This is for a special someone working for the Peace Corps in Senegal…

1. This Means You (Talib Kweli feat. Mos Def)
2. Non Je ne Regrette rien (Edith Piaf)
3. The Dark Of The Matinée (Franz Ferdinand)
4. Sinnerman (Nina Simone, remixed by Felix Da Housecat)
5. Forever Young (Bob Dylan)
6. Passing By (Zero 7)
7. SOS elephants (Les Sans Culottes)
8. Sparks (Röyksopp)
9. Walking Through The Darkness (Tekitha)
10. Dumbala Dumba (Taraf de Haidouks)
11. Oo-de-lally (from Disney’s Robin Hood)
12. H.C.Q. Strut (Django Reinhardt)
13. Uleg-Khem (Hun Huur Tu and Kronos Quartet)
14. Sumpin New (Coolio)
15. I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (Billie Holiday)
16. Busby Berkeley Dreams (The Magnetic Fields)

It’s Roman numerals from now on. I think this would be fun to drive to, but I like more mixed up things.

1. And The Angels Sing (Martha Tilton)
2. It’s Not Unusual (Tom Jones)
3. Wild Wild Life (Talking Heads)
4. There She Goes Again (Velvet Underground)
5. Saudade Dada (Arrigo Barnabé)
6. Peacherine Rag (Dick Hyman)
7. The Famous Polka (They Might Be Giants)
8. Seerauber-Jenny (Kurt Weill)
9. You Say You Don’t Love Me (The Buzzcocks)
10. Strange Eyes (Sunz Of Man, 12 O”Clock & Blue Raspberry)
11. The Fitted Shirt (Spoon)
12. Crush on Everyone (Jonah’s One Line Drawing)
13. God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday)
14. Misery Is A Butterfly (Blonde Redhead)
15. Smedley’s Melody (Squarepusher)
16. I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’ (William Warfield/George Gershwin)
17. When You’re Smiling The Whole World Smiles With You (Frank Sinatra)
18. D’yer Mak’er (Led Zepplin)
19. Deceptacon (Le Tigre)
20. Ahead of the Curve (Jim’s Big Ego)

Four discs are in the works, and I noticed that I’m tempted to put the same songs on many mixes. Partly this reflects the fact that I love those songs, but it also stems from an unwillingness to subject these mixes to a rigorous programmatic form. One pair of CDs is for a move — since the move has happened already I’m roughly theming them as “departure” and “arrival” or “homesick” and “new home,” but many of the songs are similar artists or tracks I’ve used before.

Another factor is that most of the people for whom I make mixes have different musical tastes than myself, so I’m always looking to introduce my favorite artists that they probably haven’t heard much from. But there’s a limit to introductions — I’m unlikely to put Aphex Twin, Karlheinz Stockhausen, or Perotin in a mix unless I’m sure the person is going to like it. So the mixes tend to be rather conservative. I’m hoping to break out of this mold, maybe after the next few get finalized.

These are for a birthday party that is themed as a 50s cocktail party. It’s highly anachronistic but should set the mood alright. I sort of threw these together, so they aren’t so coherent and I gave too many artists double-duty. I think the 2nd CD turned out much better.

Volume 1
1. Cafe “La Humedad” (Roberto Goyeneche)
2. C’est Si Bon (Don Byron/Mickey Katz)
3. The Best Is Yet To Come (Frank Sinatra)
4. Frasquita Serenade (Don Byron)
5. Girl From Ipanema (Getz/Gilberto/Gilberto)
6. Speak Low (Billie Holiday)
7. Good Grief, Dennis (Chico Hamilton)
8. Orange Colored Sky (Nat King Cole)
9. The Late, Late Show (Dakota Staton)
10. I Get Ideas (Louis Armstrong)
11. My Favourite Things (Dave Brubeck)
12. Giant Steps (John Coltrane)
13. Summertime (Miles Davis)
14. Royal Garden Blues (Don Byron)
15. I Get A Kick Out Of You (Ella Fitzgerald)
16. Mary’s Ideas (Mary Lou Williams)
17. Salt Peanuts (Joshua Redman)
18. All The Thing You Are (Lennie Tristano)
19. Blue Skies (Cassandra Wilson)
20. Blue Rondo A La Turk (Dave Brubeck)
21. Beyond The Sea (Bobby Darin)

Volume II
1. Everybody’s Bobbin’ (Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross)
2. Autumn Leaves (Wynton Marsalis)
3. Hocus-Pocus (Lee Morgan)
4. Blue Monk (Thelonious Monk)
5. Pent-Up House (Sonny Rollins)
6. Love Walked In (Ray Brown)
7. Night In Tunisia (Bud Powell)
8. Lester Leaps In (Count Basie)
9. Oh, Good Grief (Ellis Marsalis)
10. Daphne (Django Reinhardt)
11. Rendex-Vous Sous La Pluie (Jean-Fred Mele & The ‘Jazz Swing’ Zepilli)
12. A Foggy Day (Dakota Staton)
13. Outra Vez (Stan Getz)
14. Desafinado (Ryuichi Sakamoto)
15. Last Tango In Paris (Gotan Project)

Since she suggested it, I divided the songs I had been considering for the previous CD into two — here is the second half, more jazzy/classical/silly:

1. World Weary (Noël Coward)
2. Impromptu No. 1, Op. 29 (Vladimir Horowitz/Frederic Chopin)
3. Le Gars qui vont a la fete (Stutzmann & Södergren/Francis Poulenc)
4. Donde Esta Yolanda (Pink Martini)
5. Virtuosity Rag (William Bolcolm)
6. Let’s do something (Erin Hill & Dan Jenkins/Mark Blitzstein)
7. Honolulu (Mark Blitzstein)
8. Golden Slippers (The Prince Myshkins)
9. Under The Boardwalk (The Temptations)
10. Topsy Turvey (Joe Lovano)
11. Twilight In Turkey (Raymond Scott)
12. My Funny Valentine (Sarah Vaughan)
13. Deceptacon (Le Tigre)
14. Sinnerman [Felix Da Housecat Remix] (Nina Simone)
15. Por Una Cabeza (Astor Piazzolla)
16. Kriss Romani (Swing Gadje)
17. Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago (Soul Coughing)
18. She’s Dead (Jim’s Big Ego)
19. Bullet Train (Wynton Marsalis)
20. Downtown Train (Tom Waits)

This mix is for Erin‘s road trip to Ann Arbor for grad school. It is a bit inauspicious that it starts with a quote from Scott’s failed expedition to the South Pole. However, things get better from there.

1. Introduction to Epilogue (Sinfonia Antarctica, Vaughan Williams)
2. Nothing Lies Still Long (Pell Mell)
3. The wake up bomb (R.E.M.)
4. Heaven (Talking Heads)
5. Une Annee Sans Lumiere (The Arcade Fire)
6. Angel of Harlem (U2)
7. If I Should Fall From Grace With God (The Pogues)
8. Take The Fifth (Spoon)
9. Ramble On (Led Zepplin)
10. The Vagabond (Bryn Terfel/Vaughan Williams)
11. Samurai Code Quote #4 (Forrest Whittaker/Ghost Dog : Way of the Samurai)
12. Lebanese Blonde (Thievery Corporation)
13. Boss On The Boat (Tosca)
14. Remind Me (Rökysopp)
15. Peppermint Patty (Ellis Marsalis)
16. I Think I Need A New Heart (The Magnetic Fields)
17. Lover’s Lane (Squirrel Nut Zippers)
18. Silver Lining (Stiff Little Fingers)
19. Big Spender (Shirley Bassey)

This one is for a bakery, so I wanted it to be a little more mellow and all-ages. I’m not entirely happy with it, although I do like the little sweep up from Joplin to US3.

1. Route 66 (Nat King Cole)
2. Queen of the Savages (The Magnetic Fields)
3. La Belle Et La Manouche (Les Primitifs Du Futur)
4. Una Musical Brutal (Gotan Project)
5. Sweet and Gentle (Don Byron/Mickey Katz)
6. Summer Song (Louis Armstrong/David Brubeck)
7. Weeping Willow (Dick Hyman/Scott Joplin)
8. Black Bottom Stomp (Jelly Roll Morton)
9. Flight of the Bumblebee (Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin/Rimsky-Korsakov)
10. Splanky (Christian McBride)
11. Cantaloop (US3)
12. And Your Bird Can Sing (The Beatles)
13. You Can’t Break My Heart (The Hot Club of Cowtown)
14. The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing (Elling)
15. Promenade – Gnomus : Orchestral (Mussorgsky)
16. I Just Want To Make Love To You (Buddy Guy)
17. The Man I Love (Billie Holiday)
18. Non je ne regrette rien (Edith Piaf)
19. Lob des hohen Verstandes (Dietrich Fischer-Diskau/Gustav Mahler)
20. Twisted (Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross)
21. For The Longest Time (UIUC Other Guys/Billy Joel)

Of course I know nothing of baseball…

1. Take Me Out To The Ballgame (Harry Hindermyer)
2. Fools Rush In (Frank Sinatra)
3. She’s Actual Size (They Might Be Giants)
4. Morphee (Moxy Früvous)
5. 6 Romanian Folkdances — I. Danse au bâton (Béla Bartók / Michel Béroff)
6. 6 Romanian Folkdances — II. Brâul
7. 6 Romanian Folkdances — III. Le batteur de grain
8. 6 Romanian Folkdances — IV. Danse de Bucsumi
9. 6 Romanian Folkdances — V. Polka roumaine
10. 6 Romanian Folkdances — VI. Danse rapide
11. Coney Island Baby (Tom Waits)
12. Bounce of the Sugar Plum Fairies (Jack Kirby / Don Byron)
13. The Cradle Will Rock (Marc Blitzstein)
14. Prince Charming (Jim’s Big Ego)
15. King of Birds (REM)
16. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Acte The Positive (Johnny Mercer / Ella Mae Morse)
17. Heaven (Talking Heads)
18. Andante (Vivaldi / Bobby McFerrin & Yo-Yo Ma)
19. The Broad Majestic Shannon (The Pogues)
20. Peppermint Patty (Vince Guaraldi / Ellis Marsalis)
21. Flowers On The Wall (The Statler Brothers)
22. Paper Tiger (Beck)
23. Blue Skies (Cassandra Wilson)
24. Lovecats (The Cure)
25. Shout And Feel It (Count Basie)
26. Love Potion Number 9 (The Searchers)
27. Take Me Out (Franz Ferdinand)

1. Speaking In Tongues I (Sheila Chandra)
2. Kanonen-Song (Kurt Weill)
3. Fit But You Know It (The Streets)
4. Gallop of a Thousand Horses (Kronos Quartet)
5. Head Rush on Lafayette (David Holmes)
6. Midnight In a Perfect World (DJ Shadow)
7. O Fortuna (Carl Orff)
8. The Girl at the Typewriter (Raymond Scott)
9. Seed 2.0 (The Roots)
10. Hang On St. Christopher (Tom Waits)
11. Take Me Home Country Roads (John Denver)
12. Mustang Sally (The Commitments)
13. Summer Song (Dave Brubeck/Louis Armstrong)
14. the pennycandystore beyond the el (Leonard Bernstein)
15. Promenade/Gnomus (Modest Mussorgsky/Vladimir Ashkenazy)
16. Ana Ng (They Might Be Giants)
17. P.P. (Picolo Pesos) (Ornette Coleman)
18. Fugue in C minor, BWV 847 (J.S. Bach)
19. Ain’t Nobody’s Business But My Own (Ella Fitzgerald)
20. Oh, Good Grief (Ellis Marsalis)
21. God Bless The Child (Billie Holiday)
22. Madness (Deltron 3030)
23. Fitter Happier (Radiohead)
24. I Am Superman (REM)

Yet another mix, a bit more eclectic perhaps:

1. 2010 — Cornelius
2. Bongo Bong — Manu Chao
3. Latin Simone — Gorillaz
4. I’m Beginning to See the Light — Bobby Darin
5. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat — Charles Mingus
6. Gritty Shaker — David Holmes
7. Sabotage — Beastie Boys
8. I’m Old Fashioned — Cassandra Wilson
9. The Penguin — Raymond Scott
10. Safety Dance — Men Without Hats
11. You Can’t Break My Heart — Hot Club Of Cowtown
12. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues — Chris Thomas King
13. Summertime — Billie Holiday
14. Bei Mer Bist Du Schon — Sholom Secunda
15. Disseminated — Soul Coughing
16. Communication Breakdown — Led Zeppelin
17. Spoonful — Charlie Hunter (with Theryl De Clouet)
18. There She Goes Again — The Velvet Underground
19. Seven Months — Portishead
20. All The Things You Are — Ella Fitzgerald