This summer I went for a drive through the country with my new friend Dave. When I met Dave, we talked at length about Cold War Kids, the nuances of Beck, and my favorite Paste Magazine sampler. So it was no surprise when Dave plugged in his discman (remember those?) on our drive and put in one of the best mix cds I’ve heard in awhile.
We’re talking Wilco to Buena Vista Social Club to Sufjan Stevens to Yo La Tengo to my new favorite song, Beirut’s “Postcards from Italy.” It was the perfect soundtrack for the drive: summer sun, windows down, Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance and Dave’s beat up Camry.
I’m rather fond of trips in beat up cars with good music. Last year, I moved to upstate New York on a whim. Packed everything I could fit into my dying Escort and drove through Canada to Schenectady, sight unseen. When I saw Rosie Thomas at her Maxwell’s show in Hoboken later that spring, I told her I would have listened to “Wedding Day” on repeat most of that drive, except my tape deck (remember those?) was broken.
That same show, I asked Luke Temple if he had any cds for sale. He asked me to hang on a second and grabbed a suitcase. Reaching into a disarray of boxers, deoderant, who knows what else, he pulled out an album and handed it to me. When I asked how much he wanted for it, he said not to worry, it was the only one he sold that night.
So who am I and why I am I writing about Luke Temple’s boxers? I enjoy independent music and cozy concerts (though usually not that intimate!). I’m also a writer, photographer, and former college radio DJ–and that’s outside of my 9-5 as a marketer for the Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg, Virginia. I’m excited to combine all of these here at The Drop, where I’ll spin a few tales, review an album or two and promote upcoming shows in Central Virginia.
Dave’s mix:
“Yo, I can’t remember the names of some of the songs, but I’ve dug around to find what I can:
1. Life on Mars - Seu Jorge
2. Jesus, etc… - Wilco
3. - Buena Vista Social Club
4. - Sufjan Stevens
5. Haiti - Arcade Fire
6. Jabula - Vusi Mathesayla
7. Supply and Demand - Amos Lee
8. Naked as we came - Iron and Wine
9. Black Flowers - Yo La Tengo
10. Rebel Rebel - Seu Jorge
11. Penelope - Pinback
12. Postcards from Italy - Beirut
