The Year In Review, Sort Of.

I wanted to do something comprehensive for a year-end mix, but I didn't know where to go. For me, a good mix is most importantly about the unexpected synergy of a collection of songs, and every idea I came up with consisted of songs with well, too much in common about them (2010). Time to think about it a bit differently. For each month of the year, a thought-provoking song (or artists) using the name of that month... not necessarily a favorite, or even one that's familiar. However, it's interesting to thing about, in the context of their music, why the particular month was chosen - for its cultural connotations, for its etymology, for the rhythm of its pronunciation... so here is, The Year In Review, Sort Of.

1.) "January" - Ravens & Chimes: I love the blend of the delicate piano and bells with driving bass and drums. About 1:10 in sounds like January to me. And then when they sing about snow, it all comes together. A little known band, a little rough around the edges, but interesting nonetheless.

2.) "February Stars" - Foo Fighters: The first time I heard this track, I wondered what band Dave Grohl was singing with. Why sing about "February Stars" as "temporary scars"? Why not March or August? Perhaps because February is on the cusp of winter and spring... the temporary scars of the bitter cold fade in March, symbolically speaking.

3.) "Waters of March" - Sergio Mendes and Ledisi: I usually try to keep the aesthetic of a mix somewhat consistent, but this song is too damn catchy. What's intriguing is that Antonio Carlos Jobim, a Brazilian, originally wrote this song from a southern hemisphere perspective about the end of summer. The English, northern hemisphere is flipped around. And Ledisi is awesome.

4.) "Maintenant" - Rupa & The April Fishes: What's an April Fish? Google tells us it has its roots in an old April Fool's joke.

5.) "Marcha" - The May Fire

6.) "June" - Jered Tanner 4 President: Sounding like a less throaty Dave Matthews, self-proclaimed musical alchemist pines for a girl named June.

7.) "1000 Julys" - Third Eye Blind: Classic. Nothing is hotter than July... except 1000 of them. It sounds and feels like summer, in sharp contrast the lazy, flowery "June". Stephan Jenkins craft a song that equates love and sex with the hottest thing they can imagine.

8.) "Bullets" - Augustana

9.) "Oh! September" - Mirah: summer, tomatoes, sleeping on blankets, ukeleles, and romance. Oh, September indeed.

10.) "October is Eternal" - Of Montreal: definitely intriguing, somewhat disjointed, surprisingly musical, and worth a listen.

11.) "Mr. November" - The National: For some, November is nearly synonymous with politics. The National (hey! even their name ties in to politics) treats a Presidential candidate from the first person perspective - "I'm the new blue blood / I'm the great white hope /I'm the new blue blood / I won't fuck us over / I'm Mr. November / I won't fuck us over."

12.) "O Valencia" - The Decembrists: The Decembrist Revolt was an uprising against Nicolas I's assuming the throne in 1825 Russia. In December. Lead singer Colin Meloy says that he views it is an unrealized Communist revolution...