12summer

Heat, pools, day drinking, dance parties, no-noisepop, glow sticks, flip flops, dominoes, Fraternal Order of Eagles, rock'n'roll, getting kicked out of pools, umbrellas in drinks, foam noodles, sun-burns, aloe vera, sweat, long days, naked parties, jorts, watermelon, r&b, spray paint tattoos, beaches, bicycles, braids, bikinis, swim shorts (all day), volleyball, skinny dipping, scooters, birding, roman candles, loud bass, 4-6 am dance-offs, skirts, hair cuts, vibes.

12summer.

Download and enjoy the heat.


(finally back at it.)

Saturday Night Seances

I apologize for the extended absence. I let life get in the way of the mixtape. Unacceptable. Anyway-

A few months ago I asked Facebook friends if they would give me ideas for themes for the blog. The last post "Solar System" was one of those suggestions.

This time its Saturday Night Seances. Thanks Morgan!

What is a Saturday Night Seance you might ask?

sat·ur·day/ˈsatərˌdā/

Adverb: On Saturday: "he made his first appearance Saturday".

Noun: The day of the week before Sunday and following Friday, and (together with Sunday) forming part of the weekend.

(IE The best day)

night/nīt/Noun

1. The period of darkness in each twenty-four hours; the time from sunset to sunrise.

(AKA The best night.)

se·ance/ˈsāˌäns/

Noun: A meeting at which people attempt to make contact with the dead, esp. through the agency of a medium.

(Witchy shit)

This mix is both low, and high. Scary and sexy. Frightening and funny. 2 parts kitsch, 1 part seduction, and 1 part spooky. 

To dance is to commune with the dead, which are all around us. This mix is an invocation to your fondest and most frightening memories: when you dance with the Universe you get it all. 

Try not to get carried away.

Tracks:

1. Liars- There's Always Room on the Broom

2. Man Man- Shameless

3. Gang Gang Dance- Sacer

4. Com Truise- VHS Sex

5. World Unite Luicer Youth Foundation (WU LYF)- We Bros

6. Daedalus- Muggle Born

7. Black Moth Super Rainbow- Forever Heavy

8. Background Radiation- Give Me Light

9. Fleet Foxes- Sim Sala Bim

10. Dirty Projectors + Björk- Sharing Orb

11. CoCoRosie- Rainbowarriors

12. Unknown Mortal Orchestra- FFunny FFriends

13. Panda Bear- Slow Motion

14. Eric Copeland (of Black Dice)- Krankendudel

15. Skeletons- Tania Head

16. Fol Chen- The Believers

17. Songs: Ohia- The Body Burned Away

18. Venetian Snares- This Bitter Earth

Click here to download!

The 2 Solar Systems

Heres an interesting phenomenon: you meditate on an idea in your head and realize after careful consideration that you actually have two completely separate and conflicting views on the subject. I realized this exact thing while working on this playlist. 

The Solar System is such a totally bizarre and abstract thing in our lives that it has created, at least in my mind, two completely separate spheres.

On one hand, the very space we live in is Fantastic. Literally otherworldly- a place where the Green Lantern lives in castles floating in space and mythological creatures and heros ride the cosmic wind in circles around us. This version of the Solar System is Kitschy. Kids wrapped in aluminum foil with fish bowls for helmets can traverse its depths. Ziggy Stardust, Luke Skywalker, Buzz Lightyear and Dr Dave Bowman have all passed through and left little bits of fantasy in their asterisms. This  Solar System reminds me of the sheets on my bed as a child and always wondering what it would be like to float in space.

The other Solar System is one that starts long before and ends long after we can possibly imagine, a telescopic idea that stretches from nothingness to infinity. This is the space we share with the Greeks, the Aztec, and the Far Eastern scholars who unlocked its mysteries far before western science began to classify it. As a historical tool, the Solar System is always there to remind us of our own finite place in the great shift of life. Understanding its movements gives us solace, a temporary catalog of the great seemingly-immortal giants dancing in orbit around us. 

SO! Because I had such different views of the Solar System- I made two separate Mixtapes to celebrate each idea. The first is the kitschy, laid back, impressionistic view of the Solar System. The tracks share the names (for the most part) with the heavenly bodies. I tried to keep this one whimsical and at the same time weird. Sci-Fi Fantasy. Extra-Terrestrial Realism. 

The second one expounds on the depth, scope, and magnitude of the Solar System. The titles do not directly reflect the bodies but I tried to match the theme of the planet or body with the theme of the song. This mixtape is almost solely comprised of Post-Rock. Post-Rock is a music genre that developed in the late 80s to early 90s. Notable bands include Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Tortoise, Slint, Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai and Sigur Ros. Generally Post-Rock is noted for its lack of vocals (for the most part) and its varying styles. Basically Post-Rock is the anti-consumer, anti-radio brother of rock and roll. Instead of verses and choruses it utilizes long meandering song structures that range from the slow build, to the gentle ragga, to the all out long rocking blast. Generally the songs are long. Usually they incorporate elements of classical, metal, jazz, and improv. 

I can't decide which one I like better. 

Click here to download:

The Solar System I

The Solar System II

Underground Jazz that Makes you say "I feel like I smell like sex."

First of all, I have to give props to Hunter and Erin for inadvertently helping me with the title.

This is a mix that focuses on (mostly) underground jazz. A few years ago, I went through a crazy jazz and instrumental music kick. To the point where I wouldn't listen to anything with vocals. The absence of vocals and lyrics in traditional pop-song time limits creates a special relationship with the listener and the music. Instead of focusing on someone else's words, the listener transcends mere language and begins to understand and delineate meaning through melody. Its a strange and wonderful moment when, rather than listening to words about heart break, you feel the heart break in rhythm, you experience it in sheer sound. Other than that musicianship, songwriting, and the subtlety of sound all come in sharper contrast when one excludes words and instead embraces song.

An interesting thing happened to jazz in the 80's and 90's. On one front, crappy radio stations took it from being one of the most exciting advances in art in music to being a novelty, something to laugh at in the elevator, a safe haven for the unhip and boring. At the same time, jazz went underground, took root in the UK and began to ingest the styles of hip-hop (which it had itself influenced) electronica, and a million other genres and styles. Record labels popped up that were entirely dedicated to this new wave of hip-jazz and electro-breaks (Ninja Tune, Tru Thoughts etc) and this new style of jazz moved from turn table based efforts to full big band style amazing music.

In this mix, I have included several UK artists (Wagon Christ, Nostalgia 77, Bonobo, DJ Food) American Artists and bands old and new. I also went a bit past mere jazz to those that are taking the essential roots of jazz and pushing those into exciting new contexts (Julian Lynch, Do Make Say Think, Colin Stetson).

This mix is for more than just listening, its for thinking. And I've talked too much already. After all, "talking about music is like dancing about architecture."

Tracks:

1. Introfunktion- Wagon Christ

2. Cheney Lane- Nostalgia 77

3. Lillian- Alias & Ehren

4. A Day at the Racetrack- Julian Lynch

5. Journey in Satchidananda- Alice Coltrane

6. Black Sands- Bonobo

7. Sea of Cloud- Nujabes

8. Carcass- Chicago Afrobeat Project

9. The Righteous Wrath of an Honorable Man-  Colin Stetson

10. Dep- Javelin

11. Um, Circles and Squares- Dosh

12. Footsteps- Maker

13. Mango Lassi- Maker

14. Crescent- NOMO

15. Ontario Plates- Do Make Say Think

16. End Theme- Zero 7

17. Nocturne (sleep dyad 1)- DJ Food

Click Here to download this awesome mix and enjoy! Let me know what you think. FOREAL!

The Best Indie Musix from 1995-2005

While I may be prejudiced towards this playlist just because this is when I became "of age" with Indie music, that is not to say that it is not a collection of some of the most innovative and groundbreaking artists of the last 15 years. This mix is a collection of all of the major indie "movements" that occurred within that time period: lo-fi, math, electronic, rock, neo-folk, post-rock, indie hip-hop, glitch, psych, pop, new weird america, ETC! No matter what the genre it's all engaging music. I had a lot more to say about this mix but I had my wisdom teeth removed yesterday and these pain killers are telling me I've written enough.

Have fun, let me know what you think!

Tracklist:

1. Preamp- The Microphones

2. Gravity Rides Everything- Modest Mouse

3. Mistakes & Regrets- ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead

4. Fever Sleeves- Q and not U

5. They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black (For the Homeless in Muskegon)- Sufjan Stevens

6.We Once Were (Two)- The Album Leaf

7. Car- Built to Spill

8. Dial Up- Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

9. Where You'll Find Me Now- Neutral Milk Hotel

10. Skullz- Subtle

11. Electric Bear- The Notwist

12. S is for Evrysing- The Books

13. My Mother Was A Chinese Trapeze Artist- The Decemberists

14. Apt. A #1- cLOUDDEAD

15. Stay Don't Go- Spoon

16. Penelope- of Montreal

17. Jesus, Etc.- Wilco

18. Apples in the Trees- Mirah

19. I Will Truck- The Dirty Projectors

20. We Tigers- Animal Collective

Oh yeah and you can use this image for your album art. 

95-05 Click here and follow the download link.