I find it very interesting thinking of a “first contact” scenario involving an alien species that would look similar to us. One of the things that would happen almost instantly it would probably be some cultural exchange. If an alien was to ask me for a mixtape with recent/modern pop songs, these are the ones I’d choose to include. The songs below are not always my absolute best-of, but rather, they’re the ones I find most interesting musically: strong atmosphere, semi-complex constructs, some thematic development. We wouldn’t want the aliens to think we’re complete dumb-asses down here, when most Earthlings listening to easy, brainless crap — do we now?

Active Child – “Hanging On” (legally free)
Animal Collective – “Summertime Clothes”
The Antlers – “Kettering”
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – “Menopause Man”
Bear In Heaven – “You Do You”
Bill Callahan – “All Thoughts Are Prey to Some Beast”
Bon Iver – “Hinnom, TX”
Broken Bells – “The High Road”
Caribou – “Jamelia”
Chad VanGaalen – “Replace Me”
Crystal Castles – “Baptism”
Enhues – “You Aren’t You” (legally free)
Fever Ray – “Keep the Streets Empty for Me”
HEALTH – “We are Water”
James Blake – “Limit To Your Love”
John Maus – “No Title (Molly)” (legally free)
John Maus – “Believer” (legally free)
Keep Shelly In Athens – “Cremonia Memories”
LesVilles – “Tr33s” (legally free or donation)
Memory Tapes – “Green Knight (Visions of Trees Remix)” (legally free)
The Morning Benders – “Stitches”
Neon Indian – “Halogen (I Could Be a Shadow)”
Old Arc – “Chief of Sun” (legally free)
Paper Route – “Tiger Teeth”
PVT – “Community”
Salem – “King Knight”
Sin Fang Bous – “Melt Down the Knives”
Soft Moon – “Parallels”
Still Corners – “Endless Summer” (legally free)
Washed Out – “New Theory”
Wild Nothing – “Confirmation”
The XX – “Intro”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Heads Will Roll”
Yeasayer – “The Children”