I usually make a music mix about 4 times a year, with the culmination of those mixes becoming a more focused annual mix. This is something I've done since 2002, and it's always great to go back in time and check out a particular mix for a particular year.
Anyway, things have been so busy the last little while, that my musical spider sense is a little off. So, I'm looking for a few suggestions from readers passing by - a link to a youtube file would be especially helpful, I'm one of those folks that can tell if a piece will grow on me pretty quick. Hoping to find 7 more songs this way.
I've got 3 so far, which include "No Sunlight" by Death Cab for Cutie, "Lions of the Kalahari" by Sam Roberts, and "Sing their souls back home" by Billy Bragg.
Go below the fold to give them a listen - that should also give you the sense of what I dig generally.
I'll take the bait and shamelessly promote bands that my friend belongs to:
The Heart Strings (http://www.myspace.com/theheartstrings - check out "Kids")
The High Wire (http://www.myspace.com/thehighwire - check out "Saint Bees")
I've had trouble taking the Drive-by Truckers' "Brighter than Creation's Dark" off the iPod recently (or have only replaced it with some of their other stuff). Check out "Ghost to Most":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxLXCSqOvUo
Great idea. Based on the three you've included so far, I'm listing three others.
You may be interested in a song from My Morning Jacket's recent album, "Evil Urges." A low-fi version of the title track is at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv7v7lQ3Gas
See also a complete SxSW concert at an NPR feature. The music is a little more distorted than your other three, but I dig the instrumentals, whether they are electric or symphonic.
Then there's an older track from Au Revoir Simone on Verses of Comfort, Assurance & Salvation called, "Through The Backyards Of Our Neighbors" that you might like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR88qYiKM_A
The last one for your consideration is from The Shins on Wincing The Night Away, a song called "Girl Sailor." This video isn't the best quality, but the sound is surprisingly good for a live recording. It also has a lot of talk before it, but features a cameo by Canada.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUPg4zUOrIQ
Could I get a copy of this CD? (At least publish the list - I don't want to play a part in copyright violation ; ) In college, my friends and I kept up on new bands by making mixes for one another, but I guess that gets lost when you move across the continent. I'm going to blame the age of iPod.
At the risk of telling you about bands/people you already know of, I offer the following material for your perusal:
Kwoon - "I Lived on the Moon"
Rogue Wave - "Lake Michigan"
The Decemberists - "O Valencia [Director's Cut]"
The Shins - "Pink Bullets"
And let me heartily recommend Sigur Ros's latest. You may freely stream the whole album from the official site here linked. :-)