Mixtapes have become an innate part of our culture. And by our culture, I don’t just mean 20something bloggers and music nerds. I mean all of us. Everyone under the age of 50 has crafted, gifted or received at least one mixtape in their lives. Think about it. Maybe you had an old school tape deck hooked up to some turntables. Maybe you waited by the radio for the perfect song so you could hit record on your boombox. Maybe you patiently ripped dozens of CDs to burn your own mix. Whatever it is, we all have our own mixtape experience. They are just as much a part of growing up as scraped knees, your first kiss or graduation. They are moments in time, snapshots of lives, memories in music.

This is why we decided to start a mixtape series of our own. We wanted to add a little bit of sexy gypsy flavor to the world of mixtapes.

And what better theme for our inaugural mixtape than love? Judging from most of the mixtapes I’ve collected over the years, there is a common thread throughout them all. They’re generally old, dust-covered CDs or cassettes with Sharpie-scrawled titles like, Amy Vol. 1, Sad and Angry Mix, June 07 and of course, The Fuck You, You Dirty Whore Mixtape. And every one of these has its own nostalgic feel to it, bringing back thoughts of love lost, good days, bad days and even dirty whores.

With The Rise & Fall of St. Valentine, I wanted to create something eclectic, something that everyone would feel deeply, yet retained a piece of my own personality. As a result, this mix has a little bit of everything. The Delfonics and Nirvana, The Notorious B.I.G and Okkervil River—they’re all here. And each bring something special to the mix.

The Rise & Fall of St. Valentine illustrates two sides of love—the painfully beautiful and the beautifully painful. The Rise encompasses the feeling of meeting someone, falling in love and the sheer awesomeness of moments spent together. The Fall explores the heartbreaking, angry, lonely haze that follows a love failed.

The full track listing is below along with links to stream both The Rise and The Fall. Or if you prefer, you can download the mix directly here, all tagged up with album art.

Big ups to all the people who helped contribute to this project. Especially the always awesome, @supertoast (aka my sister, Sky), for the album art and help with final cut decisions.

Enjoy.

THE RISE

1. Love Ain’t - Cunninlynguists
2. Glory Box - Portishead
3. Make Her Mine - Mayer Hawthorne
4. Love Is - Common
5. Wildflower - Hank Crawford
6. Hey There Lonely Girl - The Delfonics
7. Skinny Love - Bon Iver
8. My Manic And I - Laura Marling
9. I Love You - Tab
10. You’re All I Need - Mary J. Blige and Method Man
11. You and Me Song - The Wannadies
12. If There’s Love - Citizen Cope
13. A Girl In Port - Okkervil River
14. Me and My Bitch - The Notorious B.I.G.
15. You Got Me - The Roots

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

THE FALL

1. Fearless - Saul Williams
2. Fuck You Lucy - Atmosphere
3. Sometimes It Hurts - Stabbing Westward
4. Pissing In A River - Patti Smith
5. Crown of Love - Arcade Fire
6. Where Did You Sleep Last Night? - Nirvana
7. Ne Me Quitte Pas (If You Go Away) - Nina Simone
8. Don’t Let Them See You Cry - Manchester Orchestra
9. Ghost of A Good Thing - Dashboard Confessional
10. No One’s Gonna Love You - Band of Horses
11. Tiny Vessels - Death Cab For Cutie
12. I Could Have Lied - Red Hot Chili Peppers
13. I Just Don’t Think I’ll Get Over You - Colin Hay
14. Almost Lover - A Fine Frenzy
15. White Blank Page - Mumford & Sons

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

DOWNLOAD: The Rise & Fall of St. Valentine

Leave Comment