VA – Halloween 2009
Every year our house gets in excess of 1000 trick or treaters – I’m not kidding – and every year I make a mixtape to entertain them and keep me alive while I stand outside for hours handing out candy. I kind of love it. Last year far and away the kids were responding best to the metal songs I threw on, so this year I’m going ALL METAL. I’m pleased with how this mix came out, it starts out NWOBHM then skips two decades and goes right to the 2000s. As a side note, I’m impressed by a whole bunch of metal records from this year – Baroness, Secrets of the Moon, Nargaroth and that Dethklok album which you might think is a joke but the musicianship isn’t. Anyway, 140mb, download.
2008 HOLIDAY MIXTAPES
This is my last post until early January sometime and it’s always good to close out the year with music. Happy holidays everybody!
Happy Christmas Young World (110mb)
01 Biff Rose – It’s Happening
What an insane album. Supposedly Biff was a big influence on David Bowie.
02 The Veronicas – Hook Me Up
Straight out of a 24 Hour Fitness television commercial. But hey, I like girls on stairmasters.
03 Friendly Fires – Skeleton Boy
Friendly Fires are forgettable, but I thought this song fit the mix.
04 Apes – Walk Thru Walls
Apes, on the other hand, are the real deal.
05 Hot Chip and Robert Wyatt – Made In The Dark
Unlikely collaboration! I can’t wait for the whole EP.
06 The Sea and Cake – Down in the City
This is my free-jazz side talking.
07 Telepathe – In Your Line
With TV on the Radio production assistance.
08 Arthur Russell – Nobody Wants A Lonely Heart
Between this and I Couldn’t Say It To Your Face, it’s a whole other side of Arthur. Who knew?
09 The Lines – On The Air
Reissue comp of the year.
10 No Age – Teen Creeps
Possibly the album of the year. Hard to say.
11 Wild Stares – Piece of the Picture
A punk shambles. The cello makes it.
12 A Flock of Seagulls – Tricks (demo)
Shades of Gary Numan? Is it just me?
13 TKA – Give Your Love To Me (DJ Shadow remix) (Clitwack edit)
Great little remix by Shadow circa 1990. I cut it in half.
14 50 Cent – My Heart
Fifty is so rich he doesn’t even care. This reminds me of toasting more than rapping because the disco plays out, which is kind of awesome. Rapwise I had to leave off Z-Ro Call My Phone and Lil’ Boosie Don’t I Act A Donkey, shout to Cocaine Blunts.
15 MGMT – Electric Feel
Was this a huge track from a huge record? Yeah, well, it’s a great song. I can’t recommend the Jim Jones version, though.
16 The Hives and Cyndi Lauper – A Christmas Duel
Delightful!
17 The Vince Guaraldi Trio – African Sleigh Ride
This is an outtake, I think. I personally can’t have Christmas without Vince.
18 The Whitest Boy Alive – Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix)
Remix of the year. Makes me want to live.
2008 was a very metal year for me.
01 The Hand of Doom – There Ain’t No Running Away
Crazy German legacy metal.
02 Pantera – Heresy (demo, alternate lyrics)
Awesome take from the demo sessions.
03 Genghis Tron – Things Don’t Look Good
It took me a while to warm up to Genghis Tron, but I got there.
04 Bison B.C. – Dark Towers
Trad metal.
05 Disfear – The Furnace
I fucking love Disfear. Fucking love.
06 The Haunted – The Flood
Featuring members of Disfear.
07 Equilibrium – Heimwärts
Ferngully metal.
08 Meshuggah – Bleed
RIYL Tool.
09 Burning Star Core – Through The Bars Of A Rhyme
I hate this record, but there’s something metal about this one song.
10 Opeth – Porcelain Heart
Opeth are kind of running it.
11 Krallice – Timehusk
Great album.
12 Earth – Omens And Portents II – Carrion Crow
Somewhere, Kurt smiles.
13 KTL – Wicked Way
Grinding.
Wu-Tang pause tape #1
I basically made this tape for myself, but I think the selection is good enough to share. It’s all Wu-Tang, or songs from members and affiliates. RZA’s genius is that the Wu is a whole musical genre unto itself; this tape leans toward the grimier middle period sound.
Download mp3 from Mediafire, 82mb.
I know it annoys some of you, but my pause tapes, as always, are one long track.
New mixtape: Cage Of Bones
Despite the block of girl pop sounds (Rye Rye, Miley, Hollywood Jills) and a John Martyn track at the end, this is the most depressing mixtape I’ve ever made. I don’t know what got into me. 90mb via MediaFire.
Future of the Left - Small Bones Small Bodies: Falco and Eggs' post-McLusky project. As if I commissioned it.
Carly Simon - Why: I didn't know she had it in her.
A Certain Ratio - Do The Du: I misunderstood this band for a long time.
Kinks - I'm Not Like Everybody Else: Later covered to great effect by Belgain punks Hubble Bubble.
Jose Bedoya - El Conductor: Found at a flea market on wax.
Rye Rye - Shake It to the Ground: The next Lip Gloss for sure.
Miley Cyrus - As I Am: If only I could find love like that.
Hollywood Jills - He Makes Me So Mad: Via Luis.
Psychedelic Horseshit - Portals: I couldn't live with a Clockcleaners song in this spot.
Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy: Via Andrea. As she said, they played this on the radio?
Negative Approach - Nothing: One of the hardest punk songs ever and Thurston Moore's favorite.
Black Devil - No Regrets: Via Andy. I played this outside at Halloween, handing out candy.
A-Ha - Stay On These Roads: Condo Rock.
Freeway - It's Over: 215 stand up.
Flash & The Pan - Walking In The Rain: Sounds like somebody had a psychotic reaction to their medication. I love this song.
Deerhunter - Florescent Grey: Almost sounds like Failure.
John Martyn - Head and Heart: Mom's-Plymouth-Voyager-when-you-were-seven music.
New mixtape! Midnight Club vol. 1
Tracklist:
01 Ian Curtis – “You Should Hear Our Version of Louie Louie.”
02 The Sonics – Louie Louie
03 The Primitives (Lou Reed) – Sneaky Pete
04 Bobby Roberts & The Rave-Ons – How Can I Make Her Mine
05 The Chadwicks – The Only Way To Do It
06 Denise & Company – Boy, What’ll You Do Then
07 Artesians – Trick Bag
08 The Sonics – Shot Down
09 Dean Carter – Jailhouse Rock
10 Hasil Adkins – I Don’t Want Nobody The Way I Want You
11 The Castaways – Liar, Liar
12 The Wailers – Snake Pit
13 The Pleasure Seekers (Suzi Quatro) – Never Thought You’d Leave Me
14 Bobby J. & The Generations – Lost In Time
15 MC5 – I Don’t Mind
16 Jynx (Chris Bell of Big Star) – How
17 The Sonics – Strychnine
18 Novas – The Crusher
19 The Pleasure Seekers – What A Way To Die
20 The Chob – We’re Pretty Quick
21 Alarm Clocks – Yeah
22 Dudley & The Doo Rytes – UFO
23 The Starfires – I Never Loved Her
24 Accents – Why
New mixtape: Demonstration 2
For this mixtape, I recorded myself gabbing about my song selections. Here’s the video:
and here’s the mix: Demonstration 2 [78.6mb zip file at MediaFire].
2006-05 mixtape – What’s Wrong
Finally. This was harder to bring to term than any other mixtape I’ve ever made – two months. And it still doesn’t quite cohere, I’m afraid. But I think it does more faithfully reflect my mood than any other mix previous. Not necessarily a plus! Download here. The link is going to expire quickly; YouSendIt downgraded their free service. Bastards.
01 A.R.E. Weapons – Nobody Likes Us, We Don’t Care
The only good A.R.E. Weapons song.
02 The Wake – On Our Honeymoon
People dismiss The Wake as either Joy Division copycats or a goth footnote, or both. They’re actually just bitter. I wanted to make a Department S song work in this slot, but couldn’t.
03 BC Camplight – Blood and Peanut Butter
One of two songs provided by Luis. The guile of the instrumentation makes up for weak singing voices.
04 Phoenix – Second To None
It pains me to report that this and Long Distance Call are the only good songs on the new Phoenix album.
05 Magneta Lane – Broken Plates
A typical SXSW band you’ll never hear from again.
06 Bedroom Walls – In Anticipation of Your Suicide
Total pastiche, but it works. Because of the Television reference.
07 New Order – Homage (demo)
Now THIS is a treasure – the only track from the four-song Western Works session that was never rerecorded for an album. Keep in mind they put this down only a month after the dissolution of Joy Division. Thank you Andy 1/3.
08 John Frusciante – Fallout
I would take John Frusciante over The Red Hot Chili Peppers any anytime. Thank you Andy 2/3.
09 The Durutti Column – Sleep Will Come
A STONE COLD FACTORY MASTERPIECE. Thank you Andy 3/3.
10 Witch – Black Saint
Like I said, indicative of my mood.
11 October Country – My Girlfriend Is A Witch
Thank you Luis 2/2. Some crazy vintage action.
12 Islands – Don’t Call Me Whitney, Bobby
This song has got to be about cannibalism.
13 Danielson – My Lion Sleeps Tonight
Christian Freak Prog Folk.
14 Final Fantasy – This Lamb Sells Condos
This may actually be the record of the first six months of the year. I don’t want to get into an argument about Fishscale, but I will say that it’s funny how indie hipster fucks seem to like Fishscale because Ghost rhymes about giving up cocaine on your own schedule and Squarebob Spongepants but try putting on LA The Darkman and selfsame indie strawmen are like “this is garbage.” Anyway.
15 Margareth Kammerer – I Carry Your Heart With Me
You may remember MK from her guest vocal on that Jason Forrest EP. I think this whole album, which is somewhat difficult to find, is great, but it’s like music for high-functioning sociopaths – so emotionally flat.
16 Whitney Houston – Didn’t We Almost Have It All
Whitney sounds so angry on those high notes it verges on punk. I was too lazy to hunt down the radio edit, which is :30 shorter.
17 [Matthew] Herbert – Wrong
Just worked in this spot. I love his Brakes All-Night Disco Party remix, but I almost wish he’d give up the techno and become a lounge singer.
18 Orange Juice – Rip It Up
Edwyn Collins: he’s so much more than I’ve Never Met A Girl Like You Before.
19 Oval – Photograph
The world’s best Def Leppard cover.
Mixtape #2
This is my new “indie” mixtape which, as you can see from the tracklist, isn’t so indie. Still, it’s a fun mix. Grab it! [75mb mp3 zip]
Tracklist:
Diamond Nights – Destination Diamonds: Thin Lizzy.
Ezra Reich – I Need A Moment Alone: The Cars
The Strokes – You Only Live Once: Yeah really.
Arab Strap – Stink: Still great after all these years.
Casiotone For The Painfully Alone – When You Were Mine: An impression of the Magnetic Fields covering Prince.
Neil Young – Falling Off The Face Of The Earth: His voice seems to be aging backwards.
TTC – Dans le club (Busy P remix): Neptunes. So exclusive.
Art Brut – Good Weekend: Art Brut is this quarter’s Bloc Party, for me.
Jens Lekman – A Sweet Summer’s Night On Hammer Hill: Modern Lovers demos.
The Double – Idiocy: Originally in the #2 slot.
The Joggers – Horny Ghost: Does not sound like The Unicorns.
Phantom Planet – The Living Dead: Your little sister likes this band.
The Advantage – Kraid’s Lair: Where have you heard this melody before?
Radiohead – I Want None Of This: Thom prepares for suicide by giving away his stuff.
Tom Vek – I Ain’t Saying My Goodbyes (Phones remix): Good remix.
Barry Manilow – Mandy: Your mom likes this song.
DJ Clitwack – Ancestral Flavor vol. 2
This is the first of my final two mixtapes of the year! This is a sequel to my first oldschool hip-hop tape, and honestly, it’s not as good as the first – still, some classic drops are within. It’s more like a pause tape than a mixtape, as I’m not actually mixing anything except the order of the songs. Tracklist is below. The link expires in seven days or 25 downloads, w/e/c/f.
AC vol. 2 [90mb zip->mp3+txt]
Sloan Twins sample – The Sloan Twins
The Dub B.U. Just Begun – Low Profile
Act A Fool (Compton mix) – King Tee
Know How – Young MC
City Boy – Poison Clan
Bitch Betta Have My Money – AMG
Pulse Of The Rhyme – Ice-T
Stretch Armstrong Freestyle – Big L
Go Where I Send Thee – Masta Ace
Because I Got It Like That – Jungle Brothers
I Got It Made – Special Ed
Ugly People Be Quiet – Cash Money & Marvelous
Cooky Puss – Beastie Boys
Ooo…nice – Vanessa Del Rio
Africa (Goin’ Back Home) – Doug E Fresh
I Do Not Sniff The Coke, I Only Smoke The Sensimilia – Pato Banton
Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children – Queen Latifah
Kick A Dope Verse – Cenobytes
Streets Of New York – Kool G Rap
Turn Off The Radio – Ice Cube
Time To Chill – D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Nite and Day – Al B. Sure
DJ Clitwack vol. 1: In The Pink Boat
I’ve been interested in mashups for ages, and have been wanting to make my own. I’m going to try Tracktion on the PC side as per this tutorial and GarageBand 2.0 as soon as I lay hands on it. I’m thinking about using indie loops with hiphop acapellas; my first try will probably be MF Doom versus The Kills.
“I hear you threw your computer out the window because you want to make something real…you want to make a Yaz record.”
Liner Notes
[Note: the links are for iTunes, except for the stuff that's not on iTunes. I'd put everything online myself but I don't have the space/don't want to get hassled by the RIAA.]
1. Evan Dando, Waking Up – I wanted to put It’s A Shame About Ray on but that’s way too well-known and loved and would have interrupted the mixflow. Then I rememberd reading on Kate Sullivan’s blog that she saw him live and his new material was great, and so I got a copy of his new album and it’s solid but this track leapt out at me like a sprung tiger. Beatles versus the Talking Heads and Evan sings like Hayden because he just ‘woke up.’
2. Bloc Party, Positive Tension – I know nothing about Bloc Party except they have a great record and everyone is listening to it. This track just grabbed me.
3. The Unicorns, Emasculate The Masculine – I know this could almost pass for Wheezer, but listen to the words.
4. The Rapture, Alabama Sunshine – The Rapture get French Kick-y on the break, whether they know it or not. Otherwise I love it because it reminds me of the 3-2-1 Contact theme song.
5. The Kills, At The Back Of The Shell – This song came to me via Skeet On Mischa and Fluxblog. It’s so dirty, I love it and plan to nab the first bar for my mashup record.
6. French Kicks, Piano – This is from their Young Lawyer EP and was distributed on the European version of One Time Bells. The Kicks are one of my favorite bands, period.
7. Bright Eyes, Take It Easy (Love Nothing) – Bright Eyes, Litwack? Digital Ash For A Digital Urn has some fantastic songs on it. Basically, this is what I wanted from Steven Merrit instead of that stupid I album.
8. Annie, Heartbeat – This is Pitchfork’s Single of The Year for 2004. Anniemal is what we get instead of a good Saint Eteinne record ever again. I like to think this song is sung to Annie’s dead boyfriend.
9. Arthur Russell, Make 1, 2 – This sounds like something Jeff Magnum would have recorded if he’d been 26 in the 70s on Quaaludes all the time and pals with Giorgio Moroder and Stevie Wonder. ‘One time you call me up but I don’t even have a phone’ – yeah!
10. Junior Boys, High Come Down – Thank you, Pitchfork. The term IDM kind of makes me sick now – sorry, if it doesn’t make me dance alone in my room it’s not dance music – but this is Intelligent Dance versus the best lessons of 80s pop and everybody wins. The album itself is a super heavy two caret diamond, go get it.
11. McLusky, There Ain’t No Fool In Ferguson – I like to think this song is about LA. It could also well be about the Urkrane.
12. Spoon, I Summon You – An acoustic demo off their forthcoming album. Cannot wait.
13. The Arcade Fire, No Cars Go – The only song I like off their first EP. The hype about them would be justified if every song on their album was as good as the first track. Worth keeping an eye on, anyway.
14. RJD2 feat. Ric Ocasek, Through The Walls – The last Cars song. RJ keeps his schitk under control and does it big.
15. Bill Cosby, Half Man – Just an intro.
16. Ol’ Dirty Bastard, High in the Clouds – Everybody loved Dirty except the federal government and what kills me about this track is how he says ‘now it gets serious’ at the beginning and it’s clear that he was trying to pull it together for Roc-A-Fella. Rest in peace, baby.
17. T. Rex, Mambo Sun – Phoneix put this song on a mixtape on wearephoenix.com and as I worship at their altar I checked it out. Solid gold. They say on oldies radio stations that ‘they’re not making any new oldies’ which is complete bullshit because there are always old songs that fit new moods and this is one of them. Fucking killer.
18. The Clean, Secret Place – John sent me the complete Clean and this is my pic. I love you John! Anyway, they were a New Zealand punk/new wave band who spun off some members into The Bats, which is the other New Zealand band that people know but sucks compared.
19. Leonard Cohen, There Is A War – There is a war. Not in the Middle East. The other one, our war.
20. Carlos Santana, Mahavishnu, John McLaughlin, Meditation – I don’t know why the fuck Santana went pop, I really don’t.
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