Hidden behind the Van Gogh at Bob Slate's...

A book of science-inspired philosophy that suddenly starts to sound insane two-thirds of the way in. I retraced the argument and found the whole last section depended on a point covered VERY briefly, to wit:

Suppose the universe is deterministic. Now define the property P as being true at a given moment if and only if, were that state of the world run forward 100 years, some person on Earth would then be wearing two neckties at once.

Next, suppose that I decide it would be nice for property P to have been true 99 years and 364 days ago. All I have to do is wait a day and then put on two neckties. Presto! But my actions can't have caused property P to be true in 1909; causation as we understand it only works forward in time. Therefore, says Drescher, there is such a thing as an "acausal means-end link". And from there it's off to the races with a translucent-box version of Newcomb's Problem, which aaaaaagh never mind, the point is that I don't buy it.

I've run into "property P" before, and at first I thought this usage was obvious garbage-- just playing with words to make a future turn of events be "in the past". But of course, in a deterministic universe, property P really is a property of May 22, 1909, even if we have no way to evaluate it until tomorrow.

Anyway, there's a lot of relevant philosophical literature I haven't read, so I might be barking up the wrong tree. But I was not moved to make Drescher my guide on the topic.

One more new thing I'm trying with the mixes this year: a torrent of just my VERY favorites, for people with limited patience or time. If you try it out, let me know what you think.

[Edit: Fixed the link.]

Adult language warning: track 8.
Low bitrate source warning: 3, 7, 18, 26, 27.
Bitterness warning: 20, 24.
Sappy loud punks warning: 15.
NPR warning: 5, 12.
Khaela Maricich of The Blow saying "unh!" warning: 16.
Craigslist sex warning: 10.
LJ-drama lyrics warning: 20, 22.
AutoTune warning: 18.
Lead singer wears mystical armor onstage warning: 9.

( The whole list. )

Last mix. This one, like the first, was sequenced to start with songs that sound like early morning to me and go on through the day. I have no idea if this is perceptible or interesting, but that's the intent. This one rushes through the day to get to a long night, after the fashion of Black Rock City. Total cliche! So sue me.

Download ZORBA THE LEOPARD presents AN UNKNOWN QUANTITY. The rest of this year's mixes are all now here. Tracks:

( To the thief who calls himself the Great Hammerhead... )

Here's to long roads. Whether it's a hundred-year journey or just a slog en masse down the disused train tracks to see some fireworks, it seems like you get farthest when you don't really have anywhere you need to go. I've never known what "good driving music" is; this is pretty good walking music.

And can anyone tell me if that's Khaela Maricich of The Blow going "uh!" on the Kyle Fischer song? It really sounds like her, and I know she did vocals elsewhere on the album. [Oh! Hey, it finally came out as a CD instead of just mp3s. I'll order it and see if the printed liner notes help.]

Download EVE CORIOLIS presents A FREE RIDE and catch up on past weeks here. Tracks:

( I wanna be a ballerina, and not just on Halloween now )

A little late this week. Which is okay, as this mix is the odd one out-- in order to give the discs themes AND to get all my favorite songs of the year on them, there had to be one miscellaneous mix, and this is it. It's pretty Pitchforky.

Download NOOP, CHIEF OF OPERATIONS presents A LIKELY STORY and catch up on past weeks here. Tracks:

( We can do it softcore if you want, but you should know I take it both ways. )

A few people, confronted with a stack of CDs, have taken this one because of the name. Whoops. This isn't about romance, it's about high school. I used to live for Sunday night, when MTV ran its "alternative" program 120 Minutes; it was a fabulous and confounding combination of combat-boot canon, disoriented singer-songwriters, marketing misfires, veiled queerness, and nobody's-watching-anyway curveballs. (We, of course, gave any video bequeathed to us by Dave Kendall the benefit of the doubt, which is how I ended up with four CDs by Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, but anyway.)

This is my best impression of that.

Download THE OPTION presents A FIRST KISS and catch up on past weeks here. Tracks:

( Nothing could be sadder than chasing a ghost. )

New Year's Eve ought to be high-energy and low-stakes. I mean, good luck with that, huh? But we try. Indie-pop, mallpunk, occasional sophistication (especially that last song). Nothing too SERIOUS this week.

Download THE BOMBEATER presents A STANDING INVITATION. Tracks:

( And you call me a cock but I'm not so you call me a lot. )

This is by far the Pitchforkiest of the mixes this year. And by my count, over half the songs are about monsters or other omnious/feared/projected-onto figures: Sasquatch, a serial killer, Republican senators, the urban poor, Jesus (twice), and several more unnamed. That wasn't entirely intentional.

Download ANTI-SONJA presents A NIGHT IN. Tracks:

( I get banged up a lot. )

My mixes are all numbered, and I've never posted one out of order before. But here it is Inauguration Day, and slated for today was #44, a wintry indie-rock mix about monsters at odds with all the exuberance people close to me are shining onto the internet. Then I realized that, on top of that, I had a party mix which began with a guy shouting "Welcome to the new administration!" and later on has a track titled "Requiem For A Neo-Con". I know, right?

So it's time for GEARBOXO! presents A FLAGRANT DISPLAY. Pop, hip-hop, genre revivals, remixes, AutoTune. Guest appearances by Neneh Cherry and Mary Baker Eddy. Torrent here. Tracks:

( And you ask me is there anybody else that I'm dating... )