Dan's 2010 mix

Ok, so it's a little late, but...

I like putting together mix CDs. Who doesn't right? But there's a certain challenge in making it flow and giving it a kind of story and ending it all in 80 minutes. That's right, all my mix CDs are concept albums.

My brothers and sisters started a tradition of making these for each other for Christmas last year. I found myself putting together a bouncy album and a depressing album so in 2009 we had the Down album (featuring Radiohead) and the Up album (featuring Garrison Keillor). You get the idea. I had a mix for Groundhog Day, for traveling, one with all songs about death, one for Vancouver, you get the idea.

This Christmas, all the songs and albums were from 2010! It was a very good year. I can recommend all the individual albums, although The Lady Killer can get... dirty.

I keep coming back to this mix for listening pleasure, so I wanted to share it.

Yes, my CD contained Arcade Fire before they won the Album of the Year Grammy. :o) My album of the year was Sufjan Stevens' dizzying, outer space apocalypse symphonic dance rock album, The Age of Adz, but it's not for everyone. I was not surprised at all that Arcade Fire won. For me it was a no-brainer. It's got tons of musical variety, some big ideas, and real emotion behind it all.

01 Suburban War - Arcade Fire, from The Suburbs
02 Enchanting Ghost - Sufjan Stevens, from All Delighted People EP
03 Anyone’s Ghost - The National, from High Violet
04 This Is The Song [Good Luck] - Punch Brothers, from Antifogmatic
05 England - The National, from High Violet
06 I Can See Your Future - Belle and Sebastian, from Write About Love
07 We End Up Together - The New Pornographers, from Together
08 Next to the Trash - Punch Brothers, from Antifogmatic
09 Wasted Hours - Arcade Fire, from The Suburbs
10 Futile Devices - Sufjan Stevens, from The Age of Adz
11 Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk - The New Pornographers, from Together
12 You Were A Kindness - The National, from High Violet (Expanded Edition)
13 Up In The Dark - The New Pornographers, from Together
14 Read The Blessed Pages - Belle and Sebastian, from Write About Love
15 Old Fashioned - Cee Lo Green, from The Lady Killer
16 Get Real Get Right - Sufjan Stevens, from The Age of Adz

If you're looking for a mix CD, let me know and I'll send you an ISO.