the year in mix tapes: 2008

It wasn't a playlist a month this year, as things were up and down (January was spent despairing about the job situation and finally taking - and passing, woot! - my driving test), but these were basically the soundtrack to my '08.

February 2008 (for Dan's bday)
1. Okay - KaiserCartel
2. Together Or Alone - Sebadoh
3. Don't Let Him Waste Your Time - Jarvis Cocker
4. Because We're Dead - Slow Club
5. 5 Years Time - Noah & The Whale
6. The Man Who Sold The World - David Bowie
7. King Bubbles In The Sand - King Creosote
8. Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend
9. Horse And I - Bat For Lashes
10. Police & Thieves - The Clash
11. Something In The Air - Thunderclap Newman
12. This Is A Low - Blur
13. Freewheel - Duke Special
14. Never Lonely Alone - Space Needle
15. Between The Bars - Elliott Smith
16. Lullaby - The Cure
17. Set Yourself On Fire - Stars
18. You! Me! Dancing! - Los Campesinos
19. Bonus Track (God Gave Rock and Roll To You, which we one time turned up REALLY loud after watching Bill & Ted)

Early Summer (May/June 2008)
1. Me And You - Slow Club
2. That's Not My Name - The Ting Tings
3. Ready For The Floor - Hot Chip
4. Paper Planes - MIA (not the shitty radio version they released this autumn)
5. Time To Pretend - MGMT
6. Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
7. Turn Tail - The Young Knives
8. Ashes To Ashes - David Bowie
9. Here On My Own - U.N.P.O.C.
10. In the Hot. Hot Rays - Fleet Foxes
11. The Boy With The Arab Strap - Belle & Sebastian
12. Late For The Devil - Kid Harpoon
13. Girls And Boys In Love - The Rumble Strips
14. The Kids Don't Stand A Chance - Vampire Weekend
15. A Day In The Life - The Beatles

Late Summer (July/August 2008)
1. Broken Bones - Sons and Daughters
2. Hypnotise - The White Stripes
3. Nonstop - Whitey
4. America's Boy - Broadcast
5. Ocean - Sebadoh
6. Tomorrow Tomorrow - Elliott Smith
7. Mykonos - Fleet Foxes
8. It's All Over - The Broken Family Band
9. I Know - The Beta Band
10. Ease Your Feet In The Sea - Belle & Sebastian
11. Going Down - Florence & Kid Harpoon
12. Wild Wood - Paul Weller
13. Flowers And Football Tops (acoustic) - Glasvegas
14. She Doesn't Belong - Pete & The Pirates
15. Summer's The Worst - Michael Leviton
16. Little Yellow Spider - Devendra Banhart
17. Wild World - Cat Stevens

September 2009 (about which I've previously posted)
1. Suedehead - Morrissey
2. I'm Good, I'm Gone - Lykke Li
3. Not Fade Away - The Rolling Stones
4. Victoria - The Kinks
5. Senses Working Overtime - XTC
6. Pink Moon - Nick Drake
7. Cold Blooded Old Times - Smog
8. A Town Without Pity - Gene Pitney
9. Darling - Sons and Daughters
10. A Million Reasons - Stellastar
11. Lion Rip - The Duke Spirit
12. Slow Hands - Interpol
13. Cannonball - The Breeders
14. Today - Smashing Pumpkins
15. Heart Shaped Box - Nirvana
16. Doll Parts - Hole
17. The Other Side Of Mt. Heart Attack - Liars

October 2008
This playlist I could never quite get to work. It has some really great songs on it, but, in my mind at least, they never *quite* meshed well enough to make a successful playlist. I'll post it here anyway. I'll probably end up reusing the tracks on another one at some point. Or just rehashing this till it's right. I know it'll bug me otherwise.
1. Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing - Stevie Wonder
2. Want-ads - The Honeycombs
3. Close To Me - The Cure
4. Wrapped Up In Books - Belle & Sebastian
5. Autumn Almanac - The Kinks
6. Bend It - Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
7. Never Miss A Beat - Kaiser Chiefs
8. We Got The Beat - The Go-Gos
9. Knickerbocker - Fujiya & Miyagi
10. Woo Hoo - 5.6.7.8's
11. Pin - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
12. Lights Out - Santogold
13. But It's Alright - Eddie Floyd
14. Johnny Too Bad - The Slickers
15. Mr Big Stuff - Jean Knight
16. Try A Little Tenderness - Otis Redding

November 2008
1. L.E.S. Artistes - Santogold
2. Violet - Hole
3. The Beginning Of The Twist - The Futureheads
4. I Saw Her Standing There - The Beatles
5. Hold Tight - Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich
6. In The Morning - The Coral
7. About A Girl - Nirvana
8. Trash - Suede
9. Everywhere - Fleetwood Mac
10. I've Got My Mind Set On You - George Harrison
11. Death Of A Tune - The Hidden Cameras
12. Young Love - Mystery Jets ft. Laura Marling
13. Ragged Wood - Fleet Foxes
14. I Wanna Be Adored - Stone Roses
15. Goodnight Moon - Shivaree
16. Tire Swing - Kimya Dawson
17. When I Go - Slow Club
18. Drinker's Peace - Guided By Voices
19. It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry - Glasvegas
20. Love Your Man, Love Your Woman - The Broken Family Band

December 2008
1. I Need A Life - Born Ruffians
2. Becky - Be Your Own Pet
3. Don't Falter - Mint Royale ft. Lauren Laverne
4. Brainless - Sunny Day Sets Fire
5. Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? - She & Him
6. Midnight Surprise - Lightspeed Champion
7. Since I Don't Have You - The Skyliners
8. Dance Dance Dance - Lykke Li
9. Oh! - The Breeders
10. Ocean Of Noise - The Arcade Fire
11. White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
12. Flume - Bon Iver
13. Bears - Pete & The Pirates
14. Boys Of Melody - The Hidden Cameras
15. In The Morning - Ben Lee
16. Christmas TV - Slow Club

Hope 2008 has been good to you all; here's to 2009. Onwards and upwards, as they say.

An intellectual carrot. The mind boggles.

Had total festive season wipeout today; crashed in front of the telly and watched horror movies all evening. First The Last House On The Left, then Planet Terror, then finally The Thing. We had to watch the original for a film studies class back at uni - it was relatively entertaining and contains possibly one of my favourite lines from a film ever (see blog post title), but Carpenter's version was brilliant - definitely my favourite of the three watched. Plus, Kurt Russell is The Awesome.

gingerbread house

Another grand festive tradition: the assembling and decorating of gingerbread houses with my oldest friend, Laura. Much sugar-hyped fun.

For the record, though I put the cow there, my friend was the one who said "He needs some innards" and put the red licorice there...

The Thank Credit Crunch Chrismukkah meal 2008

Up to a certain point (usually around December 23rd) I love the festive season. I love the build up and the lights and decorations and music and buying crap for people and the emphasis on friends and family. But by the time Christmas Day actually rolls around, I'm so over it. So we had our becoming-traditional Chrismukkah lunch today: 12 adults, one toddler, the first people arriving at 2pm, the last people leaving at 10pm; lots of food, my sister and I cooking, trying to schedule everything in, suddenly remembering we hadn't put the potatoes on to boil though the turkey was basically cooked, completely forgetting about the stuffing. No major spillages, less booze consumed than I'd thought we might, everyone wearing the paper hats from crackers, and Tayo loving all the attention he was getting. Much talk of the previous night's X Factor (pah), excellent desserts brought by people (we asked people to bring contributions), fun with the squirty whipped cream, Christmas jumpers, eating so much you feel sick, and people passing out on the sofa... sounds like Christmas to me.

dance till the morning light

Slow Club have been the soundtrack to my 2008; I love love love them and their live shows are just so endearing. Tonight we saw them at Union Chapel in Islington (what an amazing venue), along with a bunch of special guests. We sat in the pews drinking cups of tea and listened to Jay Jay Pistolet and Adem (who did a great version of Silent Night), then Slow Club came out and did their thing. They'd distributed lyric sheets for a good old singalong - unfortunately, the ink was red and the lighting in the chapel was verrrry low, so it was pretty much unreadable. No one really minded; everyone kind of hummed and clapped along anyway. A great last gig of the year.