Late Autumn Mix

I finally got around to putting together a Late Autumn mix. Even though it's already gotten cold and we've received snow, I think a Late Autumn mix is still appropriate. It's not unofficially winter until after Thanksgiving in my book. Anyway, I am pretty pleased with this mix. I managed to keep it under 80 minutes, which is not the easiest thing for me to do --- no two-part mix this time. I think the tone remains quite consistent, with just enough variation to keep things interesting. I made the mix available in two formats: a .zip file containing the individual tracks and a single, long-playing mp3 with all of the tracks and transitions.

Here's a track-by-track run through of my Late Autumn mix:

• "My Life" - jj. This song is a cover of "My Life" by The Game, but you'd never guess that if you had only listened to the Swedish duo's take. This song is the perfect lead-off to the mix. Just piano and vocals.
• "Cherry Tree" - The National. As I was thinking about which songs to include in this mix, I decided early on that I wanted to avoid the songs that would come to mind easily. That meant that I'd have to dismiss certain bands or songs that always come to mind when I'm putting together mixes. The National is a band that definitely comes to mind when I'm thinking about autumn. I've tried to share this amazing band with others as much as possible so I definitely wanted to include a more obscure selection in this mix. "Cherry Tree", released on the Cherry Tree EP is a song that I think some of you National fans may have never heard. It's quite stunning.
• "November" - Azure Ray. This is the only song I've heard from the group, and, as you would guess from the title, the song is a perfect inclusion for this mix. Again, this somber song is quite simple: an acoustic guitar, cello, and beautiful female vocals.
• "Flume" - Bon Iver. No autumn mix would be complete without Bon Iver. Some artists just capture a season's essence, and Bon Iver and fall are almost inseparable in my mind. I could have picked just about any track from the amazing For Emma. If you've still yet to check the album out, do it now.
• "H in New England" - Max Richter. I first heard this song featured on an NPR music program, and it blew me away. It's a short piano piece, and it is sublime. It's the first of two instrumental tracks on this mix.
• "Love is Stronger" - Sebadoh. This is the first track on the mix with a distorted guitar. It's full of melancholy in the lyrics and the music. It also has one of my favorite guitar solos, nothing amazing in terms of technicality, just incredibly emotive.
• "Your Protector" - Fleet Foxes. This band's music has always made me want to drive through the mountains with the windows down and the volume up. Their music works as both spring and fall music. I decided to go with one of the songs that gives me a more distinct fall vibe.
• "How to Disappear Completely" - Radiohead. It hit me while looking through Radiohead's discography how many of their songs I could classify as fall music. They've never recorded the sunniest music, and there's just something about their music that makes me think of this time of year. (On a side note, Radiohead is definitely night music --- there's an interesting correlation between night music and fall music). This is my favorite track from Kid A, and it features one of my Top 5 Radiohead moments near the end of the track.
• "Shame" - Low. Low is a band that I've always read great things about, but I'd never gotten around to listening to their music. I finally found an album of theirs and give it a go. I've been really impressed. Very simple but beautiful music. I need to listen to more of their music to prepare for their mid-December show in SLC.
• "Enchanting Ghost" - Sufjan Stevens. Sufjan is an incredible musician. This song comes from a great EP he released a few months ago. This is simply a great song.
• "Foreground" - Grizzly Bear. Grizzly Bear is a band that kills it live. They're so great live that I struggle to really get into their albums. Nonetheless, they always have a handful of songs on their albums that blow me away. This song is part of that handful from their most recent album, Veckatimest. Again, a very simple song that's mostly piano and vocals.
• "For Real" - Okkervil River. This is probably my favorite Okkervil River song. It may have been their first song I ever heard. I chose to include it because I felt the mix could use a song that hits a little harder. The song makes me think of the way the days grow darker and darker as winter looms over the world.
• "Sorry" - The Wind-Up Bird. This is the second instrumental track on the mix. It comes from a very interesting album, Whips, in which the titles of the eight tracks come from a heart-wrenching voicemail, "Sorry that I've become this monster -- I love you a lot." I first heard a different track from the album in which the actual message is played over and over, little by little being deconstructed and transformed into a collage of white noise. It's an astounding and punishing track, a little too much for this mix. This track, however, the album's opener, fits right in.
• "Protection" - Liars. It took awhile for me to notice this song. I finally did, sitting on a plane on my way to visit my sister in Arizona back in March. Since then, I've listened to it many, many times. It's an atypical song for the Liars, which may be why it finally hit me as forcefully as it did.
• "Scientist Studies" - Death Cab for Cutie. I haven't really followed Death Cab's rise to indie stardom, but I still love their first two albums a lot. There wasn't a whole lot of thought put into this selection, other than thinking to myself, "Hey, I really, really like this song." So that's why it's here.
• "Kettering" - The Antlers. If you want an album to tear you apart emotionally, really dig in and listen to Hospice by The Antlers. From Wikipedia: "Hospice tells the story of an emotionally abusive relationship, explained through the analogy of a hospice worker and a terminally-ill patient." The frontman/songwriter hasn't shared just how autobiographical the album is, but it doesn't matter. Even if the songs were completely fictitious, the story they tell is heartbreaking. If any portion of the lyrics are autobiographical, they become that more devastating. "Kettering" is my favorite song from the album. Its power continues to amaze me.
• "In the Backseat" - The Arcade Fire. This is another instance in which I wasn't necessarily drawn to a seasonal connection but to a tonal and thematic connection. This song just felt right as the final track for this mix.

Well, that's that.

Click here for the .zip with the individual tracks.

Click here for the long mp3.