March 26, 2014
Miracler
Sarah Compton
Location
Olympia, WA
It's fitting that this mix launches
on a day when much of the country appears to be under rain, snow, or just a blanket of ick: total saudade weather. As she notes below, SC, she of The Miracle Run, has brought us a distinctly different mood today: less Red Bull, more Guinness. Nuthin' wrong with that. It's a crappy day for a run, anyway. But good day for a Cornflake Ritter Sport, awwwyeahhh!
Things you guys said about The Miracle Run
Okay, so I've kinda promised myself to Christina Stork, but do you ever get down to the Bay Area?
Great mix, Sarah. Thanks. Why has it taken so long for "Midnight City" to show up on these pages? Our relationship may have hit a speed bump with Florence + The Machine, however. She's a little Arcade Fire for me – always swinging for the fences. Not every song has to be the last song on the album, know what I mean?
Wow, Super summer september sparkle shimmer. Excites my natural frequencies like I'm the Tacoma Narrows bridge but without the catastrophic results. Thank you thank you.
This is such a perfect mix for running. Not that I was doing any running, but I still enjoyed the pace and rhythm of the mix. I tend not to run unless it's away from something, like an angry wild animal.
While I would describe myself as a "lazy and sporadic runner,"Ii like songs that groove at the same pace as my feet. My secret treadmill favorite is Justin Timberlake's What Goes Around. Shh, don't tell anyone!
Digging the miracle run!! I need this kind of stuff for miracle gardening or even cooking dinner... Thank you Sarah! Your mix is sure to get a lot of play over here in Chi-town.
I really liked the Tycho Drive track although it mostly inspired me to readjust the pillows on the couch, not go running (to be fair, nothing besides imminent bodily harm is going to overcome my natural indolence).
I can't believe that Phoenix song has never graced these parts before. Overall, I just like how all over this is. I did indeed put it through the run test. I even made it through Lady G before realizing, "oh my god, I'm enjoying Lady Ga Ga."
Like Mr. Kortiz' Pulsations, during a lot of this mix I felt a bit like Philip Seymour Hoffman in the club scene in '25th Hour' but it's good to get hipped to what's out there now.
I woke up today with 'Lay your cards out' in my head. I've been enjoying the heck out of that song as part of my Summer Collection and, although I know repeat songs are rare in the Prodge, I'm glad it was this one.
This mix always makes me feel like it's 10:30pm and I'm in college and getting ready to go out. I definitely can parallel that to a running mix, ya know? Get. Pumped. UP!
I'm gonna have to keep an eye on you with my main man Doug Patterson. A little healthy competition always keeps things lively.
This mix could also be called "Songs My Daughters Sing All the Time." I think I learned every word to "We Are Young" without ever actually hearing the song. My personal favorites are POLICA and Florence.
This mix RULES at work! (I don't think you have to work at a knitting shop to think so, even. But maybe it helps.)
Anyway, I'm at work and Ellie Goulding is on and I was inspired to run* upstairs and fist pump and say (again) Thanks, Sarah! *yeah, run. See? This mix works!
Rock on for miles. 26.21875 of them.
Liner Notes by SC
So, those of you familiar with Word Porn on Facebook might recognize this "saudade" as one of their recent posts. I made the definition the cover art, for everyone's convenience. There's some question to the accuracy of the English translation, but whatever. It captures the feeling that these songs touch on when I hear them. A deep nostalgia, not always for love lost, but an experience, a memory, some point in our lives that we cannot get back.
Track 1: I listen to Spotify pretty exclusively at work, and London Grammar came up in some random radio channel I'd created one day. Pretty fantastic. Her voice has this haunting quality. I ended up buying the whole cd but this song is my favorite.
Track 2: The National. Kings of melancholy. It was hard to choose one from their latest album, but Slipped pretty much captures that moment when you realize things are screwed up beyond the point of fixing.
Track 3: REM- Out of Time- probably one of my favorite albums in high school. Much like Brenda Walsh in 90210, I listened to this on heavy repetition after a particularly bad break-up my sophomore year.
Track 4: Berlin. Another Spotify find. Just seemed like a good fit.
Track 5: Rocket Man cover by My Morning Jacket. Yes, this was featured on Allie Fung's 2004 3MPM but this cover by My Morning Jacket is so good, it just had to be here.
Track 6: Echoes- Radical Face. Another new artist discovery (to me).
Track 7: Sideways- I actually heard this during yoga one night (pretty awesome yoga instructor). There may or may not have been a guy in my class I've had my eye on who gave this song an extra special meaning.
Track 8: Detlef Shrempf- I was lucky enough to see Band of Horses acoustic show in Seattle in February and the upright bass featured so prominently with acoustic guitars on this track turned it into something phenomenal.
Track 9: The Boxer- cover by Mumford & Sons. I'm a pretty big Simon & Garfunkel fan, but dammit, I think I like this version better. Oh, Mumford & Sons, how do you do it?
Track 10: Waiting- City & Colour. I had three different songs in consideration from Mr. Green (Little Hell and Sleeping Sickness) but Waiting ultimately took the cake.
Track 11: Silver Dagger- so, I first heard this song watching Dogfight, featuring the late River Phoenix (sob) and Lily Taylor. It's one of my favorite movies and well, Joan Baez. Enough said.
So, there you have it. A bit of a departure from my last contribution, an upbeat running mix. Enjoy!
Mix is UP. To comment on this mix, click on the 'Comment' button below the post and write something. If you don't have/want to use your Google etc. accounts, just type your name in the "Name" box and you are done. See you back here or on our members-only Facebook page soon. XOK
14 comments:
A quiet, melancholy mix is my favorite kind of mix. The live Band of Horses is a treat. London Grammar, RYX, and City & Colour are new to me and all are new favorites. This mix is perfect for this cold, rainy day here in Atlanta. Thanks so much.
LOVE IT! SO many nice ones on here. One of my favorite collections for sure. Great selects from The National, REM and Mumford and sons + some new discoveries for me. A treat. Thank you!
Any mix with a Brenda Walsh reference in the liner notes is a-okay with me. I'm loving the song Berlin as I type, and just last night I was just talking with a karaoke (yes, karaoke) buddy of mine about The Boxer. I'm not much of a Mumford and Sons fan, but nonetheless, I may have to point my friend in the direction of this cover.
Okay, I should have waited to comment until I listened to the Sideways song; I was just so excited about the other stuff I'd heard. Anyway, Sideways...best broken heart song ever? It might get my vote.
I’m such a sucker for the slow, orchestral fade in. I just found out that London Grammar played Seattle a couple of days ago. I should have gone. I’m becoming a big fan of The National. Such a great voice. Does anyone remember when we had an in-store with REM at Tracks Records? That was such a strange, strange day. What a great song. RYX is new to me. Very nice. I’m so taken with My Morning Jacket. Circuital is a fantastic record. The stuff they did live with Erykah Badu is delicious. Citizen Cope is a force of nature out here, but I know almost none of his stuff. This is a great song. Band of Horses is, along with The National, one that I’m so taken with. My nephews tell me that I should listen to Mumford and Sons, but I haven’t. This might change my mind. A great cover of an truly classic song. The City And Colour song is really good. I hear about them a ton when I’m in Canada, but I don’t know that I’ve actually heard anything by them. I like it. Thanks for a great mix, Sarah.
Sarah, what a great collection of wistfully lovely tunes. Some familiar and many totally new-to-me (and of the familiar names, the tracks were all new). I loved the Mumford cover and My Morning Jacket's riff on Rocket Man. The live Band of Horses was terrific and I'm super intrigued by London Grammer now.So much good stuff...perfect for this rainy day!
I really dug the Radical Face track. Good stuff! As an avid runner, I'd love to hear the mix you made for that. I tend to run on an odd mix of music myself, but I'm always curious what works for other runners.
This was a nice mellow mix to keep road rage at bay during a crappy morning commute! I figured I was in for a treat just from the mix name, which made me think of one of my favorite Love and Rockets tracks. My favorites were the ones I'd never heard of - Radical Face and London Grammar.
When I first saw this mix pop up, I thought, "Who's using one of my favorite Portuguese tunes?" Answer: My sister! I have only been able to listen sporadically thus far but looking forward to a proper road test very soon!
Thanks for all the great feedback everyone! Not sure if last year's running-centric mix is still floating around out there, Beth, but I'd be happy to share a track list with you or something (I'm honestly not too tech savvy). I love discovering new music and am very happy that some of these artists were also unknown to some of you! Wes- I was also dismayed to discover I'd missed London Grammar in Seattle by mere days. Next time I hope. Anyway, thanks!
Catching up on commenting on great mixes. The London Grammar track got me thinking "Where have I seen that recently?" and sent me skimming back through the local weekly to find a sold-out show three blocks away. If I'd only been in the loop.
So much good stuff on this. Easier to say which *aren't* my faves but why bother with that? I appreciate your comment re: The Boxer ("I think I like this version better"). I know that feeling.
Cool mix.
Saudade clicked with me in that perfect way that happens occasionally. Every song interesting, every one touching a different part - just really nice. (I was going to put a London Grammer tune on my upcoming mix, but might have to reconsider now that they launched such a great set here.)
Haunting is a great adjective to describe the London Grammar cut. I was especially taken with the covers, Rocket Man and The Boxer. City and Colour is new to me and that's a keeper. And I've been smitten by Citizen Cope ever since his first CD. Seen him live2-3 times. His concerts are as slow and hazy as his music is.
This is a beautiful and definitely haunting mix. I was in the throws of a very busy spring opening season when it came up, so it didn't work with my sunny fast paced days.
I could easily see that it was a super high quality mix, and I kept coming back to it, as I do with the 3mpm mixes that could slip by. That has actually happened with some of my most beloved 3mpm mixes!
I like everything on this. Especially the songs by The National, and Citizen Cope, and City and Colour. The Joan Baez song is such a nice finish.
I am guessing it was hard to narrow this mix down to 11 songs, was it?
Thanks for the mix, Sarah!
Post a Comment