Here’s the first mixtape of 2026! Made from a sealed, pre-recorded cassette I got for 99 cents. I taped over the cassette’s protection tabs and then I taped over the music and then I taped over the artwork.

This one gave me a little trouble. Back in December I texted a friend, “I’ve been building a whole December/January mixtape around the [Destroyer] song “kaputt” — real icy shjt like Cocteau twins, Roxy, cate le bon — will send it to you when it’s done.”

I had Cate Le Bon’s song “Love Unrehearsed” as the leadoff track, but then Walter Martin played “About Time” at the end of one of his shows and I decided to switch. Then I got to thinking about winter and how much I wanted to smoke a cigarette out in the snow and decided to put Mac Demarco on there.

One thing leads to another. Every time I try to make these mixes more conceptual or abstract (“icy pop songs with chilly fender guitars through chorus pedals”) I freeze up. But if I just start with a good leadoff track and think to myself, “What do I want to hear after this?” the mix just sort of makes itself.

I’m convinced this is also true of writing: if you start with big, conceptual, abstract ideas about what you want the piece to be, it’s easy to freeze. But if you just start with a good sentence and ask yourself, “What comes next?” the thing builds itself.

SIDE A

– cate le bon, “about time”
– mac demarco, “ode to viceroy”
– peter tosh, “legalize it”
– diana ross & the supremes, “reflections”
– tubeway army, “are friends electric?”
– king tubby, “straight dub”

SIDE B

– cocteau twins, “cherry-coloured funk”
– wye oak, “the tower”
– destroyer, “kaputt”
– the smile, “the smoke”
– rolling stones, “waiting on a friend”

You can listen to the mix on Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube.

This is the 27th mixtape I’ve made in the past few years. The big 2024-2026 playlist list is over 20 hours long!

Filed under: mixtapes