Let’s start the new year off with some sweet jams, shall we? Here’s the latest DZ mix from Carleton!

DZ 2012_10 Carleton – Full Playlist

1. True Thrush – Dan Deacon

2. DAY 6 – Ta-ku

3. ShangrixLa. – DROPXLIFE

4. Coastal Brake – Tycho

5. Section VI – Steve Reich

6. Redeemer – Delicate Steve

7. Two Can Win – J Dilla

8. Dog – C418

9. Prefuse 73 Megamix – Dabrye

10. Theme Song to Cex – Cex

11. Datura Stramonium – MF DOOM

12. Night Light – Prefuse 73

Thanks for listening! If you like what you hear, please support record stores, hardworking artists, and your heirloom collection by purchasing music legally.

Still working on catching up, obviously. Any teachers out there understand how busy the first couple months of school can be. Yeesh. So here is the next mix for you lovely folks, brought to you by Conor who will now take it away:

Name: Conor Perreault

City: Hamden, CT

Day Job: Catalog Assistant, The Donahue Group

Did you have any overall goals when creating the mix? In the past I tried hard to create a snapshot of the year in music as I saw it, choosing tracks that represented good albums and notable trends. This time around I had less lofty goals. I just wanted to make something that would my friends feel good and maybe let them hear a few cool new songs. I wanted to use songs that had warmth. There were quite a few songs that I love that I just couldn’t find a place for because they were too cold (e.g. Cult of Youth, Mt. Eerie, Ex-Easter Island Head).

What are your standout tracks? The Nas tune about his daughter hits me where I live. He talk a lot about the unexpected challenges that he’s dealing with as his daughter approaches young adulthood (she’s 17), her experimenting with sex and drugs. I have quite a while before my little girl is in that phase, she’s mostly experimenting with climbing the stairs at the moment, but the sense of feeling unprepared for each new stage of development really resonates with me.

Did you find any of this music in interesting/unsuspected places? The Mausi song was recommended by one of the hosts on the comedy podcast “Who Charted?” The show is mostly laffs, the hosts only occasionally talk about the music they like. The part where it goes “DANCE DANCE DANCE” makes me extra happy.

What’s your favorite spot to see shows in your city? With a toddler at home, I don’t get out much. When I do get out, the idea of standing around at a show doesn’t appeal to me the way it did at 18. Bad knees. If I did go to a show, though, there’s a good chance it was put together by Manic Productions, who books shows at BAR in New Haven and The Space in Hamden as well as some other venues around CT.

Current “guilty pleasure” tracks (not on your mix): Yes “And You And I” — I’m on a big progressive rock kick and it makes me feel like the biggest dork in the entire world but the synths in “Part II: Eclipse” are just so cool.

If you had to pick one word to define your musical tastes, what would it be? Restless. My desire to find new music is often fueled less by a thirst for something new and exciting and more just because I tend to get annoyed when I hear a song more than once or twice in the space of a couple days. Even if I like something and want to listen to it more than that I start getting afraid that I’ll play it out. So I go get something new.

Describe your favorite sandwich: Pretty simple: just tomato, mozzarella, and basil on ciabatta or whatever with oil and a pinch of salt. The Italian deli nearby calls it The Flag. I have no idea if that’s the common name for it, but I do know that it sure is tasty.

DZ 2012_09 Conor – Full Playlist

1. It All Began With a Burst – Kishi Bashi

2. Celebration – ASAP Rocky

3. Funny Heartbeat – Kisses

4. sol. – Mausi

5. Some Kinda Love – Nude Beach

6. Slow Down feat. Wale, Meek Mill, Stalley, Young Breed & Gunplay – Torch

7. Cola Elixir – Opossom

8. I’m His Girl – Friends

9. January Love – Newtimers

10. Hot River – Yes, Nice

11. Daughters – Nas

12. Orion’s Belt (feat. Riff Raff) (prod. by Beautiful Lou) – Kitty Pryde

13. Leading To Death – Polica

14. Constant Conversations – Passion Pit

15. Isn’t It Time – Beach Boys

16. Dilated to Meet You – Loudon Wainwright III

Thanks for listening! If you like what you hear, please support record stores, hardworking artists, and your heirloom collection by purchasing music legally.

My mix dropped this weekend, and it’s always a moment of mixed emotions: Should I have kept this song? Should I have added another? OH NO the order isn’t quite right! Will my buddies like it?? I’m proud! In the end, I love putting a whole lot of heart and soul into these mixes. It’s really important to me. And I really hope you enjoy it. Here we go!

Name: Emily

City: Oakland, CA

Day Job: Elementary School Teacher

Did you have any overall goals when creating the mix? I didn’t start with goals, but a few months before, I had already picked out a few songs that I knew I wanted on it. From there I added, eliminated, swapped. By the end I was aiming for something balanced, including songs that were upbeat and mellow, with male and female vocalists – it was very male heavy in the beginning, where my last mix was the opposite. What ended up being interesting to me about this mix is that many of the tracks are by very familiar artists like Dirty Projectors and Fiona Apple. A lot of artists that I have loved for a long time are now making music that I think is really outstanding – especially in the cases of the two songs I included by those aforementioned artists. I guess I let go of introducing only new things and embraced trying to give a snapshot of where my tastes have brought me – almost all tracks are from late 2011 or 2012, though, so the music is still new.

What are your standout tracks? Las Cafeteras’ reinvention of La Bamba is spectacular and makes me want to dance, and Sean Rowe has a voice that shakes the soul. I’ve also been digging hard on that Shakey Graves cover of I’m on Fire.

Did you find any of this music in interesting/unsuspected places? I recognize that Janis Joplin’s Cry Baby is not new music, but a few months ago I had this sudden urge to listen to her music and I have been going through it as if Pearl was released yesterday. I couldn’t help but include her because of my renewed interest in her amazingness. You Won’t is lead by a buddy from college, and I think they’re making some really excellent music. A lot of the music I hear comes from Alex, my husband, because he’s got his finger on the pulse (he’s in the biz!). I can almost never introduce anything new to him – he has always beat me to it. And that Charles Manson song (yes, THAT Charles Manson) is just such a little time capsule- I heard that in high school and really wanted to share it with the world. It creeps me out, but I also kind of love it. NPR is responsible for a whole lot… Alt Latino and First Listen are great sources of new music.

What’s your favorite spot to see shows in your city? The New Parish in Oakland is a really excellent, intimate space. And I’m always comfortable at Yoshi’s – their programming has been moving in interesting and exciting directions and the food makes it an even more pleasurable experience.

Current “guilty pleasure” tracks (not on your mix): This back to school time is a real buzzkill for me, and I’m spending much less time in the car than before so I don’t get as much time with my music… but I’ve been indulging in listening to our wedding dance party mix. 212 by Azealia Banks was it just a few months ago. And Justin Timberlake is one of my eternal guilty pleasures, but I don’t actually feel that guilty about it.

If you had to pick one word to define your musical tastes, what would it be? The best I can achieve is: Movement (I wrote this question without thinking of the fact that I would later have to answer it… what a complicated thing to do, to narrow your tastes into one word! Sorry, guys).

Describe your favorite sandwich: The Roli Roti Porchetta Sandwich is a rare treat- pork loin wrapped in pork belly, herb stuffed, with crispy skin from a rotisserie truck, fresh arugula, onion jam, and rosemary sea salt on a little ciabatta-like roll. You can only get them in the Bay Area and only on specific days of the week at specific locations… And it’s worth every penny.

DZ 2012_08 Emily – Full Playlist

1. Three Car Garage – You Won’t

2. La Bamba – Las Cafeteras

3. Gun Has No Trigger – Dirty Projectors

4. Apague Mi Mente – Carla Morrison

5. The Lonely Maze – Sean Rowe

6. I’m On Fire – Shakey Graves

7. Civilian – Wye Oak

8. Not Just A Song – Debo Band

9. Hot Knife – Fiona Apple

10. Home is Where You’re Happy – Charles Manson

11. Revelation Blues – The Tallest Man On Earth

12. The Selfish Gene – Stephane Wrembel

13. Cry Baby – Janis Joplin

Thanks for listening! If you like what you hear, please support record stores, hardworking artists, and your heirloom collection by purchasing music legally.

Pay no mind to the fact that the title says July and it’s actually September. We all have lives and day jobs and some of us have adorable pups (Luanne, see below) and tech trouble, and sometimes mixes just need a little more time. I only label it as July because it’s easier for my brain to process in that way. Rachel has put together this wonderful playlist for us, and we’re happy to close our eyes and pretend it’s hazy mid-July. And, in fact, this means we’ll have three mixes very close together in the coming weeks, which is awesome.

Name: Rachel , AKA RDP

City: Denver, CO

Day Job: Social Media Manager, Beatport

Did you have any overall goals when creating the mix? Honestly no! In the past I have had specific themes in mind- in fact, I think both of them were intentionally very upbeat- but truthfully, I struggled with this one more than the ones before it. I spend a lot of my day working within a genre I don’t know a lot about (dance music) and thanks to Spotify it’s really easy to see what I’ve been digging on this summer so above all it was a challenge to create something that felt fresh but also represented where I am musically.

What are your standout tracks? The Purity Ring track (“Fineshrine”) is the one I want to listen to on repeat for hours. Also, the entire Now, Now record has been on my rotation nonstop, so “Thread” is a standout for me too.

Did you find any of this music in interesting/unsuspected places? Yes, actually. I found the Rustie track through work, which really surprised me!

What’s your favorite spot to see shows in your city?  We have a lot of great venues in Denver, but my favorite is definitely Larimer Lounge because they always book great bands and the beer is relatively cheap.

Current “guilty pleasure” tracks (not on your mix): Alina Devecerski’s track Flytta på dej is really speaking to me right now.

If you had to pick one word to define your musical tastes, what would it be? Fun

Describe your favorite sandwich: Italian sub – some combination of sopresetta, salami, prosciutto, and provolone in an ideal world- with oil vinegar and a maybe a few hot peppers (this should surprise no one.)

DZ 2012_07 Rachel – Full Playlist

1. Wild Nothing- Shadow

2. Now, Now- Thread

3. DIIV- Geist (Bonus Track)

4. The Men- Candy

5. School Knights- Sacred Cows

6. Mean Creek- Young & Wild

7. El Ten Eleven- Thanks Bill

8. Purity Ring- Fineshrine

9. Gangi- Railways Nos 1-27

10. Prince Rama- So Destroyed

11. Rustie- After Light (Ft. Aluna George)

12. M.I.A.- Bad Girls (Switch Remix Feat. Missy Elliot & Rye Rye)

BONUS TRACK: OMBRE- Tormentas

Thanks for listening! If you like what you hear, please support record stores, hardworking artists, and your heirloom collection by purchasing music legally.