Tracklist:

A Real Hero. College
Nightcall. Kavinsky & Lovefoxxx
Warm in the Winter. Glass Candy
My Name is Trouble. Karen Ann
Kelly. When Saints Go Machine
Winter Beats. I Break Horses
Summer Days. Toy Camera
My Mistakes. Eleanor Friedberger
Shampain. Marina & the Diamonds
Ten-Twenty-Ten. Generationals
Undertow. Stars
As If You’ve Never Been Away. Ulrich Schnauss
Other Girls. Eux Autres
Mouthful of Diamonds. Phantogram
Romance. Wild Flag
East Harlem. Beirut
An Accidental Memory in the Case of Death. Eluvium
Home. Jenny O
Put the Days Away. Sun Airway
Repatriated. Handsome Furs

Most of these songs are from 2011. But also 2010, 2008, 2004, 2001. I trust that your iTunes will provide all those sorts of details. It’s always a thrill for us to stumble across great songs that we missed from another era. If there is a theme here, it’s that there are a lot of synthesizers. If there are thank-yous, it’s to the usual Bryan and Jeremy for their pathologic song-enthusiasms, and to our friends on this mix who are making kick-ass music. By the way, there are no songs on this one by Destroyer (in August you might recall that we posted our Mixmas part 1 with the splendid “Poor in Love” on it). Destroyer’s Kaput was hands-down our favorite album of the year. If you haven’t already done so, we recommend playing it over and over in its entirety and discovering its layers of sublimenessness.
Also you should know how much fun we had editing this mix down to just 20 songs. Last night was a surprisingly uncontested dance-party of taste-brokering joyousness. Colossal. We hope you have as much fun listening! Long live TGW and its deep roots in music. We felt so lucky a few days ago to raise a festive glass of bubbles with so many of you and toast to a wonderful 2012. We love love love youse! And to those who couldn’t be there, you know who you are. Play this and feel our TGW love. Our love is wide-reaching and enduring. Until we meet again!

1.) This song “A Real Hero” by College (feat. Electric Youth) is from the movie Drive. I could not stop playing this song every day, ten times a day, for a week straight. Especially after experiencing the movie. Go ahead, see the movie and see if you do not play this song obsessively. And if you go, which I strongly recommend, know this: it has some serious violence. I felt a bit traumatized when the movie ended. But also, I felt like I had just watched something amazing. One of my favorite movies of the year. Anyone else feel the same?

Click here to view the embedded video.

2.) Berlin. While visiting that city a couple weeks ago we were struck by a few things. First, it’s a really really fun place to visit right now (ok, for a few years now, but we’re late to the party). It’s cheap. It’s energized. There is a DIY artistic entrepreneurial-ness everywhere. Except for the food–which is terrible (Such a weird defect in a world-class city. But, communism, I imagine, was not a nurturing patron of inventive cuisines. Also, as a guide book pointed out, Germany’s short-lived stint as a World Empire meant that its colonies never got a gastro-foot-hold in Berlin, unlike say, Britain’s Indian cuisine, France’s Moroccan, Dutch’ Indonesian, etc.) Another thing, a lot of people walk their dogs off-leash. And people don’t seem to care. And people walk their dogs right onto the subway. It’s a very permissive city. You can buy beer, wine, liquor at just about any corner store. And throughout the night. And you can carry it on the street. Or onto the subway. Berlin’s treatment of alcohol is fascinating. I’ve never seen people on a subway car at 10:30 in the morning enjoying a large green bottle of beer. People who look like they’re on their way to work. Perhaps other countries in the world are just as permissive, I’ve just never seen it displayed like this before. The other thing about Berlin is how it makes you confront some heavy heavy shit. You don’t get that gut-kick visiting Barcelona or Beijing. The War, the holocaust, the Wall. There are some really moving memorials and museums completed in the last few years, in particular, the holocaust memorial and the Jewish History Museum (by Daniel Libeskind). I won’t describe them here, but by themselves they would make the trip to Berlin worth the trouble.

3.) Amsterdam. Has anyone else been there recently? Is it just me, or is it just a little bit boring? For all the ground-breaking permissiveness of this city (red-lights, coffee houses, legalized outdoor sex in their public park, etc.), it felt really sleepy. Central Amsterdam–outside of the red-light district–is a gorgeous and dreamy world of canals, bridges, and 17th Century houses and is clearly inhabited by very wealthy people. It’s like visiting those tiny brownstone streets in the West Village, except with much greater acreage and more beauty, and everyone rides bikes instead of cabs, but it still feels unwelcoming, like you don’t belong there. And for a city known for its nightlife, it closes down really early. We had a hard time finding a place for dinner after ten. And it was hard to get find a decent place to have a drink after eleven. It felt at times like a movie-set that gets abandoned by night–except for that occasional bike whisking by. Maybe Summer is a lot different than October. And with a pack of friends in the know, it’s probably a lot more fun. Did we miss something? Is there a good reason to visit again soon?

4.) Occupy Wall Street. A couple days ago I came across this link to Adbusters that proposed OWS finally take up a unifying cause: The Robin Hood Tax. Why hadn’t I heard of this until now? The Robin Hood Tax video (feat. Bill Nighy) below is from February. Of 2010. I should really check my facebook more often. Regardless, the video’s pretty clever. Could this idea really work? Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have signed on. And a lot of smart economists too. Could this be the unifying rallying cry that OWS could finally manifest? Maybe. Is this the time? Adbusters proposes October 29th. The Robin Hood Global March. Torches and pitchforks. And our TGW masks. If this is for real, my fellow travelers, let’s make ourselves heard! Anyone in?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s a mix I made for the cocktail hour before a friend’s wedding a few years ago.

1. There is No Greater Love – Dinah Washington
2. Isn’t it Romantic? – Chet Baker
3. My Funny Valentine – Miles Davis Quintet
4. Pretty-Eyed Baby – Roy Eldridge & Dizzy Gillespie
5. Come Rain or Come Shine – James Booker
6. Too Marvelous for Words – Ella Fitzgerald
7. Today I Love Everybody – Johnny Hartman
8. In a Mellow Tone – Coleman Hawkins
9. You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To – Coleman Hawkins & Ben Webster
10. Lover Man – Charlie Parker
11. I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love with Me – Billie Holiday & Lester Young
12. Say It With a Kiss – Billie Holiday & Lester Young
13. The Way You Look Tonight – Cal Tjader
14. If I Were a Bell – Sarah Vaughan & Joe Williams
15. Little Girl – Joe Venuti & Eddie Lang
16. Did Anyone Ever Tell You? – Fats Waller
17. I Get a Kick Out of You – Dinah Washington
18. I Could Write a Book – Dinah Washington
19. Lookie Lookie Lookie (Here Comes Cookie) – Cleo Brown
20. Thou Swell – Carmen McRae
21. Night and Day – Django Reinhardt & Stephane Grappelli
22. I Can’t Give You Anything But Love – Louis Armstrong
23. I’ve Got the World on a String – Louis Armstrong

1.) Aging

2.) American people’s opposition to Progressive Taxation. How did so many Americans reach the conclusion that it is not the role of goverment to correct economic injustice? It makes me sick that lofty principals of limited government trump the equally lofty principals of economic fairness. America is so weird.

3.) Michele Martin and her radio show “Tell Me More,” the NPR show that airs during my lunch hour. After I walk home at lunchtime, I turn on the radio so a human voice might mitigate the loneliness of my empty kitchen. So I don’t have to eat lunch in silence. But then I just get annoyed instead. Michele’s transparently judgy interview style just kind of drives me bonkers. It’s not that I have a hard time with anyone else’s sense of self righteousness exceeding my own. Ok, maybe a little bit I do. However I do expect my journalists to do a better job of feigning neutrality. She just can’t do it. She should just get a cable show. Also, I’m annoyed that an hour-long show focused exclusively on race issues has to air in the middle of the day. Five days a week! Shows that appeal to special groups of people shouldn’t get Prime Time. Garrison Keeler gets a weekend afternoon for a reason. Come on WHYY.

4.) Jars of “small-batch” pickles that cost $15.

5.) Marketplace on NPR. I’m sure there are scores of blog posts about this. But, what a piece of shit reporting. It’s a straight-up celebration of the Stock Market and the Banking industry dressed up in NPR garb. Total brainwashed capitalist propaganda, complete with the sad/happy music that accompanies whether the stock market went up or down. And full of stories of “experts” talking about why the market went up or down on a given day. Total high school hallway gossip and power-elite-planted stories presented as The Truth. Kai Ryssdal is the douchiest host on NPR. Yeah, I said it Kai. Go see if you can wash all that corporate cum out of your mouth. I think you can’t.

6.) Israel. Am I the only one (besides a billion Muslims) who is sick of the manipulations and the immorality of this country? Ok, I know there is a vocal minority in Israel trying to change the current politics. But the way that the Israeli government (and a lot of Israeli people) go on actively constructing settlements and keeping a choke-hold on Palestinians and on and on, it’s just gross. And the only country who acts almost as despicably as Israel is (ahem) the US, oh, and, well, I suppose just about every other powerful self-interested state on this planet, save Canada and some of those sweet compassionate Nordic countries. But really, Israel is doing some seriously fucked-up stuff. And totally getting away with it. And this resistance to the Palestinians having a voice at the UN is some seriously eye-rolling double talk by the US. I hate how much control Israel has in America. And how even a Republican primary requires the candidates to grovel around about how much they love Israel ass-fisting anyone who stands up to them. It makes me sick. But then I stop and I step back and look at my behaviors lately. It’s strange, but I noticed recently that I pay way more attention to news stories that involve Israel. Way more. I even seek them out. I’ve come to realize that I do that because of this awesome perverse pleasure I take in feeling greater and greater righteous indignation about Israel. “What?!” “Again?!” “How dare they?!” I’m starting to relate to Israel in the way Democrats used to relate to everything said by Sarah Palin. And the way Republicans now relate to Obama’s “redistribution of wealth.” I’m addicted to righteous indignation. And especially about Israel. Totally hooked. A junkie. I don’t even care about those sores and scabs. I am so not done. Fuck rehab. No, no, no. When the quality of this indignation dope is so sweet and pure and zionist dreamy, I just can’t say enough. Come on Netanyahu, keep my needle full and dirty. I love the righteous horse galloping through my veins announcing that someone else is so much more demonically morally bankrupt than me.

7.) The American culture-machine cycle. Not the 24 hour news-cycle, but the 7 day culture cycle. This is not new, but it’s gotten so sickly obvious lately. I’m so tired of the way every magazine, newspaper, talk-show (yes, Stewart, even you) are a part of the culture cycle that all promote the same same artistic/academic thing that comes out every week. The movies, albums, books, videos released in a given week all appear in different versions in every venue imaginable. Even the independent music blogs I read. Even the ones that seem so darlingly home-made, they all feature the same song, album, video and tour news that the others are all writing about. How does this happen? Where is the Uber-portal? I just get kind of depressed by it all. Even me, who loves LOVES the Uber-portal’s sub-portals, is feeling weary and suspicious of the homogeneity of it all.

8.) Daylight getting shorter.

9.) The way physical things eventually fall apart. Chinua Achebe. I never finished reading that book. But I repeat that book title to myself a few times a week. With wisened resignment. And not just about my body. About the material things around me. Houses, cars, clothes. Oh how I hate that entropy part of reality.

10.) Apple’s slowness/resistance to bring brain-implanted smart phone technology to the market. It means that when I have three workdays per week without a computer (except the tiny iphone screen), my full presence as TGW commenter is severely impaired. I’m so sorry for untimely or absent responses to posts and authors I love on TGW. Oh, I long for the future of telekinetic communication. And being able to send affection and witty comments instantly and telepathically. Here, I’m trying it right now. Hope you feel the love.

And a tracklist too:

1.) Robyn – Every Teardrop is a Waterfall (Coldplay cover)
2.) Lady Gaga – The Edge of Glory
3.) Katy Perry – Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)
4.) Martin Solveig & Drangonette – Hello
5.) Tune-Yards – Bizness
6.) Keegan DeWitt – Hearts Beat Loud
7.) Purity Ring – Ungirthed
8.) John Maus – Believer
9.) Taragana Pyjarama – Ocean
10.) Ducktails – Killing the Vibe
11.) Cut Copy – Need You Now
12.) California Wives – Tokyo
13.) Star Slinger – Mornin’
14.) Niva – Boy from the sun
15.) Bombay Bicycle Club – Shuffle
16.) Clive Tanaka Y Su Orquestra – New Chicago
17.) Plushgun – Just Impolite
18.) The Go! Team – Apollo Throwdown (Starslinger Remix)
19.) Houses – Soak it up
20.) Seapony – What you see
21.) Destroyer – Poor in Love

And some comments too:

Yes, this is the third mix in a row we’ve kicked off with Robyn. Shouldn’t every mix start with a new kick-ass Robyn track? Yes, of course. So she swooped in and remade Coldplay’s latest single, and it sounds so Robyn–as if she wrote it herself and, sorry Coldplay, it’s a way better version and it is really really doing it for us. Loving those double-time drums. (Fyi, it’s a live version from a BBC radio in-studio recording.  It seems there’s no other version available for now and so for some reason the volume is significantly lower than all the other songs on the rest of the mix.  I guess that’s also part of the reason that it makes sense to start the mix with it–so you only have to make one visit to adjust the sound (when track 2 starts up in a higher volume.  you’ve been advised!)) Always thinking of your comfort dear listener.

And yes, it’s 21 songs, but you’ll notice that Lady G and Katy P are represented right up front there. Easy to jump over. But if for some reason you have been protected from pop culture for the last three months, you can finally get your ears wormed like the rest of the Northern Hemisphere and fight over which sax solo really ruled the summer.

The “Hello” song has also tunneled its way into this summer and, although it is an awesome high-energy song, you might be sick of it by now, so skipping tracks 2-4 is totally understandable, but please stay with us for 5-21 (and of course Robyn) cause they’re really excellent songs. And if you happened to download the summer mix I recommended by that Swiss blogger Guerolito then you already own three more songs. So out of 160 MB here, you can delete six songs, and voila, it’s only a 15 song mix. A very considerate length I think. I hope you agree.

Oh, one more thing, that Plushgun song “Just Impolite” is painfully, excruciatinly embarrassing, a horrible Postal Service rip-off with idiotic lyrics. It sounds like it belongs in a rom-com’s montage sequence where the bickering couple finally make-up and hug and the camera spins around them. It’s really good to play ironically in the background when you’re working through your own lover’s quarrel. Try it. Big laughs. And then you kind of get that keyboard part stuck in your head. Damn it.

Oh, and I hope your summer has been awesome. Here’s to a prolonged Indian Summer (can you still say that?) and a relaxing Labor Day. XO!