11. Strawberry Wine - Ryan Adams]]> http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/05/07/2pf3ka_return_of_the_mixtapes Thu, 7 May 2009 04:09:54 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/05/07/2pf3ka_return_of_the_mixtapes I just wanted to write a quick note to anyone who likes my mixtapes to say that I have redone all of my previous posts which were eaten by the draconian last.fm spam policy, and all of the links should be working now. Access to over a year of mixtapes has been restored!

If you are interested but don't feel like wading through all my journals, here's a handy link to all my downloads:

http://tinyurl.com/dn8oah

MIght I also suggest that if you like what I do, you can subscribe to my journal via RSS using the link below (I personally use Google reader).

http://ws.audioscrobbler.com/1.0/user/laura_mac/journals.rss

Hope that was helpful, and enjoy the music!

Laura]]> http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/05/05/2p8sdy_april_mixtape:_isle_of_the_dead Tue, 5 May 2009 04:19:57 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/05/05/2p8sdy_april_mixtape:_isle_of_the_dead The Monthly Mixtape theme for April was interesting: choose a photo or other work of art and base a mixtape around it. After a lot of thought, I realized that one of my favorite works of art, Arnold Böcklin's Isle of the Dead would be the perfect subject. Each song refers to an aspect of the painting, and I think the overall mood reflects it pretty well. Hope you enjoy!



1. M. Ward - Dead Man
2. Midlake - Golden Hair
3. Feist - The Water
4. Spoon - The Ghost of You Lingers
5. Band of Horses - The Funeral
6. A.A. Bondy - Of The Sea
7. Neutral Milk Hotel - Ghost
8. Beirut - In the Mausoleum
9. Kings of Convenience - The Passenger
10. Ryan Adams - I See Monsters
11. Islands - Swans (Life After Death)
12. Josh Ritter - Harbortown]]> http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/03/31/2lzqih_march_mixtape:_the_here_and_now Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:53:28 +0000 http://www.last.fm/user/laura_mac/journal/2009/03/31/2lzqih_march_mixtape:_the_here_and_now I realized this month that I haven't just made a mixtape of my current favorite songs in, I kid you not, about two years. The theme this month wasn't that great, so I decided to just go ahead and do a mixtape of what I've been listening to lately. All but two have been chronically stuck in my head over the past month; "All Along the Watchtower" is included in tribute to the series finale of Battlestar Galactica a couple of weeks ago, and "The Curse" is a new song I got to hear Josh Ritter perform at Center Stage in Atlanta last week. (If you liked The Temptation of Adam, you'll love this one too. The next album is going to be a heartbreaker.)

For the cover art, I was going to do a photo of the music-related doodles I've been doing on my class notes over the last month, but my camera broke at the Ritter show, so instead you get a photo of my favorite spring pastime. Thank goodness for warm weather and daylight saving time!

Click on the pic, download, enjoy, comment.



1. Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
2. Jeff Tweedy - Henry & The H-Bomb (Live)
3. Neil Young - Heart of Gold
4. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - All Along the Watchtower
5. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cold Roses
6. Ingrid Michaelson - The Chain (Live From Webster Hall)
7. Big Star - Thirteen
8. Josh Ritter - The Curse (Live)
9. Paul McCartney - Great Day
10. Ray LaMontagne - You Are The Best Thing
11. Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand a Chance]]>