Saturday, December 25, 2021

2021 Mixes

It is time.

Past mixes: 200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019, 2020

I didn't spend a ton of time putting these together, because it's a busy year end and because I've decided it's time for me to listen to all of the Shearwater back catalog, so I need to put this to bed to move on in my listening. And since I usually just listen to the pot on shuffle, this at least has some attempt at transitions.  

This year: the ladies are pissed, and I am here for it. 

Disc 1

1. Johnny Delusional - Franz Ferdinand & Sparks. I saw the delightful film The Sparks Brothers at Sundance and listened to a lot of Sparks subsequently. I very much enjoy them, and as I also like Franz Ferdinand, I'm delighted they did an album together. I listened to this song a LOT.



2. No Gods No Masters - Garbage. I have thoughts on the album further below, but for now - enjoy the title track:

3. I am not a woman, I'm a god - Halsey. I love her new album that she did with Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, so there is a lot of it on here. 

4. NDA - Billie Eilish

5. brutal - Olivia Rodrigo. So good.  (There is apparently a video, but it's a very au courant and fights with the 90s feel of the song I feel)

6. Begging for Trouble - AFI. God I love that AFI is still making songs like this after 30 years. I'm seeing them in the spring and I can't wait. (Omicron WILL pass by then.)

7. The Passenger - Alison Mosshart & the Forest Rangers. Hey is anyone else watching the new season of Dexter?

8. Dinner & Diatribes - Hozier

9. Beelzebub - Black Pistol Fire

10. The Rifles Spiral - The Shins. No idea how I missed this originally, but it played while we were driving to go see Garbage and I like it. Great video too:

11. Paper Stickers - Deau Eyes

12. La Dee Da ft. Alison Mosshart - Foo Fighters. From their last album, but I was clearly on an Alison Mosshart kick. 

13. Down - Stone Temple Pilots. Again - don't know why I never heard this STP song. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

14. The Lighthouse - Halsey

15. How Not to Drown ft. Robert Smith - CHVRCHES

16. Wolves - Garbage. So - No Gods No Masters is the first Garbage album I don't love. Which is confusing. I love elements of a lot of the songs, but rarely one all the way through. (Like I like the chorus on the Men Who Rule the World and The Creeps, I love a lot of Anonymous XXX, but don't care for the bridge, same on A Woman Destroyed/Flipping the Bird.) I'm glad there are a bunch of albums I did love this year, but: it's very weird to have my first album by my favorite band that I'm mixed on (after 26 years!).

17. MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name) - Lil Nas X

18. The Only Heartbreaker - Mitski

19. Happier Than Ever - Billie Eilish

20. Easier than Lying - Halsey

21. good 4 u - Olivia Rodrigo


Disc 2 - some dancey stuff and stuff

1. That's What I Want - Lil Nas X

2. What a Life - Another Round Soundtrack (Thrilled it won an oscar and was up for another; Mads shoulda been up for Best Actor)

3. Drunk (and I don't wanna go home) - Miranda Lambert & Elle King. To keep with a theme:

4. Good Girls - CHVRCHES. I liked the new album, but I LOVED going back to a real concert to see them. (I took my air quality monitor - the Bill Graham kept the doors open all night, so it was cold, but the CO2 stayed under 800, so that was good. Someone in one of the opening bands (or their crew?) got covid, so it definitely wasn't a *safe* experience (my iphone told me 7 days later of a possible exposure, which: a little late.) But on the scale of risk, this one felt worth it. It was SO GOOD.) Also I loved that Lauren came out for the encore drenched in FX blood. Class.

5. Girl is a Gun - Halsey

6. Like My Hand Did (Painless Remix) - Boyfriend. Yay remix!

7. Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels - Todrick Hall

8. Sugar Honey Iced Tea - Princess Nokia

9. Bunny is a Rider - Caroline Polachek

10. On the Floor - Perfume Genius

11. Medicine at Midnight - Foo Fighters

12. Dulcería - AFI

13. Give up the Ghost - LPX. I miss Ms Mr, so I looked up the lead singer, and it turns out she's putting out songs occasionally as LPX.

14. When Do I Get to Sing 'My Way' - Sparks

15. Drinks - Cyn

16. jealousy, jealousy - Olivia Rodrigo

17. You're High - Agar Agar

18. Violent Delights - CHVRCHES


Disc 3 - the eclectic stuff. I don't know - these didn't go on the others.

1. Unpleasant Breakfast - The Hold Steady

2. This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us - Sparks

3. It's All Over Now - The Rolling Stones. I thought I was listening to this because it was on an episode of Endeavour (much like She's a Rainbow), but I don't think it was? And now I can't recall what spurred this one. 

4. The Line - Foo Fighters

5. Lilith - Halsey

6. Working for the Knife - Mitski. Hey - video!

7. Bolt in the Blue - LPX

8. Police Encounters - Franz Ferdinand & Sparks

9. abcdefu - GAYLE

10. u suck - Emily Bear

11. Serotonin - girl in red

12. Top of the World - Kimbra

13. Venus Fly Trap - MARINA

14. Charade - Kat Robichaud

15. What You Own - Melissa Barrera and Leslie Grace. Miscast was SO great this year. I love this with my whole heart.

16. Lads Among Heather - Nati Dreddd. This is someone on tiktok who does traditional Scottish songs. What a lovely voice! I would like an album, please

17. Siúil a Rún - Seo Linn. Yay! Irish songs. 

18. Óró Sé do Bheatha Bhaile - Seo Linn. Here - have a sea shanty, too. For Christmas


Disc 4 - I'd say this is the soft/slow disc, but it's really the soft/Lana disc. Lana blessed us with two albums this year, so there's just a whole bunch of her on here.

1. Chemtrails Over the Country Club - Lana del Rey. My favorite song of the year. 

2. Edith Piaf (Said it Better than Me) - Sparks

3. 1121 - Halsey

4. Dark but Just a Game - Lana del Rey

5. justified - Kacey Musgraves

6. happier - Olivia Rodrigo

7. Text Book - Lana del Rey

8. what doesn't kill me - Kacey Musgraves

9. In the Belly of a Dragon - Jenn Grant

10. Black Bathing Suit - Lana del Rey

11. sex is good (but have you tried) - Donna Missal. She was the opening act to chvrches, and it's funny because her live show was much more rock than her songs seem to be. But I dig this one, and I'm going to listen to some more in the new year. 

12. The Tradition - Halsey

13. Wildflower Wildfire - Lana del Rey

14. Enjoy the Silence (harmonium) - Depeche Mode

15. Camera's Rolling - Agnes Obel

16. Wild at Heart - Lana del Rey. Taking elements from Norman Fucking Rockwell (which I think might be my favorite album of hers)

17. Some Dream - Perfume Genius

18. The Trick is to Keep Breathing (live) - Garbage. I may not have loved No Gods No Masters unconditionally, but having Garbage back on the road brought us this gorgeous live version of Trick is to Keep Breathing. 

19. Let Me Love You Like a Woman - Lana del Rey

20. August 3rd, 1896 - Mark Isham. I didn't listen to a lot of soundtracks this year, but I liked The Nevers (and I'm hoping the 2nd season is better under a new showrunner AND brings Claudia Black back.)

21. Arcadia - Lana del Rey

22. Asking for a Friend - CHVRCHES. Funny to me that this is the opening to their new album, because it sounds like a closing to me.

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