This mix is about Lord of the Flies, everyone’s favorite novel from Freshmen English.
Why it’s pretentious: Aside from the meaning and title? I know it’s hard to believe, but there was once a time when Snow Patrol was too cool for school. I made this right before I dumped them for becoming too commercial. “Chasing Cars? Pfft. I prefer the lo-fi drugged-out sounds of Velocity Girl.”
Tracklisting and downloads after the jump.
This mix is by Morgan and is about how it’s time to make some babies.
Why It’s Pretentious: Regretting dumping your significant other because I told you they had bad taste in music? No worries, just press play on these smooth jams and they’ll come running into your arms. (Mostly because the good 7 soulful minutes of Sam Cooke will lure them into a dreamy sense of security.) My favorite part is when it goes from Marvin Gaye to Panic! At The Disco. Or from Radiohead to Usher. You know what, there are a lot of good opportunities for seduction here. Go reconnect. Go fall in love again. Go make some babies.
Stream via this post. #fakelinks
This mix is by Miss Moss and is about growing up making tapes in the 90s.
Why It’s Pretentious: Sometimes, I think I was born a little late. I only caught the end part of the tape era, but that’s what’s always stuck with me— not CDs or miniDiscs or even iPods. This is the music I grew up on. Story goes, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was the first song I ever danced to. I remember listening to No Doubt in Aventura Mall, the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Li’l Caesars, Beck in Michaelangelo’s Pizza. When my mom brought home The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and my dad introduced me to The Cure. This mix would’ve been right at home in my purple and yellow Pokemon walkman. In fact, I’m probably gonna tape it right now.
This mix is about a drug addict who falls for a prostitute.
Why It’s Pretentious: I promised super pretentious and here it is: This is an epic about a drug addict who picks up a hitchhiker on his way home, falls for her, and then finds out she’s a prostitute. Wanting to start a better life together, they try to get clean. He succeeds. She doesn’t. So even though he loves her, he can’t be with her. Named after a song by Bloc Party, it features a Smiths bootleg and a song by Jimmy Eat World that used to be a rarity but can now be found on iTunes. #displeased
Oh, and the story unfolds backwards. So.
Tracklisting and downloads after the jump.
This mix is about what happens when a hopeless romantic meets a fiery redhead.
Why it’s Pretentious: At some point in my high school career, I got really into making vignettes. (Hey, some people write stories; I make mixtapes.) This one is about a quiet bookish boy in a cardigan; a spunky, magnetic girl; and that place where their whimsy meets and they fall in love. It’s about when the person you love is so mesmerizing that you’re a little lost for words, a little bit hopeless. For good measure, it features both a song in French (Rufus Wainwright’s beautiful “Complainte de la Butte”) and a string tribute to the Beatles.
Tracklisting and downloads after the jump.
