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Ashes to Ashes

“Intro” – Barack Obama
“Airline to Heaven (Live at Farm Aid 2005)” – Wilco
“That Highway Won’t Get You to Heaven” – Beck
“Drugs” – Talking Heads
“Black Satin” – Miles Davis
“Caramel (William Orbit Special)” – Blur
“Karaim” – Electric Masada
“Ghost Town” – The Specials
“Ladytron” – Roxy Music
“Star Eyes (I Can’t Catch It)” – Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse with David Lynch
“Do You Realize? (live at Hollywood Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA)” – The Flaming Lips & Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

Here is a mix that is fitting for today, the ten year anniversary of the World Trade Center bombing in New York.  It’s not a bunch of country songs, but something a little deeper than kickin’ Sadam’s ass.  I bet your foot would go right through his ass at this point, anyway.

I wanted to make a mix that was spiritual, political, emotional, dark and beautiful at once.  Something to usher in the fall and its massive push of death and loss in nature, hence around us.  I aimed for this mix to express some endearment for the finite, in general, when relative to a world of suffering and pain.  There should be peace in knowing that all things shall pass…not fear.

The whole idea of “never forget,” however, is counter to this notion.  Do we really want that to be our mantra in relation to a national tragedy?  We are holding this against you forever?  Transformation does not always have to be a harsh lesson, especially ten years later.

woman tamer

“I Wanna Be You” – Paul McCartney
“All Your Life” – Blur
“Happy Flower” – Nellie McKay & The Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra
“Fresh Hex” – Tobacco & Beck
“I Feel Ya Strutter” – of Montreal
“Silent Bell” – Radiohead vs. KT Tunstall vs. Overdub
“Fin” – Pavement
“Forever Again” – Eric’s Trip
“Enemy Gene” – Kevin Barnes

Love can be so sordid.  It makes sense and then it doesn’t and it drips all over the floor and messes up your life.  Everyone involved just wants a safe boat on the sea, but can you drop all expectation from your shipmates?  How far does unconditional love really go, anyway?

The title of this mix is meant to be somewhat ambiguous, but ultimately pertaining to the trial and error of any worthwhile relationship.  The most likely association is that of a woman being tamed.  Like a lion tamer, but taming a woman.  The lion connotation also works well considering the  astrological influence for this mix.  (Leo.)  On the other side, the title can also be interpreted as a woman who tames.  I know there are a lot of them out there, and many of them are Leos also.

So yeah.  It’s still the beginning of August.  We’re in the lioness’s den and we all just have to deal with that until the asshole Virgos (love you guys!) take the crown.  Until then, I guess this mix is for all those lovely Leo ladies out there.    Thanks for the strange depth.

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aural catharsis

“Run, Don’t Walk” – Matt Sparks
“Why Can’t I Believe in You?” – Beck
“Give up the Ghost” – Radiohead
“The Hard Way” – Pat Donohue & The Shoe Band
“You Don’t Miss Your Water” – Otis Redding
“Night-Time Intermission” – Charlotte Gainsbourg
“Sidi Infi” – Cracker
“If You Leave Me, Leave Me Running” – Chicros
“No Conclusion” – of Montreal
“Spread Your Cause” – Beck vs. Flying White Dots
“Cold Heart of Stone” – Frank Black & The Catholics
“Glad It’s Over” – Wilco
“You’re Breakin’ My Heart” – Harry Nilsson

Hey!  It’s a break up mix!  Maybe it’s a tad late, depending on how long it takes to dispossess another soul from their own.  We all know these things come in groups so surely someone out there can use it.

I’m in that number, so this mix came easy and out well.  Ideally, I’m hoping it will serve as a cathartic tool for anyone that needs it.  For no, my friends, these are not all songs of sadness or despair.  Each song feels naturally in its place within the progression.  If a person could submerge oneself into this mix, then perhaps it could live up to its title and provide a truly cathartic experience to the listener.

So though my particular situation is not quite resolved, I can say that I definitely learned at least one thing from it so far:  Your friends really don’t want to hear about this shit.

Fair enough…but everyone likes a mix tape!

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the end of advertising

“Libera Me, Domine” – Ernst Reijseger And Mola Sylla
“In Excelsior Vaginalistic” – The Flaming Lips
“Night Sight” – Air
“Section 20 (Together We’re Heavy” – The Polyphonic Spree
“Subterraneans” – David Bowie
“Doll’s Polyphony” – Geinoh Yamashirogumi
“Pure Bug Beauty” – Wilco
“Chemtrails (acoustic)” – Beck
“Prophecies” – Philip Glass
“Vanities” – Charlotte Gainsbourg
“Harry Patch (In Memory Of)” – Radiohead
“It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” – Bob Dylan

The rapture is supposed to happen tomorrow, so say some fringe Christians who have managed to bring this idea to mainstream America (and possibly beyond).  If it actually does happen, and 144,000 of God’s closest friends and lovers  get a free ride to heaven, then I think this would be a fitting soundtrack.  For them in their ascent, of course, but also those of us who may be left behind…until we start killing each other for drugs or whatever.

This was actually something of a commissioned mix.  Aaron Shugart-Brown had asked me to make a mix of instrumental, easy going music for his shop, Unarmed Merchants, in Knoxville.  It’s not totally instrumental, but I feel all vocals here are light and well served enough to not get in the way.

If nothing else, you might be able to meditate or something.

photo by Maurita Roman

Katherine Xoe and the Talking Shoe

“My Kingdom” – Echo and the Bunnymen
“Le Temps De L’ Amour” – Francoise Hardy
“You’ve Been Flirting Again” – Evangelicals
“Smokey Fire” – Smokey Robinson vs. Arcade Fire vs. team9
“Transport is Arranged” – Pavement
“How Are You?” – David Byrne & Fatboy Slim with Nellie McKay
“Lose This Skin” – The Clash
“Kelly Watch the Hole” – ccc & ill chemist vs. The Beatles vs. Air
“Need You Tonight” – Beck, St. Vincent, Os Mutantes & Liars
“Movies of Myself” – Rufus Wainwright
“15 Stepz” – Amplive & Codany Holiday vs. Radiohead
“Welcome to the Jungle (808 Remix)” – Freedom Dub

Today is St. Valentine’s Day once again and I have the loveliest of all Valentines, to be certain.  So I made this mix for her, prior to this day.  Now that she has digested it alone, I am sharing it here as a St. Valentine’s day mix for all.  What kind of love would I be spreading if I didn’t?

The Beauty Bar, New York City

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Venusian Proclivities

“Liquid Days (Part 1)” – Philip Glass Ensemble
“Non mirar di questa bella imago” – Sergio Vartolo/Concerto delle Dame di Ferrara
“Possibly Maybe” – Final Fantasy & Ed Droste
“Sea Breezes” – Roxy Music
“Send Me No Flowers” – Nellie McKay
“Before Cologne” – Ben Folds
“Never Tear Us Apart” – Beck, St. Vincent, Liars & Os Mutantes
“A Trail of Asterisks” – Senryu
“Your Place” – Zero 7
“Take Care of Business” – Nina Simone

So we’re on into Libra now and I felt moved to make this mix as a result.  I’m not sure how many Libra people would actually enjoy this music, but I do feel like the flow of the thing captures that Libran sense of beauty and relative softness.  Also, it’s one of only a very few mixes I have ever assembled that seems to be overflowing with romantic lovey dovey type crap.  Given the typical Libra ideas of romantic love (the effects of all planets that are not Venus notwithstanding), I don’t believe it could really be any other way.

I didn’t want to get too much into the Libra dark sides with this mix.  I wanted to keep it focused and refined.  Possibly even elegant…certainly balanced.  Consider it a birthday present, Libra people.  Jeeze.  Libra Libra Libra.

Click to download the tracks:

“Anemone” (Brian Jonestown Massacre)
“New Beginnings”
“Clap Hands Jam” (improv on Beck)
“Untitled as Yet (Down)”
“Really Horrible Shit is Popular”
“Single Politician”
“Family Affairs”
“Untitled as Yet (Up)”
“Hymn”

This session was primarily practice for the Pilot Light show with Katie and the Bass Drums coming up on August 25th, as some – if not all – of the players in this session will be joining me that day.  This is also the first session recorded in which Rachel Jae and Dane Hill were present.   It was interwoven with a lot of surprise sounds coming to the forefront. Ideas too.   Some of those surprise sounds and ideas are as follows:

“Anemone” – As noted above, this is a cover of the Brian Jonestown Massacre song. The first or second time we got together under musical pretense, Katie gave me a mix CD with the original version as the starting track. I immediately loved it. It’s not too complicated of a song. So Katie, Megan and I picked it up really quick and then laid it down after Dane and Rachel had left for the night. The first take wasn’t too bad. This was the second and it’s slightly better.

“Clap Hands Jam” – This is just one of those goofy little segues that sometimes rise up when live recording. Dane and the girls had a good little percussion section going. I tried to enter with Beck’s “Clap Hands” but could not remember the order of the notes right off. So I bounced around between them, hence being but a “jam.” I did actually find the correct order, but only momentarily before we decided to send itg to its grave.

“Untitled as Yet” – Two versions here. The “down” version was actually recorded immediately following the “up” version. I reordered them and spaced them out in the track listing for the sake of flow. The down version incorporates no electronic beats, only minimalist percussion from Dane and Rachel – plus a little off kilter theremin from me. Also, notice that both versions contain “lyrics” now. We needed some way to signal when we wanted to do the key drop. Looking at each other and nodding is fine, but not always so interesting or reliable. Rachel suggested we all say “Make a wish” right before the drop. We all were in agreement, but then we did not know how to signal the wish, itself. We worked that one out too.

“Single Politician” – Dane is playing a full kit on this one and it sounds grand. We went through a few different alterations to get to this version. Mostly based around the drums, as Dane had two different modes for this song, both of which worked well. With two drum modes and two sections of the song so far, we decided to try a different mode for each section, but run them together. I think this is the best version of this song yet.

“Hymn” – If you are offended by this song, then you might want to consider downgrading your church. Perhaps to a model without an ATM machine.

Katie Collins – omnichord, ukulele, words
Megan Driscoll – flute, omnichord, vocals
Rachel Jae - shakers, wood blocks, words
Dane Hill – drum kit, hand percussion, wood blocks, words
Arrison Kirby – guitar, beats, vocals

lowdowndownlow

“Gotta Get Down With the Passing of Time” – Damon Albarn
“Box Elder (live) ” – Pavement
“In Asking Land” – Talking Heads
“Inside Out” – Beck
“The Old Plantation” – The Minus 5
“There There (live acoustic)” – Radiohead
“My Death (live)” – David Bowie
“Runners Dial Zero” – Beck
“Blasting Fonda” – Wilco
“Lifeline” – Harry Nilsson
“Did You See Me” – Ween
“Riding to Vanity Fair” – Paul McCartney
“Sunset Coming On” – Damon Albarn, Toumani Diabate, Afel Bocoum, Ko Kan Ko Sata Doumbia
“I Love My Car” – Belle and Sebastian

This past week had a lot of emotion in it.  I blame the movement out of the ever emotional Cancer into Leo.  It seemed to result in misunderstanding and mini crises…and not just for myself.  It’s something like the air of a funeral where such intense emotions may act in kind.  A funeral for Cancer, if you will.

Now, though, it seems these weekend wounds have healed or are healing.  Today, in Knoxville, in particular, we had this wonderfully cloud covered, sunny day.  The evening capped by a stellar performance downtown by Wu Tang’s Killah Priest.  A small reward for working through the darkness of Cancer.

I made this mix a few years back.  I did not feel any kind of darkness in my life at the time, but wanted to make a saddish, emotionally driven mix.  This was the result.  It does not carry a negative message (except maybe the Paul McCartney song), but certainly expresses loss and learning while sounding “summery.”  I think it’s perfectly fitting for this time of year.

Click to download as a continuous mp3:

land is to water as people are to practice

“Me and Paul” – Willie Nelson
“California Rodeo” – Kool Keith and Beck
“Far East Mississippi” – Ohio Players
“Truckers Atlas” – Modest Mouse
“Tijuana 3/28/96″ – Smart Went Crazy
“”Brazil” – Cornelius
“Miami” – Chin Chin
“A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger” – of Montreal
“Greenwich Mean Time” – Charlotte Gainsbourg
“Bombs Over Your House” – Outkast vs. Locsmif
“The Machine in India” -The Flaming Lips
“Seven Years in Tibet” – David Bowie
“You Belong to Me” – Al Martino

I was on my way to being on my way to New York City and beyond, but had to come back home for things forgotten.  Seeing as how I am only one of a somewhat large number of people making travels here at the end of May, I would not feel right about not sharing this mix before I go.  This mix was recently submitted for the Tapeworms April theme, “Geography.”

Take it with you for your travels or take it in while wishing you were traveling.

I take the order of the songs as though beginning a journey in Tennessee, trekking the USA, then down to South America.  From there, taking a boat up to Florida and then flying over to Europe and heading East.

On a simple side note, while in NYC, I’ll be meeting up with writer/musician/ photographer/former resident of El Studio, Matt Zingg.  Without knowing him, Smart Went Crazy may have never been on this mix.  All the more fitting.

Happy trails!

illumination

“Ohio” – Chin Chin
“Jet Engine” – Forest for the Trees & Beck
“Crooked Dub / Obscured by Clouds”  -  Gorillaz vs. Spacemonkeyz vs. Pink Floyd vs. Arrison Kirby
“Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping” – Air
“Roche” – Sebastian Tellier
“Noir Blues to Tinnitus” – of Montreal
“Video Tapez” – Radiohead vs. Del The Funky Homosapien vs.  Amplive
“Great Gig in the Sky” – The Flaming Lips & Peaches
“Speak, See, Remember” – Pavement
“One Fine Day” – Cracker
“The Great Western Road” – David Byrne
“Cloud of Unknowing” – Gorillaz, Bobby Womack & Sinfonia ViVa
“Sleepyhead” – Senryu

illumination was submitted for the Tapeworms March theme:  “Wake Up.”  I am posting it today because it’s Easter Sunday and I find this to make for a pretty good Easter mix.  My only regret is that I didn’t have it posted this morning so that someone might wake up to it.