Tuning In & Out of Love:

A Mix by Jamora
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I originally made this mix to be played in reverse. Starting from complete bitterness, the listener will be taken backward in time-- visiting the various stages of grief, then going back to the break-up, next the period of doubt (but knowing you're totally going to get dumped), and finally returning to the lovey-dovey stages when you thought "Geeze, this person is amazing!" No, they probably weren't. You were too blinded by your hormones. I know. So here is my angst-ridden portion of the mix, complete with some charming (but angsty) pop songs and classy hits.


1. The Police - "So Lonely"

"Welcome to this one man show
Just take a seat they're always free
No surprise, no mystery
In this theatre that I call my soul
I always play the starring role"

2. Apples In Stereo - "I Can't Believe"

"She come and she goes at sunrise
She come and she goes when I'm yawning
She come and she goes, that's not nice"

3. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - "Think I Wanna Die"

"Think I wanna die if you don't stay
drop dead in place, you can forget it
Carry a torch for days,
I'm gonna let it burn"

4. PAS/CAL - "You Were Too Old For Me"

"Could've called you if I wanted
There's a number to your room
I thought it would be so much smarter
To just stay in"

5. Nick Lowe - "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass"

"I love the sound of breaking glass
Especially when I'm lonely
I need the noises of destruction
When there's nothing new"

6. The Magic Numbers - "Love Me Like You"

"All those years gone by,
I only want to find a way to make it hard for you"

7. Cake - "She'll Come Back to Me"

"...to hear her footsteps on my walkway
she never came,
she never even called"

8. Gang of Four - "Damaged Goods"

"I'm kissing you goodbye!"

9. Peter Bjorn & John - "Let's Call It Off"

"When you decided to knock on my door,
did you remember what happened before?
It just didn't sparkle, it just didn't glow"

10. The Futureheads - "Skip to the End"

"I would skip to the end
Decide if it's worth going through with
Skip to the last paragraph before we start
Said a happy ending or a broken heart"

11. Sondre Lerche - "I Cannot Let You Go"

"And it's all coming back to me now
So we'll pretend or make up something new
You can push me away but I cannot let you go"

12. The Wannadies - "You and Me Song"

"You and me always
And forever
It was always you and me always"


But not anymore... forget it! Ugh!

Boo, Love!

Seeing as I'm mostly apathetic about love (emotions? Que es esto?), it was pretty hard to make an angry love mix. However, I'm a huge fan of unrequited love (see: most of my history) so most of these songs are about that. And of course, I made this mix without looking at the ones that have already been posted (Hava's), there are two overlaps, but only one artist overlap. That just means these are perfect songs for this month!

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1. The Carpenters: Goodbye to Love
Loneliness and empty days will be my only friend
From this day love is forgotten
I'll go on as best I can

2. Jens Lekman & Tracey Thorn: Yeah! Oh Yeah!
So it's over, you and I
Was my whole life just a lie?
Yeah! Oh, yeah!

3. Mirah: Don't Die in Me
All the time you felt so free
Did you forget how much you once loved me

4. Feist: Let it Die
Don't you wish that we could forget that kiss
And see this for what it is
That we're not in love

5. Joanna Newsom: Peach, Plum, Pear
And I have read the right books
To interpret your looks
You were knocking me down
With the palm of your eye

6. Bright Eyes: Lover I Don't Have to Love
Love's an excuse to get hurt
And to hurt
Do you like to hurt?
I do, I do

7. The Smiths: Unhappy Birthday
'Cause you're evil
And you lie
And if you should die
I may feel slightly sad
(But I won't cry)

8. Pulp: F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.
What is this feeling called love?
Why me, why you, why here, why now?
It doesn't make no sense, no
It's not convenient, no
It doesn't fit my plans, no
It's something I don't understand, oh

9. Buzzcocks: Ever Fallen in Love With Someone (You Shouldn't've Fallen In Love With)?
I can't see much of a future
Unless we find out what's to blame
What a shame
And we won't be together much longer
Unless we realize that we are the same

10. Vivian Girls: I Heard You Say
No you'll never be in his arms again,
I'm so cold.

11. Girls: Laura
Where did it start?
We used to be friends
Now when I run into you, I pretend I don't see you
I know that you hate me

12. The Bird and the Bee: Fucking Boyfriend
Are you working up to something?
But you give me almost nothing
Keep me helpless
Up to something on my knees
Would you ever be my
Would you be my fucking boyfriend?

13. Grizzly Bear: Ready, Able
Make a decision with a kiss
Maybe I have frostbite
And when I shuffled on back home
I made sure all my tracks in the snow were gone

14. Fever Ray: If I Had a Heart
if i had a heart i could love you
if i had a voice i would sing
after the night when i wake up
i'll see what tomorrow brings

15. Casiotone for the Painfully Alone: Nashville Parthenon
& when you make it back to Nashville
we'll forget all of your sins
& I still buy two pairs of everything
so when you come home you & I'll be twins

16. LCD Soundsystem: No Love Lost
We've been moving round in different situations
Knowing that the time would come
Just to see you torn apart
Witness to your empty heart

How Fucking Romantic

I tried to make this mix err more on the "we-broke-up-and-I'm-pissed" side than the "we-broke-up-and-I'm-wearing-black-eyeliner-and-moping" type of break-up songs. It's not perfect. It's messy and ugly, just like a broken relationship. Hey-o!

Let's commence.

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1. The Distillers -"Dismantle Me" Brode Dalle's throaty roar out-Courtney Loves even Courtney Love. Choice lyric: "And all I know dissolved/I could never reundo you"
2. Sleater-Kinney - "One More Hour".
The counterpoint harmonies between Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein just drive home the heartbreak. It makes it hit home even more when you know this was written about their breakup. Choice lyric: "Take off the dress, take off the face/I'll hold you close before I leave"
3. The Magnetic Fields - "Yeah! Oh Yeah!"
It would be impossible to make a breakup mix without this band. Choice lyric "I've enjoyed making you miserable for years". For the way Stephen Merrit delivers that line, in the most cosmopolitan way.
4. Rihanna - "Breakin' Dishes"
Choice lyric: "I'm killin' time, you know, bleachin' your clothes/I'm roasting marshmellows on the fire/And what I'm burning is your attire"
5. Ani Difranco - "Dilate" Choice lyric: "'Cuz you've left me with nothing/But I've worked with less"
6. Ben Folds - "Gone" Choice lyric: "I know that you went right to someone else/while I worked through all this shit here by myself". So simple, but it cuts right to the quick.
7. Alkaline Trio - "Stupid Kid" Choice lyric: "Remember when I said I loved you/Well forget it, I take it back". Bratty and perfect.
8. Nightmare of You - "Why Am I Always Right" Choice lyric: "Stick a fork in a socket, do what you'd like /Just make sure that I'm far out of your life"
9. Bjork - "5 Years" Choice lyric: "I dare you to take me on/I dare you to show me your palms/I'm so sick of cowards/Who say they want, but can't handle love"
10. The Mountain Goats - "No Children".
Maybe the finest breakup song in the bunch. Hell, I'd go as far to say the best breakup song EVER. No hyperbole. Choice lyric: Too many, but I'll go with "And I hope when you think of me years down the line /You can't find one good thing to say /And I'd hope that if I found the strength to walk out, You'd stay the hell out of my way"
11. Of Montreal - "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal"
At nearly 12 minutes, this is by far the longest song on this mix, but it is well worth it. The energy just builds and builds. Plus, spaceship noises! Choice lyric: "Let's tear the fucking house apart/Let's tear our fucking bodies apart/But let's just have some fun"
12. Fiona Apple- "Oh Well" Choice lyric: "What wasted unconditional love/On somebody who doesn't believe in the stuff"
13. Dance Hall Crashers - "Nothing Left To Say" Choice lyric: "So you can't be mad when you don't get your sweater back /'Cause it's the only part of you that I can hold"
14. Dresden Dolls - "Truce" Choice lyric: "And if we should meet through some misunderstanding/I'll be very sweet, very patient and forgiving/Now get off my side of the state"
15. Robyn - "Should Have Known" Choice lyric: "My family, they never did pretend/My mama felt she never liked you/And neither did my friends"
16. Feist - "Let It Die" Choice lyric: "And after all it won't take long to fall in love /Now I know what I don't want /I learned that with you"
17. Kate Nash - "Foundations" Adorable british accents make everything go down easier, don't they? Choice lyric: "Well, I'll leave you there 'till the mornin'/And I purposely wont turn the heating on/And dear God, I hope I'm not stuck with this one."
18. Shellac "Prayer To God".
And I've saved the best one for last. This isn't so much a breakup song as it is, dear God, keep Steve Albini AWAY from that girl and her boyfriend cause he IS gonna fucking kill them. White-hot anger, distilled into a four minute song. Choice lyric: "Make him cry like a woman, no particular woman/Let him hold out hope that someone or other might come". Ouch!

New Theme for February:

History has shown that there are two distinct themes of love songs.

Theme the first: The Honeymoon Phase. These songs are characterized by their devotion to romance, undying affection, wonder, and massive promises of love eternal.

Theme the second: The songs for when those promises are proven to be the worthless lies they are.

Guess which ones I want you to make a mixtape of.

Please give me ≤80 minutes of the rawest tunes you can scrape together for rebounds/breakups/white-hot-emotional-rage. Difficulty level: No Alanis or Ms. Gaynor.

Valentine's Day's a-comin'! Get your mix full of bile ready!

for these, we are truly thankful

I'm going to avoid using horrible puns ("Feast on these!") and just give you the tracklisting. I think they're all pretty great songs... enjoy.

1. The American Analog Set - Born on the Cusp
2. Say Anything - Shiksa (Girlfriend)
3. Reggie and the Full Effect - Thanx For Stayin'
4. The Stills - Baby Blues
5. Soft - You Make Me Wanna Die
6. Rilo Kiley - So Long
7. Lightspeed Champion - No Surprise (For Wendela)
8. Jimmy Eat World - Table For Glasses
9. We Are Scientists - Spoken For
10. Modest Mouse - Broke
11. Of Montreal - So Begins Our Alabee
12. Cut Copy - Lights and Music
13. Moving Units - Paper Hearts
14. The Promise Ring - Red and Blue Jeans
15. Wolf Parade - Modern World
16. Interpol - Obstacle I
17. Kent - Quiet Heart
18. Saves the Day - Rocks Tonic Juice Magic

November theme

Oh hey dudes,

Remember us?

This months' mix theme will be "Thanksgiving," as thought up by Vivian, who explains it thusly:

"Each song is your favorite song for each artist. Why you are thankful that that artist exists, bc they have this song"

That should be a pretty nice softball to get everyone back into the mix-making spirit after being out of practice.

Go to it. :)

Let's Go!

Hey hey fellow Mixies! (We call ourselves that, right?) I was inspired to actually get on and make a "World Tour" mix this time due to the fact that I basically spend 3-6 months of any calendar year outside of the good ol' US of A. So pardon my tardiness, & let's get to it shall we? (Warning, due to said theme, I took the liberty of making this mix as ethno-tastic as possible.)

Catch it while you can! (RAR)

1.Son of a Lion OST- Leaving the Workshop

2.Guided By Voices- As We Go Up, We Go Down

3.Coconut Records- West Coast: Dedicated to my bb grl Viv. :(

4.Cat Steves- Wild World

5.Asha Bhosle-Dum Maro Dum: The Subcontinent's go-to tune for getting high to, or so I would imagine. Not like I know from experience, or anything.

6.The Ramones- California Sun

7.The Kominas- Chaku!

8.Wall of Voodoo- Mexican Radio

9.The Modern Lovers-Modern World: Put down the cigarette, & drop outta BU.

10.Marie Laforet-Mon Ami Mon Amour: Buy a beret and try to convey a sexy, disaffected je ne sais quoi

11.Beirut-Postcards from Italy

12.Lata Mangeshkar-Aa Jaane Jaa: Just close your eyes and imagine this song screeching on an ancient record player as you sit in a seedy cafe in some developing world hole-in-the-wall waiting for a big "deal" to go down. You know the one. Avoid the first briefcase, it's a decoy filled with scorpions.

13.Patti Smith- Redondo Beach

14.Fun Boy Three- Our Lips Are Sealed (Urdu Version): A very recent discovery of mine, found while trolling for records on ebay.

15.They Might Be Giants-Istanbul

16.Kraftwerk-Das Model

17. M.I.A.-World Town: I know, I know- M.I.A. is supposed to be so over, but if I ever lead a revolution, my battle cry will totally be this song's titular refrain.

18.The Buzzcocks-Late for the Train: You've got the right briefcase, you fool- what are you waiting for? Run!

19.Broken Social Scene-Passport Radio

20. Carla Bruni-Quelqu'un m'a dit

21.Son of a Lion OST-Niaz Runs Away (Buchmann Remix):

22.The Clash- Rock the Casbah

23. The Cure-Killing an Arab: What does this song thing it is? Operation Iraqi Freedom? Zing! (This joke © 2004.)

24.Sex Pistols-Holiday in the Sun

25.The Velvet Underground-European Son

26.Phoenix-Long Distance Call:

27. Tears for Fears- Everybody Wants to Rule the World: Because let's face it, the central goal of travel is laying the groundwork for world domination, right? What, you guys don't consider the planet a giant Risk board?

28.Khalid- Didi (live): You and the briefcase, successfully cruising away on a Sheik's luxury party yacht as angry henchmen shake their fists impotently at you from the shore.

29. King Khan & The Shrines- Que Lindo Sueño: Au revoir mon petit!