This mix is a seven-hour road trip, conveniently depicted by seven songs traveling from afternoon sunshine to nighttime calm. Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers begin the trip with a small bit of upbeat oldies; a two-minutes-and-forty-four-seconds injection of smiles and light. Hour two rolls in, and with it comes Ben Sollee, loose and airy and easygoing. Home is still close behind, and every now and then a voice from the passenger seat still sings along. Yes, the second hour strolls by with optimism and brightness, and it isn’t until the third hour that the conversation slowly peters out, replaced by a growing landscape. John Vanderslice understands this. He understands there comes a point where you realize the situation you’ve entered. But maybe We/Or/Me understands better, because that realization doesn’t mean doom. It just means four hours have passed by, and the landscape’s had time to bloom into open fields and rows of trees that overpower the asphalt and traffic lines. And staring out the window in silence isn’t bad. And it isn’t bad. And it fills that whole hour, and pushes into the fifth. But as the sixth hour looms over the horizon, the bright lights and big cities come back into your mind, and with Chad VanGaalen alongside you can almost hear the train rumbling past on the opposite track. That is, until the sun goes down, and with it the windows, letting the cool breeze blow in to wake you up. Optimism wrapped in a sweet, uplifting chill. Optimism wrapped in I laugh more often now, I cry more often now, I more free and the other day, this new friend of mine said something to me (”just because something starts differently doesn’t mean it’s worth less”), and just as to prove how right he was, then you came. Six hours of driving, hard trekking it across hard roads, and you more alive than you ever were then.

The last hour? All Beulah, all giddiness.

Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers - Little Bitty Pretty One
Ben Sollee - A Change is Gonna Come
John Vanderslice - White Dove
We/Or/Me - Tell Sarah
Chad VanGaalen - Rabid Bits of Time
Peter Bjorn and John - Objects of My Affection
Beulah - S.O.S.

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