Special Monday Morning Mixtape for YOU! SPECIAL!

Diagnosis: Case of the Mondays


Prescription: Monday Morning Mix Tape!


If you have seen High Fidelity starring John Cusack, then you already recognize the meaning of the title for this post. If you haven’t seen it, kindly get up from your chair, slowly back away from your desk area, and then turn and run. Sprint down the hall dodging co-workers and flying past your boss. Take the stairs, there’s no time for the elevator, this is an emergency. Get out of the building, but make sure you say a kind "hello" to the doorman, he works hard and deserves recognition. Then find the quickest route to the store and go buy this movie. It’s just that good.

Or I guess you could just buy it online at your computer...

...Anyways, one of the best parts of the film is the outstanding performance by Jack Black as Barry, one of the co-workers and fellow musical snob at Championship Vinyl, the record shop owned by John Cusack that “attracts the bare minimum of window shoppers.” Not only does Jack Black bring high comedy to every scene he’s in, but he’s inspired this post for a Monday mixtape featuring a set of top 5 tracks on a topic of choice.




Given that I just got back from 70 degree weather in San Antonio to find that a blizzard dropped 21+ inches of snow in D.C., it seems fitting that the inaugural edition should center around coping for the long winter ahead. I mean, 21 inches?? That’s absurd. That’s more than it’s snowed in D.C. in the past two years combined. A nice little welcome back present, I guess. But I’m determined to get through it. I’ve learned a few tricks about coping with the winter season from six years on the east coast, and I'm gonna face this year's winter head on.

So here are my top five tracks to listen to during the cold days and frozen nights of the upcoming D.C. winter. Check out the playlist on Grooveshark here

Bon Iver – Lump Sum
Justin Vernon retreated to a log cabin in Wisconsin one winter and came out of it producing one of the best albums of the decade, proving that no matter how bad the winter may be, something good can always come out of it. He alludes to this point at the end of this track, when he croons in a soft falsetto "we will see when it gets warm."

Ra Ra Riot - Winter '05
It's no secret that winter gets lonely, and we just gotta deal with it. Ra Ra Riot puts it pretty well in this song with the lyrics "if you were here, winter wouldn't pass by so slow."


Dr. Dog – The Breeze
I remember about two weeks ago I was leaving the office and rushing to get to the metro for a meeting. I'd just turned on my iPod and this Dr. Dog song came on. The opening verse pretty much says it all.

Stars – Look Up
These Canadians have a good way of reminding you to not let the cold get you down and keep your head up.

Matt & Kim – Lessons Learned
Okay, this choice has less to do with the song than it does the music video. As you can see below, no matter how cold it gets, you can always think to yourself that you at least still have layers of clothes on and aren't streaking through the heart of Times Square.





Enjoy the tunes and Happy Monday.

-DR