In the wee hours of the night, The Ghost of Kristin's Past rattled its chains at my door and admonished me for what I've failed, in my life, to do: deliver a Burnmix on time; successfully upload songs so that Noah doesn't have to go back and manually input them himself; make a mix without either an Adele or Old '97's song. He told me that in order to atone for my past discretions, I must make a mix that recognizes my past, and then moves forward with better taste. So I present to you my Ghost of Kristin's Past and Ghost of Kristin's Present mix. It's like a Paula Abdul song: 2 steps forward, 2 steps back. I did not go as far back as my CooleyHighHarmony days, or delve into my Rancid and Operation Ivy-accompanied adolescent angst. I did not make a tribute to Ani Difranco and Tori Amos. I did, however, throw in a palatable, slightly old school Liz Phair song, but spared you the more over-the-top "Fuck and Run" or "Flowers" tracks. Every other song is either a bit of a "throwback" to different eras of my life or a new song I've been into lately. I hope you enjoy, at the very least, every other one. So the ghost will let me go back to sleep.
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Shovels & Rope / The Devil is All Around
A new one, but one that keeps true to my country affinity. Also...the ominous title feels apt.
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Shovels & Rope is American folk duo of husband and wife Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst from Charleston, South Carolina. The duo began with two guitars, a junkyard drum kit (harvested from an actual garbage heap- adorned with tamborines, flowers and kitchen rags), a handful of harmonicas, voices, and above all.. songs. Cary Ann Hearst & Michael Trent prefer to keep it simple. They have cleverly managed to take 3 separate recording projects and combine them into 1 cohesive Read more on Last.fm more...
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Neutral Milk Hotel / King of Carrot Flowers Part 1
A beautiful depiction of family life. This was one of the songs I'd listen to ad nauseum in college: smoking cigs on my fire escape. Yep. I was that wild.
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Neutral Milk Hotel was an American indie rock band formed by singer, guitarist, and songwriter Jeff Mangum in 1989 in Ruston, Louisiana. On the band's full-length albums, Mangum played with a number of other musicians, notably Jeremy Barnes (drums), Scott Spillane (horns), Julian Koster (musical saw/banjo/accordion/bass guitar) and producer-instrumentalist Robert Schneider. Neutral Milk Hotel was one of the original members of the Elephant Six Collective, based in Athens, Georgia. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Hozier / Take Me to Church
A twist on the church-going experience. I've had this on my list for about 4 months now. They just played SNL, so I'm sure you've all heard the song. But I had to keep it in. I love its moodiness.
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Andrew Hozier-Byrne (born 17 March 1990), known mononymously as Hozier, is an Irish musician and singer-songwriter from Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. In 2013 he released his debut EP, featuring the hit single "Take Me to Church", and his second EP "From Eden" in 2014. His debut studio album, "Hozier", was released in Ireland in September 2014 and globally in October 2014. Hozier was born in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. His mother is the visual artist Raine Hozier-Byrne (who also designed his latest album cover). Read more on Last.fm more...
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Modest Mouse / Gravity Rides Everything
Seminal song (and album) for me.
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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...
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The Sea, The Sea / Guess It Was
The line "You said Love was the question, the answer was everything" has been stuck in my head for weeks. I guess it's better than "Ring ring ring...Bananaphone!" This sweet duo will be playing at Ode on Friday, Dec. 12th.
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There are at least two artists named "The Sea The Sea", 1) A duo from the US formed by Chuck E. Costa and Mira Stanley formed in 2011. Their debut album is called "Love We Are We Love", which includes the album title, “Watertreader" and “Ten Thousand Birds”. http://theseathesea.com 2) A band now called Lowws Read more on Last.fm more...
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Old 97's / Doreen
I know. Committing a past sin again. I love this song. Played many times whilst driving through the Pacific Northwest one summer. It was a post-break-up, celebrating my freedom kind of song. I did not, however, drive under the influence of multiple tossed-back Whiskey Sours. Too sweet for me.
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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...
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Paolo Nutini / Candy
A little Gilligan's Island. I think my love for this song may come from my love for the music video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3xYXGMRRYk
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Paolo Giovanni Nutini (b. 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. His influences include David Bowie, Damien Rice, Oasis, The Beatles, U2, Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac. Born on born 9th January 1987 in Paisley, Scotland, his father is of Italian descent and his mother Glaswegian, although his father's family have been in Scotland for four generations. Nutini had no formal music training, and was expecting to follow his father into the family fish and chip shop business. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Liz Phair / Johnny Feelgood
Nothing like a ditty to make domestic abuse sexy. It's like the musical equivalent of the sartorial "wife beater." But I like it.
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Liz Phair (born Elizabeth Clark Phair on April 17, 1967 in New Haven, Connecticut) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. She was a cornerstone in the underground early '90s indie rock movement for her songcraft and DIY ethics. Her sound developed at the turn of the century into something more akin to pop or adult contemporary. Phair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw was visiting her San Francisco loft-mate Nora Maccoby when he heard Phair's songs Read more on Last.fm more...
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Dark Mean / Lullaby
The theme song to my first somnambulant months with a baby.
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The recording of Dark Mean’s debut album began sometime in 2007. It’s now 2011. During this period band members Mark Dean, Billy Holmes, and Sandy Johnston released two “work in progress” EPs without expectation. Little did they know Frankencottage and Music Box would become the toast of the blogging community, downloaded in over 100 countries, lectured upon by music professors in Brazil, and find the band rousing audiences into massive sing-alongs in cities reaching far beyond the steel cast borders of a hometown Read more on Last.fm more...
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Mason Jennings / Nothing
My college camping song. When I could rough it.
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Mason Jennings (born March 19, 1975 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American pop-folk singer-songwriter currently based in Minnesota. He is well known for his simple yet catchy melodies, intimate lyrics, literary and historical themes, and distinctive voice. His music has appeared in the surf film "Shelter". Born in Hawaii, Jennings moved with his family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at an early age. Jennings learned to play guitar at the age of 13, when he began writing songs. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Solander / Huckleberry Finn
I love the violin in this one.
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Solander is Pop / Folk / Indie trio formed in 2005 from Gothenburg, Sweden on the search for higher grounds and deeper forests to explore. They like making simple pop songs but always twist them around one way or another. The songs they write may often sound a bit sad, but according to themselves: "for some reason playing sad songs makes us happy". Solander is Fredrik Karlsson, Anja Linna and Mikael Persson. Read more on Last.fm more...
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The Delays / Ride It On
Men who sing like boys who sing like angels. If I were to marry on the beach, on a horse, in slow motion, this would be the song playing.
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Sylvan Esso / Coffee
"Hey Mami" was a favorite of mine from a mix. I like her hypnotic vibe. And I love this: Wild women, warm coffee, mama's gone, do you love me? Blazing summer, cold coffee, baby's gone, do you love me?
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Sylvan Esso is a Durham, NC, USA duo of vocalist Amelia Meath and electronic musician Nick Sanborn. Their début was the double A-side 12" Hey Mami / Play It Right (16 Jul 2013), featuring a capella and instrumental versions of each song. Meath’s powerful voice is front and center, unjoined by fellow harmonizers as it is in her folk group, Mountain Man. Sanborn, who plays bass in the genre-destroying Megafaun, creates intricate, pulsing grooves for Meath’s voice to inhabit. Sites: SoundCloud, Deezer, Discogs and BandCamp Read more on Last.fm more...
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Elvis Costello / Allison
First time I heard this song was on a mix my (now ex) boyfriend gave me. Apparently, it was a copy of a mix he had made his ex...named Allison. Still, I love this song.
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Elvis Costello (born Declan Patrick MacManus on 25 August 1954) is an internationally known English singer-songwriter. Gaining prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-70s, he burst into fame with his critically acclaimed 1977 debut 'My Aim Is True', still one of the most successful debuts of all time. He soon did much work in the genres of punk rock, power pop, and New Wave after he formed Elvis Costello & The Attractions. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Timmy Curran / Blue Eyes
Gotta respect a singer/love-songwriter who goes by Timmy. It's a sweet song.
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Tim Curran (born near Oxnard, California, on August 14, 1977) is an American musician, retired professional surfer and a spokesperson for the Surfrider Foundation. Curran's debut album "Word Of Mouth" was released Sept 9th, 2007. Half the album was recorded at Studio At The Shore in Malibu; the other half at a friend and producer Ian Nickus's home in the Hollywood Hills. It was there that Curran recorded vocals in a bedroom, drums in the garage, and all other instruments in the living room. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Buckingham Nicks / Without You
Anyone going to the reunion tour? This is one of my go-to lullabies. When I'm feeling Stevie.
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Buckingham Nicks was a 10-track LP by Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. The album, produced and engineered by Keith Olsen, was recorded in 1973 for Polydor Records. It was released that September and proved to be a commercial failure. The album has since gained cult status. It was reissued in 1976 when Buckingham and Nicks hit the big time with Fleetwood Mac. It has yet to be released on Compact Disc. Buckingham has expressed an interest in the album seeing the light of day on CD. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Bleachers / I Wanna Get Better
Another one that had been on my list for a while. Kept climbing the charts. I kept it though. It makes me wanna to...run faster.
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Bleachers is an indie pop band started by Jack Antonoff who is most notable for being a member of the bands fun. and Steel Train. Bleachers was kept as a secret side project for a year preceding the release of the band's first single "I Wanna Get Better" in February 2014. The first full length album, Strange Desire, released on July 15th, 2014. Jack Antonoff has stated he has no plans to leave the band fun. and will continue to be a member. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Billy Bragg & Wilco / California Stars
One of my all-time favorites
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The British singer Billy Bragg and the American band Wilco collaborated to put to music and perform previously unheard lyrics written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. The project was organized by Guthrie's daughter, Nora Guthrie. The ensuing album "Mermaid Avenue" was released on the Elektra Records label on June 23, 1998. A second volume of recordings, "Mermaid Avenue Vol. II", followed in 2000. The projects are named after a song "Mermaid's Avenue" written by Guthrie. Read more on Last.fm more...
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Jenny Lewis / Just One of the Guys
I'm not completely on the Jenny Lewis craze, but I do like this song. I hate Anne Hathaway, but the video is pretty good too.
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Jenny Lewis (born January 8, 1976, in Las Vegas, Nevada) is an indie folk singer/songwriter/guitarist, who is best known for being the lead singer and guitarist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley. She has released four solo albums: 2006's "Rabbit Fur Coat" (with The Watson Twins), 2008's "Acid Tongue," 2014's "The Voyager" and 2019's "On The Line". She is also a former child actress. Music In 1995, she formed the indie rock band Rilo Kiley along with her friends Pierre De Reeder, Blake Sennett and Dave Rock (later replaced by Jason Boesel). Read more on Last.fm more...
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Xavier Rudd / Messages
I like how this picks up. Feels a little Graceland when it gets going.
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Xavier Rudd (born 29 May 1978) is a soulful Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose songs encompass themes such as spirituality, humanity, environmentalism and the rights of Indigenous Australians. He recorded his 2010 album "Koonyum Sun" in collaboration with South African musicians Tio Moloantoa (bassist) and Andile Nqubezelo (percussionist) as Xavier Rudd & Izintaba. Growing up in a family of seven children in Torquay, Victoria (Australia) Read more on Last.fm more...
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Au Revoir Simone / Through the Backyards
This was the first song I played the day I opened my boutique in 2010.
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Au Revoir Simone is an indie pop band from Brooklyn, New York that formed in late 2003. The group consists of Erika Forster (vocals/keyboard), Annie Hart (vocals/keyboard), and Heather D'Angelo (vocals/drum machine/keyboard). The band name comes from a minor character in Tim Burton's Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. A mini-album 'Verses of Comfort, Assurance, and Salvation' was followed in early 2007 by 'The Bird of Music', on the Moshi Moshi label. Myspace profile: http://www.myspace.com/aurevoirsimone Read more on Last.fm more...
