The Year In Mix Tapes

I made 52 playlists in 2016. Here they are.

Every Sunday for the past year I’ve sent out a ten song playlist via TinyLetter. That’s 520 tracks, 2037 mins. Or, you know, thirty-four hours.

That’s enough to help get the party started this New Year’s Eve, and heal the hangover the next day.

Spotify links below. See you in 2017.

January

#1 I Am Gonna Make It Through This Year

Upbeat indie: My Morning Jacket, Mountain Goats, Modest Mouse.

#2 We Lie Beneath The Stars At Night

Electronic indie: The Naked & Famous, M83, Bloc Party.

#3 Sinking Like A Stone In The Sea

Chill out: Sigur Ros, The xx, Radiohead.

#4: Do You Like Good Music

Motown/Soul: Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding.

#5: I Heard From Someone You’re Still Pretty

Acoustic: Alexi Murdoch, Iron & Wine, Bon Iver.

February

#6: And They Carried You Away

Electronic/Indie: Still Corners, Beach House, Youth Lagoon.

#7: I Wish I Was A Little More Delicate

Texas — NY road trip: They Might Be Giants, Daniel Johnston, LCD Soundsystem.

#8: A Nod To The Canon

Intros/Outros: The xx, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, M83.

#9: I’ve Seen It All Before

Covers: Ryan Adams, Mountain Goats, Sonic Youth.

March

#10: With All Apologies You Wake Me Up

Piano: Aphex Twin, Jon Hopkins, Dustin O’Halleran.

#11: I Know When To Go Out

‘80s: David Bowie, Kenny Loggins, Phil Collins.

#12: The Only Dream I Ever Have

Film scores: Sunshine, Inception, Beasts of the Southern Wild.

#13: All We Know Is That We Don’t Know

B-sides: The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Oasis.

April

#14: My Pain, Your Thrill

80s Rock: AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Van Halen.

#15: I Got A Bad Desire

Springsteen’s I’m On Fire, ten ways: Chromatics, Bat For Lashes, The Staves.

#16: Songs For A Film That Isn’t

Pop/60s/Rock: The Kinks, Nico, The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

#17: My Heart It Shook With Fear

Indie rock/Pop: Levy, Active Child, Kishi Bashi

May

#18: Soften My Dreams*

Guitar ballads: George Harrison, Wet, Joni Mitchell *Curated by Summer Anne Burton

#19: Our Dreams Will All Come True

Songs not available on Spotify: Bon Iver, Explosions In The Sky, The Brian Jones Town Massacre.

#20: Before We Shut This Engine Down

Classic rock road trip: The Who, Fleetwood Mac, Lynyrd Skynyrd.

#21: They Sound Like A Million Colours

Piano: Dustin O’Halloran, Philip Glass, Nils Frahm.

#22: See You On The Other Side

A soundtrack for floating in space: The Knife, Caribou, Spiritualized.

June

#23: We Stare Straight Into Nothin’

Acoustic: The National, The Antlers, Mazzy Star.

#24: It’s Just The Chemicals In Our Brains

Reading in bed on a rainy day: Still Parade, Brian Eno, M83.

#25: You Are Now One Of Us

Synth-wave: Power Glove, Mitch Murder, Vangelis.

#26: Stilettos And Broken Bottles

Bangers: Robyn, Sia, Solange.

July

#27: You’ll Be The Sun In Somebody Else’s Sky

Grunge: Screaming Trees, Nirvana, Pearl Jam.

#28: I Don’t Know What To Want From This World

Whimsical pop: Kishi Bashi, Phosphorescent, John Grant.

#29: Let’s Start This All Over Again

Emo: Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance, Brand New.

#30: You’re The One That I’ve Kept Closest

Duets: R.E.M., Rilo Kiley, Ben Folds.

#31: We Go Back To Your House

’00s Indie: Bloc Party, Kings of Leon, The Libertines.

August

#32: I’ll Be Lost Behind Your Eyes

European festival: Sebastian Wijk, Gustaf Spetz, Nils Frahm.

#33: Playlist Of The United States

Ten cuts from Obama’s summer playlist: Aloe Blacc, Floetry, D’Angelo.

#34: Those Years Were The Best That I’ve Had

European festival pt2: Kite, Efterklang, Niki & The Dove.

#35: I’ve Been Looking For Forever

‘60s-ish: The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Zombies.

September

#36: My Hopes Are So High That Your Kiss Might Kill Me

Emo: Finch, The Used, Taking Back Sunday.

#37: I’ve Seen Things You People Wouldn’t Believe

Stranger Things-inspired synth-wave: Cliff Martinez, New Order, Kyle Dixon.

#38: Então Vem Vamos Viver A Vida

Foreign-language covers: Seu Jorge, Gypsy Kings, David Bowie.

#39: Life Is A Commercial For Being Fed Up

Alt-’90s: Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, Pixies.

October

#40: It Might Be Over Soon

Everything Justin Vernon: Volcano Choir, Gayngs, DeYarmond Edison.

#41: The Days All Float By

Lazy days with a lover: Beirut, Great Lake Swimmers, Okkervil River.

#42: I Guess I’ll Have To Write A Sequel

Songs about books: Belle & Sebastian, Maximo Park, Danny Elfman.

#43: Somehow You Can Save Me

Low-fi indie: Sebadoh, RY X, Daniel Johnston.

#44: I’m Watching All The Stars Burn Out

Indie rock: Eels, Trailer Trash Tracys, Happyness.

November

#45: You Will Learn To Survive Me

Piano: Max Richter, Yann Tiersen, Regina Spektor.

#46: A Special Kind Of Way To Be Cool

Low-fi indie: Andrew Jackson Jihad, Elvis Depressedly, Cyberbully Mom Club.

#47: A Universe Of Atoms

Chilled instrumental: Atticus Ross, Washed Out, M83.

#48: Make Everything ’90s Again

Ummmm ’90s: Annie Lennox, 4 Non Blondes, Mr. Big.

December

#49: When All Is Broken

Indie rock: Panama, Patience, Racing Glaciers.

#50: I Just Can’t Control My Feet

Whimsical ’80s: Wilson Phillips, Tiffany, Belinda Carlisle.

#51: I Dare You To Need Me

Songs for a plane ride: The Long Winters, Drugstore, Loney Dear.

#52 Our Troubles Will Be Miles Away

Christmas: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby.

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