I haven’t really visited my hometown of El Paso, TX in quite sometime. Usually when I go, I end up in Mexico and don’t see the light of day. In high school, my Senior Year was full of new friends and new faces. One of those new faces was Leyla. Leyla was this girl that was in my AP Govt/Econonmics class who I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. I was absolutely worthless in that class because I couldn’t concentrate. Mr. Tweedle (teacher) was this ol’skool hippie cowboy that LOVED Jerry Jeff Walker (think of a Texan cowboy version of Jimmy Buffett) would always embarass me in front of the whole class because of my lack of attention for his material. We became really good friends and we even went to homecoming together. It was kind of ironic because I sat across from my future ex-girlfriend at the dinner table. She’s the kind of friend that would go see a movie on a whim without being told one month in advance. I was dating somebody around Prom time, and at the time, my mother had moved out of state, virtually leaving me very short on funds. I didn’t ask my girl to go to prom because I didn’t have any money. It was either go to Prom or food. So , the obvious choice, I went for the food. Leyla didn’t have a date, so she asked me. I tried to play it cool by graciously declining her offer, but eventually I caved. She offered to pay for everything. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’ have gone to my Senior Prom. It was very innocent and I never thanked her properly. I’m happy she reached out to me recently and I want to dedicate this mix to her. She told me she needed new music and all I know is that her last CD she purchased was the All American Rejects, and her favorite artist of all time is Madonna. Leyla has no clue about off the radar groups. So to the best of my ability , I compiled a list of Leyla-esque tunes from 00-present. This is for you Leyla.

The Most Serene Republic-Content Was Always My Favorite Colour

Arcade Fire-Neighborhood 3 (Power Out)

Broken Social Scene-Cause=Time

Modest Mouse-Heart Cooks Brain

Sleey Jackson-Rains Fall For Wind

The National-Trophy Wife

the Go Team-Huddle Information