Did I ever tell you about how I wrote a big paper on Crash after reading it, and then even got an excellent grade for it.

So what I'm saying is: where you at?

Lolita! You should read Lolita!

hi Bea, I'm going well - it's everyone else I'm worried about. read anything interesting lately?

Hey! Good to see a new mix from you, how's everything?

hey bea. I ran out of gas. I, I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts. IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD.

mix is up.

It's been 103 days, where you at?

Oh. Well, that's a shame. But if you have Queen in there it's bound to be rad. Who is the mix for?

Yes, The Shoemaker sounds really sick, but I heard about it when John Waters talked about it in his This Filthy World show, and now I have to read it!

PS. I love When It Started now thanks to you.

not at all, I did mean strings as in violin/cello/etc. sorry for not replying sooner but things just weren't working, despite your great help (after listening those bands I wanted to remake the enitre middle section - ELO would go well with Queen). The short answer is, it's still going :/

as an idea for the contest, how about "a christmas mix that doesn't suck"?

that book sounds a little gruesome for me :s

I didn't realise strings meant guitar as well. Dude, I feel dumb.

I just had a second look at the tracks I listed for you earlier... they are REALLY all over the place, haha. How are you getting along with the jigsaw that is your unpublished mix?

Well, from what I've heard, "The Shoemaker" (by some Schreiber) is also a pretty strange ride, but I've yet to read it myself. Oh yes, Generation X is the bomb.

As for your mix... four songs came to mind when I read your message: 1) David Bowie - Life on Mars?, 2) Electric Light Orchestra - It's Over, 3) Lou Reed - Perfect Day, and 4) Hard-Fi - Tied Up Too Tight (this one is 4:49 though).

It's hard to come by a song that has both piano and strings.. I'm not sure if this is anything near what you were looking for, it's just a rough brainstorm. I didn't take into consideration whether they would work in a mix or not, but at least I think they - somewhat - correspond with your criteria:

The Smiths - There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, 4:05
Mew - Chinaberry Tree, 3:33
Wolfman & Pete Doherty - For Lovers, 3:34
Eskobar - Bring the Action, 3:47
Billy Paul - Me and Mrs. Jones, 4:39 (sorry, but it's my favourite song!)
The Beatles - She's Leaving Home, 3:35
Meat Puppets - Head, 4:18
The Whitlams - No Aphrodesiac, 4:20

PS. I think your mixtraping rules are awesome, breaking them would be too bad. But I'm sure you could make it rock as a 13 track tape just as smoothly.

Strange is good. I've not come across enough strange books (if you know of any more). Generation X by Douglas Coupland and Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk are favourites.

New mixes abound. I have to level with you though, I really need your help - in this latest one (unpublished), track 3 is impossible, just impossible. It's like I've made a jigsaw puzzle where the last piece needs to have four dimensions to fit. And this is what it has to sound like:

some piano, some strings
male lead (or deep female)
about 4 minutes in length
none of these artists: The Mountain Goats, Fastball, Travis, Sting, Garbage, Ivy, Air, Bjork, Lamb.

These are the tracks I've tried so far:
Ben Folds Five - The Battle of Who Could Care Less
Fisher - Breakable
Stroke 9 - City Life
The Strokes - When It Started

Of course, none of these really meet the criteria (the single most horrible consequence of having criteria). I've been considering breaking the 12 track rule and using two songs. Any suggestions?

I'm currently reading Crash! and you've made a new mix!

You're calling me strange then? Haha. I don't know this Ballard, but I'm currently reading SLAM by N. Hornby - it's good.

Art galleries! and Calvin and Hobbes!! You're a friend, too.

perfect like a car crash? sounds like a JG Ballard book to me :p have you read any of his? they can be quite, quite strange.