I’ve been burning the midnight oil for a couple weeks now on a project, and needed to blow the jams out to give my cranium a break – so I made a new mix. Kind of a “fuck a bunch of winter” set of songs.

Most of these are recent tunes that stood out in my mind as something I wanted to get on a disc in order to hear them more often, and louder. Things like “Pressure and Time” from Rival Sons, “Panic Station” from Muse, and “Would That Not Be Nice” from Divine Fits, which is a super-band made up of members from Spoon and Wolf Parade.

Quite a few I’ve featured on LlamaTraxx when I initially found them. But others, like “Wor” by Django Django, were a bit more obscure. Their disc wasn’t available on iTunes for a while, even though the British band’s debut CD picked up some well deserved credit as one of the best releases in 2012.

I ran across Seattle rapper Macklemore late last year, and then heard “Thrift Shop” more recently, which is an addictive tune, and an even better video, but of course now it’s everywhere. “Thrift Shop” is the new “Gangnam Style.” Somebody must stop it.

Then there were a couple slightly older tunes I put on to bring the heat: “Bullet in the Head” by Rage Against the Machine; “The Stars” by Moby; “DLZ” by TV on the Radio; “Midnight City” by M83.

The mix is entitled “JETTISON LIFE BOATS.” Pitch the shit overboard if you don’t need it – we’re either going to make it or die trying…

It turned out even better than expected, which is always a pleasure. I’ve passed it along to a couple folks, and reviews have been solid.

Honestly, these tunes make me want to drink and drive – break out the 40s and drop the windows.

Django Django – Wor; Rival Sons – Pressure and Time; Gary Clark Jr. – Don’t Owe You a Thang; Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Thrift Shop; Tapes ‘n Tapes – Insistor; Rage Against the Machine – Bullet in the Head; Nas – Nasty; Maus Haus – Hey Jean; Muse – Panic Station; Killer Mike – Ready Set Go (Feat. T.I.); The Devil Makes Three – Old Number 7; Moby – The Stars; Blues Image – Ride Captain Ride; Cass McCombs – The Same Thing; Divine Fits – Would That Not Be Nice; TV on the Radio – DLZ; M83 – Midnight City; Fiona Apple – Every Single Night; The XX – Crystalised.

Cheers!