I make a mix CD for myself three times a year. One for spring, summer, and fall, complete with a label on the front that I design myself. I cull the new selections from songs I hear on the indie internet radio stations I listen to at work, and in between those I pepper older songs from the past.

It can be a stressful process. It needs the perfect opening song, an even better closing song, the whole thing has to flow, and if even one song sucks, I have to live with it that whole season. (It's also all a bit ridiculous how much emphasis I put on running order, seeing as how I usually listen to it in random order in my car anyway.)

I just finished my Spring 2007 mix, and I'm very happy with it. Here is a track listing, along with my explanations for the choice of the older songs I've chosen to appear.

1. Brother by Annuals
2. Near and Far by Sarah Shannon
3. Tuesday Morning by The Pogues (This was the album The Pogues made after Shane MacGowan left the band. I had this CD a while back and this was the only good song on it. It makes me very happy for some reason.)
4. Someone to Love by Fountains of Wayne
5. Chris R. by The Swirlies (This was the first song on a indie sampler my friend Mike gave me. The whole CD is so early 90’s. I can’t remember if it was spring ’93 or ’94, which is weird because I’m usually so good at remember things like that, but in a way it’s perfect because it goes to show that that whole period of my life was kind of timeless.)
6. We're From Barcelona by I'm from Barcelona
7. Walkabout by The Sugarcubes (From Spring ’92. Nothing special, I just liked the song. It’s from the same album as Hit, which is an awesome song too, but kind of too well-known by now.)
8. A Sentence of Sorts In Kongsvinger by Of Montreal
9. Female of the Species by Space (This is to commemorate my ten-year anniversary of arriving in LA. I was so excited to listen to KROQ when I got here because it was famous, and this song was big at that time. I quickly grew to realize KROQ sucks, but I still love the song, even though it reminds me of a tough time, struggling to get my bearings.)
10. Hard Days 1.2.3.4 by Loney, Dear
11. No Place Like Home by Squeeze (I didn’t have a car when I went to college until my senior year, so before that when I’d visit home on the weekends, I’d borrow my dad’s and pack in as much fun as I could in a short time. There were still some old cassettes in the glovebox from high school, including Cosi Fan Tutti Fruiti by Squeeze. I'd ritualistically play this song because I was always glad to be home.)
12. Small Parts by The Oohlas
13. Philadelphia Freedom by Elton John (This is one of the first songs I remember hearing, ever. It reminds me of riding in the car with my mom, listening to AM radio. I didn’t know what it was about, and to be honest I still don’t really, but it just sounded so happy and bright. I loved that he said “Shine the light, won’t you shine the light.”)
14. Stolen Moments by Six Parts Seven

Time to start stocking and stalking songs for the summer mix...