saturday = youth

1. "Underground" by Das Pop from Das Pop (2009)
This is a somewhat unknown outfit from Belgium, which is why I lifted the infectious single from their forthcoming self-titled album. I wanted the first track of the mixtape to be something unfamiliar.

2. "Doing It Right" by The Go! Team from Proof of Youth (2007)
Off the Reading, England, quintet's sophomore effort, this track leaves me exhilarated almost every time I listen to it.

3. "D.A.N.C.E." by Justice from Cross (2007)
"That song made me want to sing the alphabet." That's what Jared said when he heard it. That's what I was hoping someone would want to do.

4. "Strange Love" by Depeche Mode from Music for the Masses (1987)
The only reason I included this in the mixtape was to have A Song That Is Actually From the 1980s. It didn't fit in the mixtape the way I hoped it would.

5. "Red Socks Pugie" by Foals from Antidotes (2008)
"You put in too much of that dance shit you like." One of the recipients of the mixtape said that. I don't remember if that was what (s)he said verbatim, so I won't say who it is.

6. "Foundations" by Kate Nash from Made of Bricks (2008)

7. "Dawn of the Dead" by Does It Offend You Yeah? from You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into (2008)

8. "Pogo" by Digitialism from Idealism (2007)
This song is a perfect example of that dance shit I like. They're a German duo, and their entire debut album is excellent.

9. & 10. "Montreal -40" and "Pate Filo" by Malajube from Trompe-L'oeil (2007)
The dudes from this Quebec outfit (say it MAL-a-zhoob) manipulate old-time pop craftsmanship to create tracks that are at the same time funny and beautiful. They can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with artists like Arcade Fire or the Flaming Lips, but most people will never hear about them because they sing in French.

11. "Patrick Swayze Lenny Kravitz" by Adelphi from myspace.com/adelphi (2008)
This is a band from Baltimore County, Md., and an example that many people out there, somewhere, are making awesome music in a basement, somewhere.