February’s mix for Capital is a trip down memory lane, provided that you grew up listening to Alternative Rock radio like I did. I get a little nostalgic about 94.5 The Edge in the column and then I mixed together a few of my favorite tracks from the second half of the decade. I liked doing this one so much that I’m already considering a follow-up mix. Read the column and download the mix here.
I’ll admit that Beans is a weird name for a mixtape, and frankly I have no idea how it’s significant to/descriptive of the songs contained there-in, but that’s really all beside the point. The Magician is Stephen Fasano, and those of you who have been paying attention to the internet know that he was in Aeroplane with Vito DeLuca until last year. Anyways, this is a mix that he created for the Japanese art/fashion site Oki-Ni, and it’s chock-full of great italo disco songs, as well as contemporary disco tracks that have been influenced by that sub-genre. 80s nerds, like me, will dig this one a lot. Stream or download it below, and check the tracklist/commentary from Stephen here.
I had planned to write about a different album tonight but after I got home from work I put this song on and I haven’t been able to stop listening to it, several hours later. Helplessness Blues is an album I’ve been looking forward to for a long, long time and it’s apparent that Fleet Foxes have only improved during their time off after releasing and supporting 2008′s self-titled debut – the harmonies in the second half of the song are just stunning. You can stream and download the track from the nice looking player up top, and pre-order the album beginning tomorrow (Feb. 1) from their website.