Has it really been almost two months since our last mix? Hey, give us a break. We’ve been busy. All this groundbreaking music coverage doesn’t write itself, you know. Plus, we had the holidays to contend with. Everyone’s busy around the holidays, right? Yeah, that’s a feasible excuse…

Verbicide Select Mixtape Volume 3 is finally here, and totally worth the wait. This time around we’re giving you 12 more FREE tracks, ranging from the recently unearthed Elliott Smith track “Cecilia/Amanda,” to “Santa Cruz” by indie-psych-dance-punk band Christmas, to some new new hip-hop from Brother Ali, RJD2, and Jack Splash. Let’s not forget indie favorites such as Metric, Thao with the Get Down Stay Down, and Animal Collective!

All these tracks and more come packaged in an attractive, collectible zip folder that’s yours to keep! Display the songs proudly on your digital music player, or burn them to a CD to give to that cute coworker who you’ve had your eye on. Sure, you can even take all the credit for this amazing new mixtape — we won’t tell!

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Click Here for Verbicide Select Vol. 3

1. Elliott Smith
“Cecilia/Amanda”
Previously unreleased
Courtesy of Kill Rock Stars
www.killrockstars.com

2. Jack Splash/Cee-Lo
“38 Special”
From the mixtape album King of The Beats Vol.1
Courtesy of Jack Splash and J Records
www.jrecords.com

3. Metric
“Help I’m Alive (80Kidz Remix)”
From the EP Plug In, Plug Out
Courtesy of Metric Music International
www.ilovemetric.com

4. Christmas
“Santa Cruz (demo)”
Previously unreleased
Courtesy of Christmas and Endless Latino Records
www.endlesslatino.com

5. Brother Ali
“Us”
From the album Us
Courtesy of Rhymesayers Entertainment
www.rhymesayers.com

6. Dum Dum Girls
“Jail La La”
From the “Jail La La”/“Play With Fire” 7”
www.subpop.com

7. Rain Machine
“Give Blood”
From the self-titled album
Courtesy of ANTI-
www.anti.com

8. RJD2/Kenna
“Games You Can Win”
From the box set The Colossus
Courtesy of RJ’s Electrical Connections
www.rjselectricalconnections.com

9. Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
“When We Swam”
From the album Know Better Learn Faster
Courtesy of Kill Rock Stars
www.killrockstars.com

10. Animal Collective
“My Girls”
From the album Merriweather Post Pavilion
Courtesy of Domino Record Co.
www.dominorecordco.com

Formed in Toronto but, at various times, based in Montreal, London, New York and L.A., Metric boasts the sort of history that requires one of those connect-the-dots redlined maps you see in an Indiana Jones movie — and the story of their latest release Fantasies is no different. First stop: Bear Creek, located outside Seattle, Washington.

“The four us went out into the woods as a band with no expectations and did whatever we wanted,” vocalist Emily Haines recalls. “We were coming from London so it was a serious contrast – it felt like we had left civilization and all that mattered was music again. We wrote a lot of songs there including ‘Gimme Sympathy,’ ‘Collect Call’…and ‘Black Sheep,’ which isn’t on the album ’cause it has a life of its own. When I listen to the finished record, I feel like all its warmth comes from that place in the woods.”

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Help I'm Alive

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If she wanted to, Emily Haines of Metric could start an outright riot. I witnessed her come close to inciting a riot in March of 2004 at Nashville’s Exit/In, when Haines had so much command of the frenzied audience that she was able to pull us back from the edge. That show became the standard by which I’ve judged all subsequent Metric shows, as well as how I’ve rated all other performers’ stage presence (i.e., “It wasn’t like he was Emily Haines up there, but he kept our attention”).

By Haines’ design, the crowd at La Zona Rosa in Austin on December 1, 2009 was not as frantic as the 2004 Nashville show. Yet as she gyrated and twisted across the stage dressed in gold, the audience remained in the palm of her hand with every one of our synchronized fist pumps.

Every night, Metric gives everything they have to make their audience experience the best show ever performed. Their performances are typically a sermon about living in excess, yet refrain from coming off as preachy. Their breed of New Wave dance-pop shouldn’t have any depth at all if they were playing to type — one in the audience will ask himself if the others in the crowd understand the meaning of the opening number, “Twilight Galaxy,” about not living life to meet anyone’s expectations (“She’s singing to me, dammit”). And by the second song of the show, “Help, I’m Alive,” it is clear that Haines was willing to give each and every audience member a piece of her heart — and we’re gladly willing to take it.

Coming into La Zona Rosa with a set list comprised mainly from their Fantasies album, Metric’s show now comes off as more personal than mere ironic commentary, which gives the performances of older songs from Live it Out (like “Handshakes” and “Empty”) even more depth as the sweat flings from Emily’s golden locks. Haines even broke her set to tell the locals how lucky they are to live in Austin, with its support of local and independent music. The state of the industry weighs heavily on the band with their DIY approach to making music.

There wasn’t much in the show for the older fans (ahem), but the dynamic performance of “Dead Disco” reminded us why we fell in love with Metric in the first place.

For the encore, Haines darted to the stage for a raucous rendition of “Monster Hospital.” To play out old and new alike, the show closed with Emily and guitarist James Shaw performing an acoustic version of the staple “Combat Baby.” The audience was happy to lend their own vocals, to which Haines herself was taken aback.

Metric has earned each fan one by one over the decade, and each performance is a personal message to every person in the crowd. And we’re all willing to show Metric how much we love them back, which is why Emily Haines could get us to riot…

If she wanted to.

Click here to download “Help I’m Alive (80 Kidz Remix)” by Metric