Autumn-atic Transmissions For Your Minor Monster

5 / October 2010 / Kristin Kelly

The Halloween Mix.  No howling ghouls or cackling witches, but there are appearances by characters you could dress up as for Halloween: Socrates, Miss Ohio, Bonnie “Prince” Billy (see below photo), a chico guapo, suicidal moths, nose-less couples, a gun that sings, and a diplomat’s son. Enjoy in your sweaters with your monsters.

Disclaimer: BurnMix does not like/allow quotation marks: the former grammar teacher in me feels compelled to let you know, in case you noticed the lack thereof in my Notes.

  1. Alabama 3 / Ain't Goin' to Go

    A little bit of everything to start things out.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Alabama 3 are a band originating from Brixton, England, their music incorporates elements of country, acid house, blues and gospel. Named for the Alabama 2, a legal case in the American deep South during the 1930s, in which two black men were hanged for allegedly raping a white woman. The name is also a nod to other victims of injustice like the Birmingham 6 and Guildford 4. In the United States, they are known as A3, after they were sued by the legendary country outfit Alabama. Read more on Last.fm more...

  2. Conor Oberst / Cape Canaveral

    I think he's a modern day Paul Simon, circa Graceland (though Graceland wins overall). Lyrically and musically very charged...in that guy-driving-across-America kind of way.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Conor Oberst is an American singer-songwriter born February 15, 1980 in Omaha, Nebraska. He began his recording career in 1993 at the age of 13 and has since produced an enormous amount of material. Conor was deeply influenced early on by singer-songwriters David Dondero and Simon Joyner. His first two albums "Water" and "Here's to Special Treatment" were both released in 1994. Rolling Stone referred to him as "rock's boy genius." His project Bright Eyes, with Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott, produced several critically-acclaimed records. Read more on Last.fm more...

  3. Florence + The Machine / Dog Days Are Over

    You may be sick of this song, especially if you've watched Eat, Pray, Love, but I'm still in love. And if you haven't heard it yet, I think it's time you did.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Florence + the Machine is a London, UK, art pop band led by singer-songwriter Florence Welch and formed in 2007. The band consists of: Florence Welch (vocals), Robert Ackroyd (guitar), Isabella Summers (aka Isa Machine - keyboards), Tom Monger (harp), Mark Saunders (bass, percussion), Christopher Lloyd Hayden (drums, backing vocals), Rusty Bradshaw (keyboard, backing vocals) and Sam White (backing vocals). Lead singer, Florence Welch, was an art-college drop-out Read more on Last.fm more...

  4. Great Northern / Driveway

    Noah gave a nod earlier to Friday Night Lights; this is my second nod. Played during one of the best scenes of the season. A sad expansive song.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Great Northern is an indie rock group from Los Angeles comprising vocalist/guitarist Solon Bixler (formerly of 30 Seconds to Mars), vocalist/keyboardist Rachel Stolte, bassist Michael Regilio, keyboardist Marissa Micik and drummer Dusty Rocherolle. As of 2007, they are signed with the independent label Eenie Meenie Records, where they have released their debut album, Trading Twilight For Daylight (2007), and their sophomore album, Remind Me Where the Light Is (2009). Read more on Last.fm more...

  5. Lily Allen / Who'd Have Known

    I just want to drink wine with her.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985), known professionally as Lily Allen, is an English singer/songwriter, hailing from London, United Kingdom. She is the daughter of Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Allen left school when she was 15 and concentrated on improving her performing and compositional skills. She started her musical career in 2002 by signing to London Records. In 2005, she made some of her recordings public on Myspace and the publicity resulted in airplay on BBC Radio 1 and a contract with Regal Recordings. Read more on Last.fm more...

  6. Modest Mouse / The World At Large

    Existential angst at its best.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Modest Mouse is an alternative rock band which formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, United States. The band's original lineup consisted of guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and bassist Eric Judy. Since being signed to Sony's Epic Records in 2000, Modest Mouse has attained significant popular success with songs such as "Float On" and "Dashboard." The band's current configuration is Isaac Brock (vocals, guitar), Tom Peloso (strings, horns Read more on Last.fm more...

  7. Glen Hansard / You Ain't Going Nowhere

    Nope, it's not Dylan. Watch Once for further proof.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Glen Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter and actor. He is vocalist and guitarist for Irish group The Frames and one half of folk-rock duo The Swell Season. Hansard is said to have quit school at age 13 to begin busking on local Dublin streets. He first came to public attention as guitar player 'Outspan Foster' in the Alan Parker film The Commitments, a role he subsequently regretted, believing it distracted from his music career. Read more on Last.fm more...

  8. Rilo Kiley / Silver Lining

    Maybe the only song in history to use the word Hoorah over and over...successfully.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Rilo Kiley were an American indie rock band which formed in 1998 in Los Angeles, California. The band consisted of Jenny Lewis (vocals, guitar), Blake Sennett (vocals, guitar), Pierre de Reeder (bass, keyboards) and Jason Boesel (drums). Lewis and Sennett are former child actors and were introduced to each other by Tara Subkoff, a mutual friend, in 1993. In 2001, original drummer Dave Rock left the band and was replaced by Boesel. They began their career on Barsuk Records, releasing Take Offs And Landings in 2001. Read more on Last.fm more...

  9. Vampire Weekend / Diplomat's Son

    The whole album is really great (actually, both of their albums are). I like this song for its musical acrobatics. Plus, I'm a sucker for a good pop song.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Vampire Weekend is an indie rock band which formed in February 2006 in New York City, New York, United States. The band consists of Ezra Koenig (vocals, guitar), Chris Baio (bass) and Christopher Tomson (drums). Rostam Batmanglij has left the band in early 2016 to begin solo career, but will continue to collaborate with Ezra. The band has released four albums: "Vampire Weekend" (2008), "Contra" (2010)","Modern Vampires of the City" (2013) and "Father of the Bride" (2019). Read more on Last.fm more...

  10. Chairlift / Bruises

    Ah, true love. With frozen berries.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Chairlift was an electro-pop band formed in 2005 in Boulder, Colorado, United States. The band consisted of Caroline Polachek (vocals, keyboards) and Patrick Wimberly (bass, drums). The third founding member, Aaron Pfenning (guitar, synths, vocals), left the band in 2010. In December 2016, Chairlift announced that they would be breaking up, with a final tour in the spring of 2017 . The band formed in Boulder, Colorado in early 2006 to make live music for haunted houses. Read more on Last.fm more...

  11. Jem / I Want You To...

    Maybe the most played song in my store.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Jem is the stage name of the singer-songwriter Jemma Griffiths (born 18 May 1975, in Penarth, Wales, United Kingdom). Her eclectic musical style encompasses elements of trip-hop, folk and rock. She is best known for the single "They" and the successful album Finally Woken. Jem began singing and writing songs during her time at Stanwell school at age thirteen. She attended Sussex University and she did eventually receive a degree in law. She also focused on being a DJ agent in Brighton where she spent a lot of time promoting club nights Read more on Last.fm more...

  12. Joshua Radin / Today

    A man with a guitar, a breathy voice, and a sweet melodic accompaniment. Done and done.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Joshua Radin is an acoustic singer/songwriter from Cleveland, Ohio. When close friend and actor/film-maker Zach Braff heard a demo of Radin's song "Winter," he was immediately interested, and got the song onto the show Scrubs in the episode "My Screw Up." The song received an overwhelmingly positive response and gave Radin substantial exposure with the show's demographic. The songs "Today", "Closer", "Don't Look Away" and "These Photographs" were also used on the show. Read more on Last.fm more...

  13. Ingrid Michaelson / Locked Up

    It reminds me of the Wizard of Oz, with the angry trees. She's coming to The Calvin, if anyone is in Noho on the 10th of October.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Ingrid Michaelson (born 8th December 1979) is a U.S. singer-songwriter whose single "The Way I Am" reached number thirty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. She took up piano at the age of five, attending Manhattan's Third Street Music School for two years, going on to the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island's Dorothy Delson Kuhn Music Institute. There she met vocal coach Elizabeth McCullough, who worked with her through high school. Read more on Last.fm more...

  14. Old 97's / No Baby I

    If you like this song, or a man who can pull off an amazing mullet, you should check out their earlier work, namely Doreen and Big Brown Eyes.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Old 97's are an alt-country band originally based in Dallas, Texas, USA. The group formed in 1993 and took their name from a song popularized by Johnny Cash, "Wreck of the Old '97". They describe themselves as a rock band with influences as varied as the Kinks, the Beatles, Pixies, David Bowie, X, and Merle Haggard. The band often performs songs made famous by the latter two musicians, and has interspersed a number of these on their eight releases since 1994. Read more on Last.fm more...

  15. Matt Costa / Cold December

    A little song for the impending cold.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Matt Costa (born Matthew Albert Costa June 16, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter from Huntington Beach, California. He has a growing number of independent releases: a self-titled five-song EP in 2003, a six song EP titled The Elasmosaurus EP in 2005, a full-length CD entitled Songs We Sing in 2006, a digipak full length album Unfamilar Faces in 2007, and the albums Mobile Chateau (in 2010) and Matt Costa (in 2013). In early 2003, Costa's homemade demo reached No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont Read more on Last.fm more...

  16. Magnetic Fields / I Think I Need A New Heart

    Snappy and unsentimental. A good quickie.

    More Info from Last.FM

    This is mistagged for The Magnetic Fields; it would help Last.fm if you could correct your tags, thus bringing all listeners to the band in one place. Read more on Last.fm more...

  17. Gillian Welch / Look At Miss Ohio

    I like her swagger.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Gillian Howard Welch (born October 2, 1967 in New York City) is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Welch's musical style combines elements of bluegrass, neotraditional country, Americana, old time string band music, and folk. Welch and Rawlings have released five critically acclaimed albums. Their 1996 debut, Revival, and the 2001 release Time (The Revelator), received nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Read more on Last.fm more...

  18. Phoenix / 1901

    Had to have a dance song in here.

    More Info from Last.FM

    There have been several artists that have used the name Phoenix, the two best known are an alternative rock band from France and a folk rock band from Romania. 1) Phoenix The French band comprises Thomas Mars (vocals), Deck D'Arcy (bass), Christian Mazzalai (guitar) and Laurent Brancowitz (guitar), who started playing music as kids in a suburb of Versailles during the same cultural period that produced late-'90s bands such as Air,Mellow and Daft Punk. The band's lineup has no permanent drummer or keyboardist. Read more on Last.fm more...

  19. Bonnie Prince Billy / Today I Started Celebrating Again

    This song is part of a compilation called At Home With The Groovebox, wherein each artist used vintage rhythm machines and synthesizers to compose a song. Gives the typical dark malaise of BPB a little kick.

    More Info from Last.FM

    Bonnie "Prince" Billy is a pseudonym of post-punk, folk artist Will Oldham. " Yeah, the name has so many different references that it could almost have a life of its own. Bonnie Prince Charlie has such a beautiful ring to it, and I was very conscious of appropriating that mellifluous sound. And I was also thinking about the name Nat King Cole. But it wasn't until later, and this may have been subconscious, that I remembered that Billy the Kid was William Bonney or Billy Bonney." More Information on Will Oldham Read more on Last.fm more...

  20. Zee Avi / Kantoi

    Who doesn't love a little Manglish?

    More Info from Last.FM

    Zee Avi, also known as Koko Kaina, is a singer/songwriter from Miri, Malaysia. She is currently signed to Brushfire records and was featured on the album "This Warm December". She is best known for her Christmas song "No Christmas for me", which became a YouTube success in 2007. Zee Avi on this song: “This song was inspired by everything i’ve experienced/read/watched/heard of from movies or stories, about one’s lover being far away for Christmas Read more on Last.fm more...

Past Mixes