Like Ghosts in the Semi Dark [Muxtape]
I’ve been reading Cormac McCarthy’s Suttree recently, and the line “like ghosts in the semi dark” jumped off the page at me as a great theme for a mix. American folk and country is full of songs that send a shiver down your spine, whether through the atmospherics of the recording, the lyrical delivery or a disembodied harmony.
These modern examples conjure up images of lonely, deserted blacktop, abandoned old houses resonant with past lives, religious visions and disturbing dreams. There’s also beauty in their dusty and twilight lit corners.
Muxtape: Like Ghosts in the Semi Dark
Calexico – Blacktop [Intro] (Aerocalexico)
Beck – Forcefield (One Foot in the Grave)
Palace Brothers – The Brute Choir (Viva Last Blues)
Josh Ritter – Wings (Hello Starling)
Bon Iver – Flume (For Emma, Forever Ago)
Bruce Springsteen – State Trooper (Nebraska)*
Sun Kil Moon – Unlit Hallway (April)
Richmond Fontaine – Ghost I Became (Thirteen Cities)
Smog – The Desert (Burning Kingdom EP)
Calexico – The Black Light (The Black Light)
M. Ward – Four Hours in Washington (Transistor Radio)
Tom Waits – Take it With Me (Mule Variations)
*Despite many attempts, I couldn’t upload this track to Muxtape. I left it on here as it’s a great example of what I was going for with this mix.
I hope you enjoy it. What songs give you a chill?
