This mix is about falling in and out of love with your imaginary friend.
Why it’s pretentious: Well, it starts with a FIVE MINUTE LONG SMITHS SONG. But wait, there’s more! This is a convoluted story about a lonely girl who falls in love with her imaginary friend because he’s so much nicer than real people, but then she gets too old for him, so he’s banished to this weird imaginary friends world to wait for a new kid, and he’s sad and she kind of regrets it, and apparently I had a lot of spare time in high school. #notbasedonatruestory
Tracklisting, downloads, and bonus song after the jump.
This mix is by Mac of Bows and Arrows and is about how just cause it’s February 15th don’t mean Valentine’s Day is over, lovers and ladies.*
Why It’s Pretentious: High school me would have been all over this mix! Aforementioned Magnetic Fields, Syd Barrett, Pains of Being Pure at Heart… music crushes galore. Plus, “C is the Heavenly Option” always spoke to my magazine-quiz-taking-girlsoul. Present day me is also all over this mix. (Hunx and His Punks and The Ronettes! SWOON.) Download this immediately, use it to see if your guy or gal is worth sticking with, and then go see Bows and Arrows tonight at The End. It’s the pretentious way.
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 by Ben of The Digital Sundials and is about meth, the dark side, and the dad from Malcolm in the Middle.
Why It’s Pretentious: Besides starting and ending with Stephen Malkmus (the Bob Dylan of pretentious indie rock), I, the literary genius you could only hope to be, sat down and analyzed Bryan Cranston’s character Walter White from AMC’s Breaking Bad. Walt is a mild mannered chemistry teacher-turned-meth kinpin who initially wants to acquire a modest $2.5 million nest egg for his family after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, but later decides that his family are a bunch of hacks (I’m summarizing here) and keeps cooking meth for the hell of it. Breaking Bad is different from other shows on basic cable (Hell, HBO) because over the course of it’s run, the protagonist gradually morphs into an antagonist . At first he is weary about sneaking into his own house after midnight; eventually you’ll see him shoot some liquored up Cholo without blinking an eye. He could crash a bus full of orphans into a no-kill puppy shelter (Spoiler: he doesn’t) and you’d still root for that deplorable bastard. Did I mention that Bryan Cranston played Hal in Malcom in the Middle? BONUS NOSTALGIA.
Side note: Ben made this. Ben is in high school. In fact, he is in my old high school. Pretentious Mixtapes Ben Made In The Same High School I Made My Pretentious Mixtapes. New blog name. Spread it around.
Tracklisting and complete download after the jump.
