Cat’s Cradle - a yvynyl mixtape

Time tangles some mighty webs, don’t it? You blink yr eye and all of a sudden you’re in a completely new world, new skin, new haircut, new seersucker suit. This weird journey we’re on, the surrealism of it all keeps yr mouth agape and full of wonder.  And this, friends, is just a small soundtrack. 

Original artwork by Philadelphia-based artist Jesse Hale Moore who is also in a band called Ladies Auxiliary. Follow him on Tumblr here. Used with permission.

Please support the artists represented in this mix! Buy their music, and go to their shows. I’ve provided you links here to discover more of their work, and you should.

Tracklist:

1. M83 - Midnight City
2. Jape - The Oldest Mind
3. Field Mouse - You Guys are Gonna Wake Up My Mom
4. Princeton - Clamoring for Your Heart
5. COOL RUNNINGS - The Fool
6. The War on Drugs - Come to the City
7. Adam Taylor Young - Hold On
8. Summer Camp - Better Off Without You
9. fthrsn - Hysteria
10. Leisure - Follow Me
11. Sin Kitty - Only When (I’m Lonely)
12. Teen Daze - The Harvest
13. Tommy Toussaint - Summer USA
14. TOPS - Turn Your Love Around
15. Violetness - The Coal
16. Night Shining - Faces
17. Elephant - Assembly
18. Mood Rings - Promise Me Eternity
19. The Bilinda Butchers - Half Open
20. Leverage Models - Fleeced (Before the Lord)
21. Black Brick - Gracely
22. High Highs - Flowers Bloom
23. Jessica Jalbert - Necromancy

Download directly here: http://bit.ly/sGewR7

Stream it here: http://8tracks.com/yvynyl

After downloading the mix folder, please create a new playlist in iTunes and then click and drag the folder to import, thereby maintaining track order.

Check out more yvynyl mixtapes here.

Heart Hug - a yvynyl mixtape

While we’re sweltering through middle of July, the heat dripping off our skin, beading at our hairline, it’s important to remember to keep that air flowing. Don’t give in to the A/C - roll those windows down!  Crank up that stereo. Embrace it.  Maybe these are a set of summer tunes for yr vacation roadtrips, or perhaps just yr backyard BBQs. Slow down and feel ‘em.

Original artwork by o_lie. Used with permission.

Please support these artists, they deserve it! Buy their music, and go to their shows. I’ve provided you links here to discover more of their work, and you should.

Tracklist:

1. Hooray for Earth - True Loves (removed by request)
2. Nurses - Fever Dreams
3. Hotel Mexico - Dear Les Friends
4. Twin Sister - Bad Street
5. R E A L M A G I C - No Things Left
6. Yung Life - Renegade
7. STONER SHOWERS - 4EVER AND 4EVER
8. Magnetic Poetry - Follow Me
9. Ela Orleans - Myriads
10. Youth Lagoon - July
11. BIGCOLOUR - Playing Puzzles
12. Bodies of Water - Open Rhythms
13. Sea Oleena - Southbound
14. Pure X - Twisted Mirror
15. Yourself and The Air - Trampolines
16. Fungi Girls - Velvet Days
17. Chains of Love - Black Hearts
18. Beige - Folds
19. Slowdance - Spell
20. Timber Timbre - Creep on Creepin On

Download directly here: http://bit.ly/ok6xkl

Stream it here: http://8tracks.com/yvynyl

After downloading the mix folder, please create a new playlist in iTunes and then click and drag the folder to import, thereby maintaining track order.

Check out more yvynyl mixtapes here.

Lucky Lucky - a yvynyl mixtape

In the last couple months since I’ve posted a mix I have heard a metric ton of amazing songs. My ‘potentials’ playlist was getting super bloated and in the rush and tumble of life, I had to force myself to trim down to just a couple gems. That’s hard to do. But you know that feeling you get after a good spring cleaning? Yeah, like that.

And as for luck - here’s to hoping these songs will bring you some! Lord knows they’ve been the soundtrack of the luckiest stretch of my life.

Original artwork by Jesse Draxler who is also here on Tumblr. Used with permission.

Please support these artists, they deserve it! Buy their music, and go to their shows.

Tracklist:

1. The Neighborhood - I Won’t Get You Down
2. The Weeknd - House of Balloons > Glass Table Girls
3. Joywave - Winnipeg
4. Black Books - The Big Idea
5. Snowmine - Beast in Air, Beast in Water
6. Family Portrait - Other Side
7. Triptides - Shadows
8. Jeremy Lee Given - Arapaima
9. Eternal Summers - Prisoner
10. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Thought Ballune
11. Slowdance - Sweetness
12. Oregon Bike Trails - High School Lover
13. COOLRUNNINGS - Dracula is only the Beginning
14. John Maus - Believer
15. Collage Party - Eri
16. The Sandwitches - Summer of Love
17. Quilt - Children of the Light
18. Lotus Feet - Evidence
19. Big Wave Riders - Skater or Die
20. BeachesBeaches - OOAH
21. Die Jungen - In the End
22. The Dogs - We Don’t Have to do Anything

Download directly here: http://bit.ly/lzM47W

Stream it here: http://8tracks.com/yvynyl

After downloading the mix folder, please create a new playlist in iTunes and then click and drag the folder to import, thereby maintaining track order.

Check out more yvynyl mixtapes here.

Ghost Boat - a yvynyl mixtape

Adrift in a sea of glistening white. Hot light surrounding us. We close our eyes and await the mysterious next, the untold wonder. It’s almost springtime in the northern hemisphere. Renew. Rebirth. Just beneath the surface. We can feel it. Use these songs to celebrate it. The journey is only just begun.

I post these mixtapes to give independent artists exposure they deserve. Please click through and lend them your support, time and money. They’ll love you for it.

This mix wholly dedicated to my Valentine and our baby girl kicking with vivacious life inside her belly.

Polaroid SX70 photo by Lizzy Newman, who is also on Tumblr. Used with permission.

Tracklist:

1. Summer Fiction - Chandeliers
2. Walter Meego - Starlight
3. Makeout Videotape - Only You
4. Mean Wind - Down for the Count
5. Mood Rings - Indian Hills
6. Doug Hoyer - Oh, the Wind Will Blow (feat. Jessica Jalbert)
7. Black Brick - Thru Sunday
8. Creepoid - Spirit Bird
9. HotKid - Yours & Mine
10. Cousin Brian - It’s On Me
11. La Femme - Sur La Planche
12. Yalls - Please
13. Sutja Gutiérrez - Lucy (Love Scene)
14. Blouse - Shadow
15. Painted Palms - All of Us
16. Death and Vanilla - Run Rabbit Run
17. Thank You - 1-2-3-Bad
18. Long Long Long - Cuba Gooding Jr.
19. Saskatchewan - Beast Coast
20. Yohuna - It’s All Yours
21. Action! - Sandpiper
22. Honey Radar - Climb Like a Loaded Gun
23. Fierce Creatures - Satan is a Vampire 

Download directly here: http://bit.ly/fDU9Xq

Please create a new playlist in iTunes and then click and drag the folder to import, thereby maintaining track order. If your file doesn’t uncompress, you may have had a glitch in your internet connection during transfer. I suggest waiting and then downloading again in a while.

Check out more yvynyl mixtapes here.

Secret Meats - a yvynyl mixtape

Once in a while, a batch of songs just simply falls into place. This group did. I hardly had to even change the order in which I had lumped them all into the ‘save for later’ playlist. Each of these tracks is a stunner, and I was too excited about them all to wait to share ‘em. I hope you enjoy this playlist as much as I do.

Please click through to listen to more music by these bands. Most of them are putting out music completely independently and would love the support.  Many offer free music, so if you dig a track a lot, why not check out some of their other work. Best yet, buy their records, artwork, merch and tickets to their shows. Support indie artists.

Artwork by Brooklyn designer and illustrator Marion Bolognesi. Pick up this excellent print and others at her web store. Used with permission.

Tracklist:

1. White Fence - Lillian (Won’t You Play Drums?)
2. The Black Tambourines - Tommy
3. Power Animal - Better Water
4. Will Stratton - Bluebells
5. Dream Band - Mr. Shaking and Pills to Judge
6. This Horn of Afrika - uhoh
7. Headless Horseman - Wavlngth
8. Adelyn Rose - Willow Tree
9. Dead Drums - Carousin USA
10. Echo Tongues - French Phrase for Purpose
11. Weed - Release Party
12. Juana Molina - Vive Solo
13. Anika - Yang Yang
14. Purling Hiss - Don’t Even Try It
15. Celebration - Battles
16. Expensive Looks - Found Out
17. Fox Hands - Patella
18. Continents - Future Waves
19. Lost Boy - Frost Bite
20. Conner Youngblood - Monsters
21. Girls - Heartbreaker

Download directly here: http://bit.ly/emPaTa

Please create a new playlist in iTunes and then click and drag the folder to import, thereby maintaining track order. If your file doesn’t uncompress, you may have had a glitch in your internet connection during transfer. I suggest waiting and then downloading again in a while.

Check out more yvynyl mixtapes here.

Charismatic Megafauna - a yvynyl mixtape

Back in college, this was the name of my hypothetical band. Never came to pass. But I love the concept behind these two words together: in environmental issues, it’s easier to point out the dying polar bears than to make a case for the disappearing but probably more important tiny bugs n’ stuff. Everyone loves a poster child. The cuter the better. Reminds me not to forget that while folks don’t often follow the less glamorous, the ‘little guys’ are just as important to the ecosystem at large. </metaphor>

This mix seemed to come together more quickly than others, but looking back, I haven’t actually posted in the same interval as previously. I did already play this mix at a party, and I think it went over well - hope it does for you too, friend.

Original artwork by Karl Noyes, used with permission. See more of his work at Roosterhouse. Found him on Not Paper, an excellent collage art blog.

Tracklist:

1. Sweet Lights - You Won’t Be There
2. TV Girl - On Land
3. Crocodiles - Hearts of Love
4. Guards - Swimming After Dark
5. Saharan Gazelle Boy - Halfhair Girl
6. Totem Pole - Voyeuristic Tradition
7. Warpaint - Undertow
8. Selebrities - Time
9. Juana Molina - Un Día
10. Affair - To Get
11. Brendan Codey - Emery Blagdon Saves Your Mortal Soul
12. Kurt Vile - In My Time
13. The Fresh & Onlys - Waterfall
14. Squinch Owl - We Will Do Great Things
15. Waylon Thornton - Banging On My Door
16. Big Surr - Alright
17. Catwalk - Please Don’t Break Me
18. Shimmering Stars - I’m Gonna Try
19. Expensive Looks - Found Out
20. Hotel Mexico - Its Twinkle

Download directly here: http://bit.ly/cPOY08

Please create a new playlist in iTunes and then click and drag the folder to import, thereby maintaining track order. If your file doesn’t uncompress, you may have had a glitch in your internet connection during transfer. I suggest waiting and then downloading again in a while.

Check out more yvynyl mixtapes here.

Fakeout Move - a yvynyl mixtape

I love the idea of a fakeout move. You know, like basketballers do. Fake left, fake right, then hit the jumper. I think this is about being able to flow with the unexpected in life. Being fluid. Being ready. And then taking your shot when you have the chance.

This tape - as with all my mixes - is crafted over weeks. I not only try and pick my favorite new music, but also highlight bands who are making great work in some measure of obscurity. This list is really a great balance of the two. Some names you’ll certainly recognize - a couple here are yvynyl mixtape alumn with great new material - while other work is just on the cusp, ready for the world to notice. I hope you enjoy it all and support the artists who craft this fine art.

Artwork by Norwegian illustrator Esra Røise. If you have the means, I recommend you buy this print, “Sunken Treasure,” at the fabulous new curated web shop Founders and Followers. Used with permission.

Tracklist:

1. The War on Drugs - Baby Missiles
2. Kisses - People Can Do the Most Amazing of Things
3. Young Man - Fate
4. Twin Shadow - Slow
5. Honey Radar - Graying Groves High School
6. Twin Sister - Meet the Frownies
7. Wise Blood - STRT SRNS
8. Jeff the Brotherhood - Diamond Way
9. Blackhawks - Sunday Morning
10. We Are Trees - Dear Chan Marshall
11. Superhumanoids - Hey Big Bang
12. World Club - Weight of a Mountain
13. Gala Drop - Rauze
14. Women - Eyesore
15. Sea Pinks - Japanese Knotweed
16. First Base - I Got a Girl
17. Piresian Beach - Lazy
18. Heartbeat Hotel - The Hello Barrel
19. Breathe Own Breathe - House of Gold
20. Sharon van Etten - One Day
21. Herzog - Abandon Love

Download directly here: http://bit.ly/bAD860

Please create a new playlist in iTunes and then click and drag the folder to import, thereby maintaining track order. If your file doesn’t uncompress, you may have had a glitch in your internet connection during transfer. I suggest waiting and then downloading again in a while.

Check out more yvynyl mixtapes here.

Tender Times - a yvynyl mixtape

This has been a busy summer. As I’ve built this mix over the past month, reconsidering it, pondering it, I’ve swapped songs in and out, never quite finding ‘the moment’ when it all came together. I think it was the new Deerhunter song that did it for me. A kind of anchor. We all need anchors in our lives, don’t we? A kind of benchmark to see how far we’ve come. I hope you’re all finding anchors of your own this summer. 

Do me a favor and click through on the links to learn more about these bands.  Many of them are putting out music completely independently and would love the support.  Many also offer free music, so if you dig a track a lot, why not check out some of their other work. Best yet, buy their records, artwork, merch and tickets to their shows. Support indie artists.

Original artwork by James Gulliver Hancock. Used with permission.

Tracklist:

1. The Bird Day - Thristy
2. Meridian Signals - Nearly Nautical
3. Holy Ghost Party - Toys
4. Holy Spirits - Tongues
5. Nightlands - Til I Die
6. Levek - Chief
7. My Friend Wallis - Hiding
8. Tennis - Marathon
9. Guards - Don’t Wake the Dead
10. Deerhunter - Revival
11. Son of Rams - Triple Eyed
12. Caloriebomb - Can You
13. Miniature Tigers - Gold Skull
14. Magical Mistakes - Early Morning Come Down
15. Com Truise - Sundriped
16. Brothertiger - Wind at My Back
17. Monokle & Galun - Happy Sun
18. Jai Paul - BTSTU
19. MNDR - I Go Away
20. And Vice Versa - Addiction
21. pat JORDACHE - gold BOUND
22. Dark Dark Dark - Daydreaming

Download directly here: http://bit.ly/aCrMSz

Please create a new playlist in iTunes and then click and drag the folder to import, thereby maintaining track order.

Check out more yvynyl mixtapes here.

Mystic Isthmus - a yvynyl mixtape

I put up a new mixtape every month or two, and have all the playlists on my iPod. Truth be told, I really do this for kinda selfish reasons. The music continues to be a personal record of periods of time or memory in my own life. I love listening back to older mixes and thinking about what was happening then, and how those songs conjure up a season, people, parties. A big part of me hopes that you do the same, that I might be adding a bit of soundtrack to your life. I approach each of these mixes in that spirit. Thanks for sharing back your positive feedback and energy - both to me and the musicians. I hope this mix brings some light and love to your summer.

It would mean a lot to me if you click through to learn more about the bands you dig here. Many of them are offering more free tracks for you to download and enjoy. Please support them and their music with your time, attention and money. They deserve it.

Original artwork by Chilean Jorge Roa, also an experimental musician performing as la costa continua. Used with permission.

Dedicated to Norm, Heather and Lil’ Spaceman. May great changes be great, and mystics stay mystical.

[Want me to dedicate the next yvynyl mixtape to a friend of yours? Leave me a short note here. I’ll pick a nice one for next time.]

Tracklist:

1. Grubby Little Hands - Feel in my Back
2. Baths - Hall
3. Birthdays - Van Hands
4. Mutual Benefit - No Mundo da Lua
5. Craft Spells - You Should Close the Door
6. Julian Lynch - Just Enough
7. Houses - Endless Spring
8. Future Islands - Tin Man
9. BRONZE - Deep Freeze
10. Cloud Nothings - Even If It Worked Out
11. Party Photographers - Piano Vache
12. Ty Segall - Girlfriend
13. Street Chant - Yr Philosophy
14. Son of Rams - No Concept, No Logic
15. Male Bonding - Before It’s Done (Daytrotter Session)
16. The CQ - Wait and See
17. Teenage Reverb - Under the Weather
18. Phèdre - Ode to the Swinger
19. Cosmic Sound - Night Owl
20. Sunvisor - Sky Dive
21. Magic Man - Darling
22. The Young Sinclairs - Future Man
23. Pete Greenwood - Bats over Barstow
24. MMOSS - Hedge Creeper

Download directly here: http://bit.ly/bUpgFu

Please create a new playlist in iTunes and then click and drag the folder to import, thereby maintaining track order.

Check out more yvynyl mixtapes here.

Volcano - a yvynyl mixtape

I’m not sure, but the frequency of new mixtapes seems to be increasing. Not just because I feel the compulsive need to share musical gems, but because mind-blowingly incredible music keeps finding me. This internet thang - damn - its like a deep, deep well of art and culture and great minds. I can’t get enough. I’ve been saying to my friends that this mix is my proudest to date. Almost all of it is new, new stuff.  Every second of it is rife with challenging, beautiful sounds. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

If you dig these tunes, do me a favor and click through and friend up the artists, buy their records and go see their shows.

Original artwork by illustrator Karina Eibatova [portfolio] used by permission. Thanks to frightenedbybees for originally posting her great work.

Tracklist:

1. Jeff the Brotherhood - U Got the Look
2. Woods - Blood Dries Darker
3. Ghost Animal - Single Man
4. The Mantles - Lily Never Married
5. Bakesale - Prom Song
6. Makeout Videotape - Slush Puppy Love
7. Slow Animal - Sitting Here
8. Flow Child - Cry, It’s Like Vomiting
9. High Magic - S.O.
10. hAUNTEDhOUSES - sHARKS
11. Gauntlet Hair - I Was Thinking…
12. Baths - Stupor
13. Twin Sister - Milk & Honey
14. Bachelorette - Donkey
15. Arches - Another Fading Memory
16. Coolrunnings - The Second Devil
17. Summer Camp - Ghost Train
18. Silent Diane - RiverSide
19. Lee Weather - I Saw Eternity the Other Night
20. Sonoi - Micro-Coliseum
21. Mount McKinley - Rainsand
22. Weekends - Raingirls
23. Jacuzzi Boys - Bricks or Coconuts
24. Vacation Dad - ihopeyrfavoritecoloriseverywhere

Download directly here: http://bit.ly/bGZokQ

Please create a new playlist in iTunes and then click and drag the folder to import, thereby maintaining track order.

Check out more yvynyl mixtapes here.

Handstands - a yvynyl mixtape

Please enjoy these selected numbers, some from white hot bands with fast rising stock and others from musicians whom I hope will soon share that fate. Each song resonates with me, melting snow and cruising me into springtime. Dig the vibe, it swells and changes through the playlist - from rock n’ roll to fuzzed-out messy goodness to jammin’ beats to wicked folk songs and back again.

If you like this music, please support these artists with your money, your time and your love.

Artwork by photographer Robert Kinmont.

Tracklist: 

1. Watch Out for Rockets - Lift Off Cloud Controller
2. Tame Impala - Desire Be, Desire Go
3. Junkers - I Can See The Sun
4. Best Coast - When I’m With You
5. DOM - Burn Bridges
6. Cults - Most Wanted
7. The Notes - Cult of Hopeless
8. The Soft Pack - Answer to Yourself
9. Woozy Viper - One of These Days
10. Ojooba Ha - Bas Ay Dokhtar Ha (1969)
11. Wild Harem - Danica Says
12. Reading Rainbow - We are too Young
13. Raw Thrills - For Someone
14. Neon Indian - Sleep Paralysist
15. MNDR - Jump In
16. White Hinterland - Moon Jam
17. Neighborhood Choir - Tio Luis
18. Adron - Renegade
19. Sharon Van Etten - Love More
20. Dark Dark Dark - Wild Goose Chase
21. Ravenous - Saltwater Taffy (The Dock)
22. Surfer Blood - Anchorage
23. The Seeds - Pushin’ too Hard (live, 1967)

Download directly here:  http://bit.ly/cBIngZ

Please create a new playlist in iTunes and then click and drag the folder to import, thereby maintaining track order.

Check out more yvynyl mixtapes here.

Banannnas - a yvynyl mixtape

This set of tunes all seem loosely related thematically, though that wasn’t fully intentional. The songs touch on the light - love, sex and, well, beaches, sunshine and surfing. But they’re balanced out by the macabre - heartbreak, thievery and even murderous intent. A lot of them take a few moments to really draw you in (but they do so with tear-jerking ferocity) while others just snap to, like a twig of green pop rock ready to be snapped.

I hope you enjoy these songs as much as I do. Please support these artists - many of whom have only just begun their journey into music - with your money, your time and your love.

Original artwork by my dear friend, talented illustrator and fellow tumblr, Vela.

Tracklist:

1. John K. - In Your Sleep Tonight
2. Valleys - Tan Lines
3. Chad & Jeremy - Sunstroke
4. Bill Callahan - My Friend
5. Michelle Blades - Strawberry Ghost
6. Warpaint - Elephants
7. Cloud Nothings - Turning On
8. Deepest Blue - Pretty Little Things
9. The Drums - Let’s Go Surfing
10. Sea Lions - Beautiful Day
11. Beach Fossils - Daydream
12. Happy Family - Cups
13. The Spooks - Featherleather
14. Beaches - The Sky Was White
15. Beach House - Take Care
16. Yellow Fever - Culver City
17. Winks - Weed Makes Sex Weird
18. Sonnymoon - Interlude
19. Garmunkle - (blunted on) St. Laurent
20. Memoryhouse - To the Lighthouse
21. Crooked Cowboy & The Freshwater Indians - Thieves

Download directly here: http://bit.ly/8Ym7r2

Please create a new playlist in iTunes and then click and drag the folder to import, thereby maintaining track order.

Check out more yvynyl mixtapes here.

Under the Blankets - a yvynyl mixtape

Here is another lovingly curated set of songs. All have struck a chord with me over the past few weeks and have been in pretty regular rotation in all my music listening technologies. I think you will enjoy them as much as I do. Please support the artists who created these gems.

Original artwork by the talented vrno.tumblr.

Tracklist:

1. Twin Sister - Ginger
2. White Hinterland - Chant de Grillon
3. Here We Go Magic - Tunnelvision
4. Espers - Sightings
5. Holy Holy Hollywood - The New Weight
6. Celebration - Open Your Heart
7. Lands & Peoples - Bad Habits
8. Bakers at Dawn - Undefined
9. Mimicking Birds - Rivers, Veins, & Roots
10. Atlas Sounds - Shelia
11. Dirty Beaches - Coast to Coast
12. Small Black - Pleasant Experience
13. Cold Cave - Life Magazine
14. JJ - Ecstasy
15. Ruth - Polaroid/Roman/Photo
16. Family Portrait - On the Floor
17. The Horrors - I Can’t Control Myself
18. Tijuana Panthers - Creature
19. Surfer Blood - Swim
20. Ganglians - Blood on the Sand
21. The Mantles - Don’t Lie
22. Death - Keep on Knocking
23. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros - Home

Download directly here: http://bit.ly/5sos3M

Please create a new playlist in iTunes and then click and drag the file to import, thereby maintaining track order.

Check out more yvynyl mixtapes here.

Floating Out to Sea - a yvynyl mixtape

I spent a good bit of time this weekend pulling these tracks together to share with you. Composed of mostly new tracks I’ve been loving this summer, but I snuck some oldies in there, too.  This is a mix I would play at a backyard BBQ party - perhaps you have one planned to celebrate the equinox!  Please enjoy.

Tracklist:

1. Woodsman - Sunglass
2. Chad Vangaalen - Twisting Magic Up
3. Kurt Vile - Overnite Religion
4. Navajo Bixby - Moonlighting
5. Buffy Sainte-Marie - Adam
6. tUnE-yArDs - Sunlight
7. Black Mold - Tetra Pack Heads
8. Hannu - Theme for Grant
9. Sebastien Tellier - Roche
10. Toro y Moi - Talamak
11. Washed Out - Feel It All Around
12. Sun Airway - Waiting on You
13. Karl Blau - Apology to Pollinateurs
14. Michael Hurley - Blue Driver
15. Free Energy - Dream City
16. Wild Nothing - Summer Holiday
17. Wyld Wyzrdz - Untitled One
18. Lula Côrtes and Zé Ramalho - Harpa dos Ares
19. Sharon Van Etten - It’s Not Like
20. Enumclaw - Blue Star Kachina

Download directly here: http://bit.ly/floatingouttosea