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A Summer Mix

- Nathan Gage

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Tracks

1. The Monks - Higgle-Dy-Piggle-Dy

I can't think of any songs much more exciting than this. The sounds jump right out of the speakers (complete with electric banjo)... What an opener!

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2. Liars - Let's Not Wrestle Mt. Heart Attack

This records pretty new to my turntable, but it's getting a lot of play. Nice, cold, kind of primal... I really like it.

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3. Jim O'Rourke - Movie On The Way Down

Eureka is a pretty old staple. I keep coming back to it, and I think this song shows why... a slighty bizarre instrumental easily molded into a gently-rocking, horn-driven, sweet, sweet song.

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4. Louis Armstrong - Stardust

This is just a beautiful pop song. Louis Armstrong delivers a perfect version of Hoagy Carmichael's classic song.

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5. Syd Barrett - Dark Globe

In Victoria we had a choir. We sang arrangements that we wrote of songs we liked. Jon wrote a great acapella version of this song.

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6. Talking Heads - The Book I Read

The whole album is great. "Don't Worry About The Government" used to be a mix staple for me, but today it's "The Book I Read."

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7. Brian Eno - The True Wheel

Caila got really into this song a little ways back. Buried deep in side two, I hadn't really noticed it... It juggles the same four chords over and over for over 5 minutes, but it's never boring, and it boasts a pretty great guitar break.

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8. The Microphones - Ice

On our last tour, we stayed with some kids from Rochester who loved the Microphones SO MUCH. And they were really nice, they bought us pizza even though they had no money, and in the morning they made us vegan biscuits and gravy.

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9. Sufjan Stevens - John Wayne Gacy, Jr.

This is one of my favorite Sufjan songs. I find the way he contrasts the sentiment in the music with the sentiment in the lyrics very effective. It's pretty moving.

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10. Danielson - Physician Heal Yourself

This song really gets me. I'm not really christian, but I love the way Daniel Smith uses bibical imagery in his lyrics.

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11. Duke Ellington - Bakiff

This is a pretty strange, beautiful song from the last great era of Ellington. I think it was actually written by Juan Tizol, his fiesty, knife-wielding trombone player.

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