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All My Friends

Since signing up for Spotfiy, I got away from making actual mixes. More often than not, I'd throw together hours-long playlists to play on shuffle with little regard to how the music flowed. After hearing some new tunes, being reminded of old ones, and strolling down Mixtape Madness memory lane, I decided to give it another whirl. All My Friends is my first attempt.

Track 1 - The Forgotten People by Thievery Corporation - I decided to bookend this mix with instrumentals, starting with this semi-upbeat track that I first heard in an episode of True Blood.

Track 2 - Signs & Signifiers by JD McPherson - I don't remember how I found this bluesy gem, but I love it! At this point, I'm following the High Fidelity mixtape rules by starting off hot, and then ramping it up.

Track 3 - To Be Young by Ryan Adams - This feels like a natural progression from the last song in tone and tempo. It also helps that this is the order I saw these two gentlemen in at the XPoNential Festival, McPherson in 2015 and Adams this past July.

Track 4 - This Must Be The Place by the Lumineers - Still following Nick Hornby's rules, here's where I take it down a notch. Added bonus of it being a cover song (I love cover songs).

Track 5 - Brand New Key by Melanie - The fade out of the last track into this one works for me. I'm sure this song will eventually be paired with In The Summertime by Mungo Jerry in the future, but for now it fits pretty well here.

Track 6 - Cecilia by Simon & Garfunkel - This is one of those songs that brings me back to a specific place and time, but for whatever reason, I can't remember why. Doesn't matter, one needs no reason for including this song.

Track 7 - Let Her Go by Mac Demarco - I have no idea where I first heard this song, maybe from Spotify's Discover Weekly? The vibe fits with the last two songs and it works as a bridge to a completely different style.

Track 8 - I Took A Pill In Ibiza by Mike Posner - Katelyn turned me on to this song when I was in Long Beach visiting earlier this year. It's got that Kygo vibe that I love, and while it may seem out of place to some, I really like how it pairs with the two tracks it's sandwiched between.

Track 9 - Dirty Work by Steely Dan - This popped up on Discover Weekly this summer and I was instantly reminded of how much I love this song.

Track 10 - Sweet Jane by The Velvet Underground - Sometimes when you hear a cover before an original, it taints the original. Not the case here. I dig the Cowboy Junkies' take on Sweet Jane, but nothing touches the original.

Track 11 - They Reminisce Over You by Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Velvet Underground transitioning into early 1990s hip hop just does it for me. So good. I got this one from The Wackness soundtrack, which is an absolute gem.

Track 12 - Young Americans by David Bowie - Originally, this followed Sweet Jane, but I felt like something was missing. Turns out it was the sax in They Reminisce Over You. This bumps up the horns a bit, helping lead into the next track.

Track 13 - Hollywood Swinging by Kool & the Gang - I should do a mix of songs with great horn sections. Maybe that'll be next.

Johnny Showcase & the Mystic Ticket

Track 14 - Love is a Mystery by Johnny Showcase and the Mystic Ticket - Keeping that funky vibe going, and getting another local act on the mix. For a shorter version of this mix, you can skip the next two songs and have a great transition into the Staples Singers.

Track 15 - Just Can't Get Enough by Depeche Mode - I dig how the dreamy ending of Love is a Mystery gently glides into the opening synth chords here.

Track 16 - Ballroom Blitz by Sweet - We're somewhere near the middle, so I had to bring the tempo up one more time before easing back down.

Track 17 - Let's Do It Again by the Staples Singers - This song is easy like Sunday morning. Sorry, Lionel.

Track 18 - Back Pocket by Vulfpeck - Vulfpeck was not on my radar until Mikaela suggested them recently, and I am hooked. The "oh gee, oh gosh" in this song gets me every time.

Track 19 - Ban Marriage by the Hidden Cameras - Definitely a departure from the last couple of tracks, but my favorite Hidden Cameras tune.

Track 20 - Going Gets Tough by the Growlers - Another new discovery, this one courtesy of Mere. This song has such a cool vibe.

Track 21 - The Rake's Song by the Decemberists - This song is catchy and hilarious. Plus, it sounds like at point he sings "What can one do when one is a Wittwer?" It's actually widower, but they mean the same thing. I think I need to get that printed on a tee shirt.

Track 22 - Panic by the Smiths - While I'm sure I heard this song growing up, I rediscovered it in high school thanks to a cover by Pete Yorn. Definitely my favorite Smiths song, and it serves as a decent bridge from a song about killing your children to a trippy Beach Boys track.

Track 23 - Feel Flows by the Beach Boys - This song usually ends mixes for me, mainly because I first heard it over the closing credits of Almost Famous. But here it works pretty well as a lead-in to a fantastic hip hop track.

Track 24 - The Corner by Common and the Last Poets - Easily my favorite Common track. It's a bit jarring for me to have this between two closing credits songs, but it still somehow works.

Track 25 - I Believe by Stevie Wonder - This one caps off High Fidelity, and is one of my favorite Stevie Wonder jams.

Track 26 - Don't Move by Phantogram - It felt like the mix was done, then this track hits. Here we start picking back up before the final wind down.

Track 27 - Mine Is Yours by Cold War Kids - Ideally, you have the remix of this song here (maybe by MGMT, I forget) but the original will suffice if you're on Spotify. The remix has more of a 1980s vibe to it, which works well with the next song.

Track 28 - Electric Love by BORNS - Not much to say here, I just really dig this one.

Track 29 - Ambling Alp by Yeasayer - I love Yeasayer, and this seemed like the best choice to follow Electric Love and lead in to another cover.

Track 30 - Hold Me by Haim - I love Fleetwood Mac, and clearly a lot of musicians do as well, as they are covered frequently. The intro to this song fits with Ambling Alp, but the outro really feeds into God Only Knows.

Track 31 - God Only Knows by Dale Earnhardt JR JR - Maybe I should do a mix of all cover songs.

Singing goodbye to Sara's

Track 32 - Ceremony by New Order - This is one of the two tracks that I first put on this mix. Thanks to its scene in Marie Antoinette, I associate this song with staying up to watch the sunrise. Because of that, it is the perfect track, thematically and musically, to flow into the title track of the mix.

Track 33 - All My Friends by LCD Soundsystem - This song will be forever linked to the last night of karaoke at Sara's Place. What an incredible night, and it could not have ended any better than with all of us in a circle, arm in arm and jumping up and down as we sang this song.

Track 34 - Pitter Patter Goes My Heart by Broken Social Scene - The other instrumental bookend! This song is at the end of more of my mixes than any other.

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Verb. 1) Pertaining to the behavior of being a Wittwer. 2) Doing odd things that only Wittwers would do. 3) Catchall phrase for the thoughts and actions of Patrick Wittwer.

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