In celebration of the one year anniversary of Radio Happy Hour we’ve put together a little mixtape of some of the best musical performances in a year that included such great guests as Cursive, The Hold Steady, Tunde Adebimpe, Norah Jones, Andrew WK, Jesse Eisenberg, Michael Showalter, and tons of others. Enjoy some free MP3s of the performances recorded live at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York (except for the ones that aren’t) and then check out the rest of the performances and full episodes on iTunes. Thanks for being a part of the first year of Radio Happy Hour. We’ll be celebrating our one-year anniversary on June 15th at (Le) Poisson Rouge with Nick Diamonds (Islands, Unicorns, Human Highway), actor Eddie Kaye Thomas, Murray Hill, and a few special surprise guests from some of our best shows over the last year.

You can download a zip file of the entire mixtape here.

1. Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio) – “Young Liars” (solo a cappella)

Tunde Adebimpe was a part of Episode 4, “Kumbaya of Terror,” with Kumail Nanjiani. During the show Adebimpe performed two TV on the Radio songs a cappella with loops. You might have heard that Adebimpe has a pretty damn good voice. If you haven’t: exhibit A.

2. Cursive – “From the Hips”

Tim Kasher and crew came by Radio Happy Hour in March for “The Great Nebrassacre” with author Arthur Phillips and comedians John & Molly Knefel. Cursive played two tracks from their latest album Mama, I’m Swollen including a fantastic rendition of “From the Hips.”

3. David Bazan – “Flirted with You All My Life” (Vic Chestnutt Cover)

That’s right, David Bazan covered Vic Chestnutt’s “Flirted with You All My Life.” The song was performed during Episode 9, “Bobbledead,” with Jesse Eisenberg and comedian Max Silvestri. It’s beautiful and terribly sad.

4. The Hold Steady – “Multitude of Casualties”

Craig Finn and Tad Kubler of The Hold Steady made an appearance in Episode 5, “Stabbed in the Ascot.” The episode also included author Chuck Klosterman appearing as the father of Craig and Tad. The duo played an acoustic set with Kubler on guitar and Finn singing. Here they played “Multitude of Casualties.” They also played “Cheyenne Sunrise” later in the show.

5. Norah Jones – “Man of the Hour”

This one is from the very first episode of Radio Happy Hour. Norah Jones appeared as a motel manager in an episode called “Terror in Teaneck,” which co-starred a foul-mouthed parrot. Jones played a couple of songs acoustic including this one about a dog.

6. Tapes ‘n Tapes – “Omaha”

Radio Happy Hour went on the road in April for Episode 8, “The End of Tender Loving.” This episode was taped at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. Tapes ‘n Tapes performed a new track, “SWM,” that can be found on the podcast, and the also played “Omaha,” off of their album The Loon. This episode also featured Chris Koza, Jeremy Messersmith, and author Geoff Herbach.

7. Chris Koza w/ Jeremy Messersmith – “Hummingbird”

Chris Koza appeared alongside Tapes ‘n Tapes at the Minneapolis episode of Radio Happy Hour. He performed his song “Hummingbird” from the new Rogue Valley album Crater Lake. Koza is joined here by Minneapolis based singer-songwriter Jeremy Messersmith.

8. Andrew WK – “Party Hard” (solo piano improvisation)

Party master Andrew WK came to Radio Happy Hour for the John Hughes tribute, “The Killer Club,” in August 2009. WK performed two songs on piano that were a mash of improvised material and some of his classic party songs.

9. Jolie Holland & Grey Gersten – “The Time is Right” (Michael Hurley cover)

Jolie Holland and Grey Gersten made an appearance in the February Episode of Radio Happy Hour, “The Curse of Cupid’s Balls.” In this Valentine’s Day themed episode Holland and Gersten chose to cover a pair of beautiful Michael Hurley songs.

Many thanks to Richie Clarke at (Le) Poisson Rouge, who engineered all of these recordings with the exception of the Tapes ‘n Tapes and Chris Koza tracks, which were engineered by Chris Frymire at The Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, MN.

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