Bye Bye 2014: Here’s Yr Mixes

I always say “what a crazy year, huh?” but this year I mean it. Things are about to pop, and probably not in a good way. My Brooklyn neighborhood has changed more in 2014 than in any of the other 17 years I’ve lived here, including the loss of all the venues on Kent / S. 2nd St. (It was bound to happen but VICE, you really really really could’ve/should’ve picked a different place. You suck.) Williamsburg ain’t what it used to be. I know it’s over, still I cling.

That said, 2014 was a great year for music. You can check out my Top 20 LPs over at BrooklynVegan and I’ll hopefully have my Top 50 up this weekend. In the meantime, here’s my annual bunch of year-end mixes which includes songs from albums that won’t make my best-of list but I liked a lot too. The mixes are more thematic than in some sort of ranked-by-goodness. Hopefully they flow well! You can download or stream them, and they’d probably be good for a party (if you don’t want to hear any hip hop or anything zeitgeist popular). Enjoy, and ¡Viva la 2015 Revolución!

Here’s a link to download all six mixes.

As usual, I got a bunch of people to do art for these. My old college pal Phil Maramba did the art for Mix #1. Note: the “0” is the “Golden Eagle” from glorious WV cholesterol chain Tudor’s Biscuit World, which I will probably be wishing I was eating on New Year’s Day morning.

DOWNLOAD MIX #1

Sound Bites Best of 2014 #1 by Soundbitesnyc on Mixcloud

TRACKLIST:
1. Ex Hex – Don’t Wanna Lose
2. Cold Beat – UV
3. The Drink – Microsleep
4. Bully – Bully
5. JC Satan – Italian Summer
6. Ty Segall – Tall Man, Skinny Lady
7. Haunted Hearts – House of Lords
8. Mazes – Astigmatism
9. Wand – Broken Candle
10. Crystal Stilts – Delerium Tremendous
11. Flowers – Forget the Fall
12. Gingerlys – Summer Cramps
13. Beverly – Madora
14. POW! – Verticle Slum
15. Thee Oh Sees – The Drop
16. Cool Ghouls – And it Grows
17. White Fence – Like That
18. September Girls – Cursing the Sea
19. Dum Dum Girls – In the Wake of You
20. Happyness – Great Minds Think Alike, All Brains Taste The Same
21. Herzog – Theme for Boys
22. Marvelous Mark – Bite Me
23. The Gotobeds – New York’s Alright (If You Like Sex & Phones)
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Mix #2’s artwork was done by lonnnngtime contributor Greg Morris who never ever disappoints. I give this one 18 thumbs up. This mix is the craziest and it’s because as I pulled songs that fit together in my mind, these were basically the last songs left. So it was the last mix I made, but it’s also got some of my absolute favorite songs of the year, so I bumped it up to #2. Definitely a little kooky, but I think it workd ed well.

DOWNLOAD MIX #2

Sound Bites Best of 2014 #2 by Soundbitesnyc on Mixcloud

TRACKLIST:
1. Fat White Family – Touch the Leather
2. Liars – Mess on a Mission
3. Klaus Johann Grobe – Kothek
4. Sleaford Mods – Tiswas
5. Dreamsalon – Soft Stab
6. Viet Cong – Continental Shelf
7. Virginia Wing – World Contact
8. Absolutely Free – Beneath the Air
9. The Soundcarriers – Somewhere to Land
10. Amason – Duvan
11. Spoon – Do You
12. Ultimate Painting – Ten Street
13. Menace Beach – Tennis Court
14. Wild Beasts – Mecca
15. Courtship Ritual – Kingdom of Beauty
16. Warpaint – Love is to Die
17. Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting On You) [BADBADNOTGOOD Reinterpretation]
18. Shamir – On the Regular
19. Chicks On Speed – Burning Down the House
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Art for Mix #3 was done by legendary and enigmatic digital graffiti artist King of the Streets. He went all the way to Colombia to do this one! He gets the jangliest mix of the year.

DOWNLOAD MIX #3

Sound Bites Best of 2014 #3 by Soundbitesnyc on Mixcloud

TRACKLIST:
1. Twerps – Back to You
2. Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Lariat
3. Metronomy – The Most Immaculate Haircut
4. Quilt – Arctic Shark
5. Teleman – In Your Fur
6. The Proper Ornaments – Magazine
7. Real Estate – Talking Backwards
8. Let’s Wrestle – Rain Ruins Revolution
9. Angel Olsen – Forgiven Forgotten
10. The Fresh & Onlys – Animal of One
11. Avi Buffalo – Overwhelmed With Pride
12. The War On Drugs – Red Eyes
13. Alvvays – Adult Diversion
14. Fear of Men – Waterfall
15. Hospitality – Going Out
16. Sea Pinks – Dream Happening
17. Doug Gillard – Ready for Death
18. Gold-Bears – From Tallahassee to Gainesville
19. Juniore – Christine
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Kate Bryant, who has probably contributed to Sound Bites mix art longer than anyone else, does this very groovy soundsystem design for Mix #4 which is, I guess, the “pop” mix of these. Or what “pop” means to me. The TOPS song was my favorite track of 2014, btw.

DOWNLOAD MIX #4

Sound Bites Best of 2014 #4 by Soundbitesnyc on Mixcloud

TRACKLIST:
1. TOPS – Way to Be Loved
2. The New Pornographers – Champions of Red Wine
3. TV Girl – Louise
4. Gruff Rhys – Liberty is Where I’ll Be
5. The Raveonettes – Killer in the Streets
6. Sondre Lerche – Bad Law
7. Sloan – You’ve Got a Lot on Your Mind
8. A Sunny Day In Glasgow – Bye Bye Big Ocean (The End)
9. Part Time – My Jamey
10. Baxter Dury – Other Men’s Girls
11. Mac DeMarco – Passing Out Pieces
12. The Horrors – In and Out of Sight
13. Deerhoof – Paradise Girls
14. Medicine – Turning
15. Devon Williams – Pendulum
16. Ariel Pink – Dayzed Inn Daydreams
17. Temples – Move With the Season (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Reanimation)
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I had two new artwork contributors for these, including Kris Peterson who holds down the fort at DFA Records when not going to shows, DJing or speaking his mind on Twitter. I gave him the most “punk” mix, and he gave me a very clever tribute to Vanessa’s Dumplings.

DOWNLOAD MIX #5

Sound Bites Best of 2014 #5 by Soundbitesnyc on Mixcloud

TRACKLIST:
1. Purling Hiss – Learning Slowly
2. Protomartyr – Come and See
3. Nots – Static
4. Priests – Doctor
5. Primitive Parts – Open Heads
6. PUJOL – Pitch Black
7. Parquet Courts – Dear Ramona
8. Ed Schrader’s Music Beat – Pink Moons
9. The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Food for Clouds
10. Iceage – The Lord’s Favorite
11. Merchandise – Little Killer
12. Negative Scanner – Ambitious People
13. Spray Paint – Rest Vs Rust
14. The Blind Shake – Parachute
15. Pampers – Suicide
16. Total Control – Expensive Dog
17. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – I’m in Your Mind
18. The Notwist – Kong
19. Eagulls – Possessed
20. Hookworms – Retreat
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Another first-time mix art maker is Tim Paul who, like me, has put up with Williamsburg’s changing landscape. Some might say the neighborhood’s gone to the dogs, but he puts a positive spin on that. This is my “dance” mix.

DOWNLOAD MIX #6

Sound Bites Best of 2014 #6 by Soundbitesnyc on Mixcloud

TRACKLIST:
1. Hollie Cook – Ari Up
2. Peaking Lights – Breakdown
3. Mr Twin Sister – In the House of Yes
4. The Juan MacLean – A Simple Design
5. Todd Terje – Delorean Dynamite
6. Roisin Murphy – In Sintesi
7. CYMBALS – The End
8. Katerine – Patousel
9. La Roux – Uptight Downtown
10. Eno • Hyde – Daddy’s Car
11. Caribou – Second Chance
12. Kate Tempest – Lonely Daze
13. Aphex Twin – 4 bit 9d api+e+6
14. Sebastien Tellier – Ma Calypso
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If you’re downloading these, don’t listen on shuffle!