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More than anything else, switching to all digital files saves us so much time. Because there's isn't a physical product, we didn't have to deal with the arduous task of making it: designing the packaging; printing and cutting and folding the inserts; burning and pressing the CDs; and assembling all the elements together. We didn't have to deal with the 80-minute time limit, which saves us so much time, in terms of the long-winded process of narrowing down all the potential tracks to be included on an annual compilation. Finally, we also save time when we do not have to listen to every fucking single CD burned, for the purpose of quality control. Before now, yours truly had to check every single CD for skips or unacceptably varying modulation levels. Due to economic circumstances, we've left the American Midwest, and assembled this compilation in San Francisco and Seattle. Living out of suitcases redirected our attention to basic essentials, especially the importance of pop music. So K-pop exploded this year. Amy Winehouse left us. Gillian Welch came back. We also belatedly discovered the Electric Six and the Negro Problem. With the extra space, we tried to rectify grievious omissions of previous years (due mainly to severe time restrictions inherent in an 80-minute CD format) by including many of them here. Download zip file (155 MB). Track listing:
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t's inevitable-- another decade, another format change. This year, we have finally dispensed with the physical CDs and the occasional bonus digital tracks. The expensive colour ink cartridges, the graphic design layout, the printing, the cutting, the stamping, the labelling, and the packaging were all taking a toll on our sanity during the hectic holiday season.
However, we now get to focus more on the music itself, and provide more of it. From here on out, there would be simply 40 mp3 tracks compiled and distributed each year. By expanding the limit to 40 songs, we can devote some space to celebrate more esoteric, experimental, or exotic forms of music, or perhaps to old forgotten classics, instead of focusing strictly on pop releases from that particular year.
(We've selected 40 songs, since it's a fairly manageable but still generous number of tracks that also reflect the number of tunes listed by the UK Official Chart Company to be played on the weekend countdown radio programmes). Don't forget to download the artwork above (taken at a station of the Dortmund Stadtbahn) for your digital music player. Click on each image for its corresponding full-sized version.
appy Christmas everyone.
ou can now explore other years' pop survey compilations and their respective liner notes and artwork by hovering over the artwork displayed to the left-- this will identify the year of the compilation of each corresponding image. Clicking on each image will take you to that year's dedicated page.