Caught myself this afternoon, just watching the Dow Jones steadily plummet. A stalled airplane, spiralling. An imminent train wreck in slow motion. This isn’t the end of the world, I know, but it feels like the end of something.

There are a couple of analogies that have entered my mind in the last month or so.

A few weeks ago, I told Nikki that it feels like the Current Administration is treating our country like a rental car, stripping the gears and thrashing the engine, wrecking it well and good with no concern for the next driver to come along.

The other analogy is that the next few weeks — the time between now and November 4 — are going to be much like living with an alcoholic uncle. There’s no predicting just what crazy-ass thing he’s going to do next, and you’re stuck with him no matter what.

To keep myself sane, I’ve taken inspiration from a couple of very creative people. One is King Most, the other is Z-Trip. Both of these fine folks have compiled hour-long mixes, free to download, in support of Senator Barack Obama. Z-Trip seeds his very effective and accessible Party For Change mix with samples from Gil Scott-Heron, Audioslave, Pink Floyd, President Reagan (!), and tons more. Regarding The Obamix, King Most said “The intent of this mix was to try and capture what WE’VE all been feeling these past months: hope, struggle, and the importance of facing a challenge.”

So this is what I’ve done. To combat a week of somewhat sleepless nights, I’ve compiled an hour of tracks and messages that maintain my hope. Like the man said, “There has never been anything false about hope.” So I’m calling this The Hope Fix Mix.

Download The Hope Fix Mix from DivShare.
(Tracklisting after the jump.)

Download it, give it a listen or two, pass it along if you feel like sharing. And don’t oversleep on November 4th. Set three alarms. Four, even.

UPDATED 10.31.2008: Now featuring a cover image.  It took a week or three, but I found the right image to build a cover around a couple of days ago.

The Hope Fix Mix

“Changes (Snippet)” – Ayah
“And I Love It” – Murs & 9th Wonder
“Come Together (Weatherall Mix)” – Primal Scream
“Walk Tall” – Cannonball Adderley
“Love Is” – Brand New Heavies
“Love Is (Tom Moulton Mix)” – Brand New Heavies
“This One!” – J*Davey
“Something’s Gonna Have To Give (featuring Mary J. Blige)” – Big Boi
“Brave New World” – The Foreign Exchange
“The Awakening (featuring Ursula Rucker)” – 4 Hero
“A Change Is Gonna Come” – Brothers Unlimited
“This Land Is Your Land” – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
“Brothers Gonna Work It Out” – Willie Hutch
“Leave Home” – Chemical Brothers
“Good Day (Yes We Can Mix)” – Nappy Roots
“Long Time Coming” – Leela James
“A Change Is Gonna Come” – Sam Cooke
“People Get Ready” – Aretha Franklin
“Clean Up America” – Z.Z. Hill
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered” – Stevie Wonder