i may be a bird in a cage but at least it's your cage

(Cross-posted, sorry if you've already seen it, etc etc etc. ♥)

I've been making what I call a Christmas mix -- that is, not holiday songs but a mix made at the holidays -- since 1997; first they were tapes, then for a few years cds, and finally, in the digital age, the last five years have been downloadable zip files, and this year is no exception. These are songs -- frequently but not necessarily released in 2010 -- that meant something to me this year, for various reasons, and they are for you. The whole shebang is available as a zip file [here] (110MB, .zip).

Happy holidays, happy 2010, happy music sharing -- whatever floats your boat. This is from me to you. 2010 ended up being not half bad.

1. [the Drive-By Truckers -- "(It's Gonna Be) I Told You So"] now one day it's gonna be "i told you so"/i'm all full up from the shit i was fed


2. [the Gaslight Anthem -- "The Diamond Street Church Choir"] and who who who does it better than we do


3. [Two Cow Garage -- "My Great Gatsby"] this is not an alibi, baby, this is who i am


4. [Tim Barry -- "Thing of the Past"] i've been lit up before and i've bounced right back/made mistakes and i've learned to laugh/tonight i'm getting drunk and simply living


5. [Frank Turner -- "Photosynthesis"] i won't sit down, i won't shut up/most of all, yeah, i won't grow up


6. [Glossary -- "No Guarantee"] i laughed and said "i won’t stop now but there's no guarantee."


7. [Frightened Rabbit -- "Living In Colour"] i, i am weathered by the winter of mixed drinks


8. [Superchunk -- "Learned To Surf"] i can't hold my breath anymore/i stopped swimming and learned to surf


9. [Eels -- "Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)"] do you know what it's like to care too much/'bout someone that you're never going to get to touch?


10. [Dr. Dog -- "Later"] but i can't sit around and wait/can't sit around and wait for you


11. [The National -- "Bloodbuzz Ohio"] i never thought about home when i thought about love


12. [Ha Ha Tonka -- "Close Every Valve To Your Bleeding Heart"] thick skinned, hard headed/you're better off closing every valve to your bleeding heart


13. [Bright Eyes -- "Southern State"] so now you are giving advice as if you had the right to use a word like love


14. [Ryan Bingham -- "The Weary Kind"] pick up your crazy heart and give it one more try


15. [The Old Ceremony -- "Wither On The Vine"] and i don't want to wither on the vine


16. [Vic Chestnutt -- "Flirted With You All My Life"] but i found out with time that/really, i was not ready


17. [Good Old War -- "That's Some Dream"] i know everyone would want me to say/that i'm not afraid to be alone/i'm gonna live, i'm alright/i'm gonna die, it's alright, i'm okay


18. [Josh Ritter -- "Lantern"] if there's a book of jubilations/we'll have to write it for ourselves

I am really bad at posting these days, but as always: if you download this, this is always a good place to say hi, even if it's the only time you do all year.