this is excellent, but i must admit that Damon and Naomi's recent work with Kurihara and Ghost have made me question Wareham's contribution to Galaxie 500...it's great to see they could split and still produce stuff that was far and away better than what most everyone else is doing...

Personally, I'd disagree that a little Luna goes a long way -- to the contrary, there's is the sort of stuff that can drift off into the background for hours on end (which may translate into dull, but that's not necessarily a bad thing). I've got one of these made as well, but I've been meaning to update it with a couple tracks from this year's release -- not a great album, but a couple good tracks. I'm wondering why you didn't include anything from the first album ("Slide" and "I Can't Wait" are terrific) or Pup Tent ("IHOP" being fairly essential Luna).

I can't believe I wrote "there's" instead of "theirs." I feel like one of thosee 14 year-old Rage Against The Machine fans that populate this site. Man, I need some sleep.

Looks great! It seems like yesterday that their (not there) first record came out and the video of them driving around in a convertible was on light rotation on MTV (I'm drawing a blank on the name of the song). I can relate to Popkulcher's agony over his typo. We can't edit our blunders once they're (not there) posted and they haunt us for the rest of our lives!

In response to popkulcher, specifically (but "thanks" and "hellos" to other commenters as well: "slide" just missed the cut on this one. only 80 minutes worth of space, of course. also, as with any of my mixes, i'm being selfish, first and foremost. a good deal of the time, i'm not looking to spotlight a band's history, but to get my favorite tracks from that band onto CD. with luna, i seem to like their last two albums best, and thus the focus to their latter work. also, unlike many of the mixers here, i don't always respond especially well to so-called "lo-fi" production. in general, it can probably be said that luna has become more "hi-fi" in their production techniques over time. doesn't mean that the songs are better, of course, but sometimes i cringe when placing "early" stuff up against "later" stuff on compilations; can be rather jarring. makes it tough for me with my co-faves r.e.m. with radiohead), since their early stuff sounds much "quieter" than their later releases. "murmurs" is right behind "automatic" on my list, but i often hesitate to include earlier r.e.m. songs with later ones on mixes. (and yes, i realize that there is software out there to "even things out," sound-wise, but my financial situation is such that "free" is always the preferable option.) [and yes -- again -- let me agree with ion moe (and popkulcher) -- typos can be a devastating thing, indeed. is it only anal retentativeness, or something more? who the hell cares, i guess. but such things DO matter. perhaps where or how often to place commas isn't so different a thing as to which song or songs should make a mix tape.] bottom line, if you haven't already: give luna a listen.

(with radiohead)

"murmur"

point taken; enough said.

(ugh.)

Ah Luna..... I have mixed feelings about them. Live, they sound wonderful - it's probably like what the Velvets were like on a good night. And the records (particularly those early ones, for me) are good. Still, I think I like the Damon & Naomi stuff more. Less samey, perhaps? But still, I'm really glad that Luna is around.

Joe: Interesting that you find the last two albums so appealing; personally, I've found them to be a real letdown. On the other hand, I saw them live a couple weeks ago here in San Francisco, and they were dynamite -- substantially better than when I saw them live a few years ago, even if the material was (IMHO) weaker. So I'm glad they're still around and productive. As for evening out volume levels, there's probably some freeware/shareware out there. I try to avoid using it, as it's tedious, but for some mixes I'd rather take the time than have jarring volume changes or omit key tracks. Such is the joy of being a truly obsessive weenie.

"a truly obsessive weenie" -- a phrase that has made my day. and a phrase i am shocked that my shrink has yet to call me on (so to speak).