Mixtape 10: Late May 2005

1. Frank Black – White Noise Maker
2. Belle and Sebastian – Me and the Major
3. Name Withheld
4. Johnny Cash – I See a Darkness
5. Guided by Voices – My Valuable Hunting Knife
6. Stephen Malkmus – It Kills
7. Boom Bip & Dose One – Directions to California
8. The White Stripes – I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet)
9. Spoon – Is This the Last Time
10. Ghost Mice – The Devil and My Family

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I guess I ran out of steam. While every song on this list is worthy of inclusion, somehow it didn't add up to anything to write home about. It lacks a certain spark. I don't know. Maybe it has to do with the way I'd been feeling at the time. The inclusion of "White Noise Maker" is a manifestation of my aforementioned desire for a return to the Frank of old. "Me and the Major" is a classic that I tended to skip over when listening to If You're Feeling Sinister. Why, I do not know, but it's great. I left the name out for #3 because it's part of an unreleased album sent to me by the artist that I don't really have permission to talk about, in a nutshell. Johnny Cash's Bonnie 'Prince' Billy cover, while not nearly as good as the original, is pretty cool in that it instantly legitimizes everything. It must be pretty rad to have your song covered by Johnny Cash. In April, I posted Stephen Malkmus' "Baby C'mon" because it wasn't a standard Malkmus track. "It Kills," however, could've come off of Brighten the Corners. Still, it's as welcome as flowers in spring. The White Stripes' then-upcoming Get Behind Me Satan had only just leaked, and for some reason I picked the song that most closely resembles "Mercedes Benz" by Janis Joplin. It's pleasant, but I would've been happier with a song that doesn't have one of the most recognizable melodies in popular music history.