An Atrocious Undertaking - A Genres & Judgements Mixture

"Then I reflected that everything happens to a man precisely, precisely now."

- Jorge Luis Borges, The Garden Of Forking Paths

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These 12 songs were either discovered during the first two months of 2012 (tracks 1-5 and 7), or have been filed away for longer than I can recall  in my "For Future Mixes" folder I've built over the last two years (tracks 6 and 8-12). That folder had gotten obnoxiously large, so I decided to sort the songs by their tonality so I'd have a better chance of clearing it out this year. As a result, I think it's safe to say this mix is a little less schizophrenic than my others have been. For this one, songs I felt were best classified as "atmosphere" music were collected, so they're a little more on the low-key side (although presenting them as low key feels misleading; perhaps you, the listener, can better discern how they should be described). Hope you like.

Track list and streaming links available after the jump.

A Good Man Is Hard To Find - A Genres & Judgements Mixture

Right now I'm in the in the final stages of putting together my Best of 2011 lists. And since the year's about over, I started rummaging around my music database for some tunes I could write to, and found a ton of banging stuff I had completely forgot existed (as you'll notice in the upcoming Albums of the Year post, I slacked off with checking up on new music big time once September got under way).

This one starts off on the sparse side with a fascinating remix of an older Radiohead song by Julianna Barwick, but I promise there's some action after that, highlighted by Trent Reznor and Co.'s rendition of probably my all-time favorite Led Zeppelin track. These were released in 2011, and The Black Keys and Lana Del Rey songs have only been available for about a week, so there really is nothing stale about this mix.

And the title of this bad boy? I have a Flannery O'Connor collection on my bookshelf and, even though the girl in that picture and these songs don't have much of anything to do with her short story, I couldn't excise that phrase once it popped into my head.

Track list and streaming links available after the jump.

Fuzz Box - A Genres & Judgements Mixture

Hey, look! A post without "breaking" in the title.

Had to make a sudden trip out of town, so I won't be able to devote much time to this week's post as I had planned. Fortunately, a reflection upon the state of Marvel's Ultimate Comics line can wait a little while. So here's a quick mix of songs I've been listening to over the last month or so instead. I needed to put some tunes together for my trip anyhow, so yadda-yadda...two birds. The next mixture will get a proper breakdown of each song, I promise.

Description and track list available after the jump.

Summertide - A Genres & Judgments Mixture

Summer's been good to me. I'm finally rested up after what the first half of 2011 threw my way. I sense I'm about to get back into a posting groove in the coming days, especially delivering that embarrassingly overdue recap of the shows that have ended since my last write-up back in January (it might end up being 30 strong).

But first I needed a new slew of jams to help me focus. Thus, I give you Summertide.

Description and track list available after the jump.

Rivers Thaw - A Genres & Judgments Mixture

Rivers Thaw is a 41-minute ode to moving on from winter told via 10 songs, nearly all of which have been unleashed upon our collective eardrums in these few weeks since the new year began.

Song descriptions and track list available after the jump.

'Member The Ed Lover Dance, Dawg? - A Genres & Judgments Mixture

I don't have much to say about this batch of tunes. Other than "High School Lovers," which is an old favorite I re-discovered recently, all the tracks are new to me since my last mix. I spent a little longer crafting this one than my previous endeavors. Hopefully it shows.

Track list and listening links available after the jump.

Drawing the Human Body - A Genres & Judgments Mixture

Before hitting you up with the Fall TV report card and my end-of-year media rundown, here's a brief alternative to the plethora of Christmas music playing right now. This is more or less a burning-off of some cuts I've been digging of late, so ring in the new year with a crisp selection of tunes.

Track list and download link available after the jump.

And Thus Spoke The Graffito - A Genres & Judgments Mixture

Been listening to some good jams lately, but hadn't sourced any into a playlist since my last endeavor. Some entries were relatively brand new to my ears since July, while others are long-forgotten favorites recently rediscovered via a shuffling iPod.

Whether it be a testament to a diversity of soundscapes or merely an example of musical psychosis, is for you to determine. Regardless, I implore you to enjoy.

Track list and download link available after the jump.

mojito - A Genres & Judgments Mixture

Playlists used to be one of my grand specialties in another age, mainly of the 90-minute cassette tape. Hadn't made one for at least 5 years before this one, so I'm probably rusty, but dig it nonetheless.

This being a particularly sweltering mid-July in the Northeast, I had summer on the gray matter. So as I sat in my new apartment and somehow resisted turning on the A/C to keep my dollars in tow for autumn, I cobbled together some of the best music that was new to me in the last two or three months. And I only cheated once with The Explorers Club with that time frame, but they just scream summer and begged for inclusion.

There's a decent mix of styles here which I feel encapsulates the spirit of summer from the mad jam of a house party, to the longing crush you won't see for months, to the drink that tastes just a little better on a day with a high dew point, to the realization that fall's about to kick in and you better enjoy the heat while you still can. I tossed in two fantastic covers (Bob Dylan & Buddy Holly), and limited myself to only two tracks from Best Coast (my current musical obsession).

Btw, I just discovered blip.fm. So if you're feeling so inclined, become one of my listeners to see what music I'm into at any given moment. Without further delay, I present mojito.

Track list and download link after the jump.