Domingo 22 Ene 2006, 7:04
OK so another month another mix tape. This one is a bit weird I guess because it isn't really what I am listening to right now but upon reflection it is pretty good. I was a bit worried about it but then when I listened to it I was like, hell yeah this is an awesome tape. If I didn't know all this music already I'd be blown away-. So anyway here's the lowdown:
The Apartments - Help: Wow what a pop song. I should really be writing these things as I'm listening to the cd but I'm not. OK now I am. So anyway this track comes off the fantastic compilation put out by Chapter records a few years back called "Can't Stop it: Australian Post Punk 1978-82". Let me just say that if you think you're down with it because you're listening to DNA and Gang of Four or whatever else it is you're listening to; if you haven't heard this album you're missing out. Back when I was living in Canada I had about the only patriotic moment of my life and went on a massive Australian post punk kick. Then this CD came out and I felt like I had wasted all my money buying the original albums. Anyway to cut a long story short everyone deserves a time in their life when they feel like Dogs In Space means something to them and they listen to Australian post punk. I could never do justice to this song after the write up it got in the booklet that accompanies the CD but I hope you love it.
Take me to the hotel Johanna (And let's trash the joint) - The Cannanes: So let's get it clear early on, I love three bands, Beat Happening, Spacemen 3 and the Cannanes. This isn't my favourite song of theirs, it doesn't come off my favourite record of theirs but I think it fits in with the mix well. Just to be a complete indie snob if you can track down a copy of the split they did with Sleepy Township do so it will fill you with bliss. Back onto this track I used to spend summer's down in Johanna Beach and I've always wondered if this song was written about that Johanna. Probably not, but its a great song none the less. If I could give this tape a "theme" it would be beer and cricket. It's summer I am back in Australia and this is kind of what was requested of me so if you are listening to this put the cricket on open a cold beer and pretend you are on a beach somewhere.
Tumbleweeds - Huon: David Nichols played in the cannanes for a long time, now he plays in Huon, Andrew Withycombe played in the Cat's Miaow (see the next track) and now he is in Huon (although Huon don't seem to do a lot these days). This track mentions Swanston Street (a street in the middle of Melbourne). Again when I was asked for Australiana on the tape I basically put on all the stuff that made me homesick when I was living overseas. Sadly I don't have my record player hooked up otherwise you would have got David's other band Crabsitick (the name of which in itself made me homesick for local fish and chips) but when I got my copy of Stud or Houseboy there was a song that mentioned Twisties and I just about cried.
Make a Wish - The Cat's Miaow: From memory the liner notes mention that the person counting in this song is Brian Wilson, how can you go wrong?! Not really your usual cat's miaow song (for starters it's a male vocal!) but I do love it and I couldn't make a tape like this without putting them on it. Go and buy yourself a copy of songs for girls to sing or a kiss and a cuddle I think they have both been released on multiple labels and they are amazing records. Alternatively spend the rest of your life trying to track down their catalogue of cassettes and 45s.
Other's Way - DoubleHappys: On the aforementioned Cat's Miaow CD they do an amazing cover of this song, in the liner notes they mention that it isn't as good as the original. When I was in New Zealand last year it was one of the few things I wanted to track down a copy of. I finally found it on 7" (it is a very early flying nun record and isn't exactly easy to find, in fact the first place I went to they hadn't even heard of it and he was a self confessed flying nun guru) anyway I found it I put it on and my knees went weak. It doesn't have the same effect on me anymore but it is an amazing song and hopefully it will have the same or a similar effect on anyone hearing it for the first time.
Double Summer - The Chills: So I kind of went from Australia to New Zealand and this obviously ties into the previous track by the use of the word double. By no means am I one of those people that claims Australian or New Zealand music is better than any other music simply because I hold a certain passport but they have put out some amazing bands (a lot of which feature on this cd). If you don't have it pick up a copy of the chills heavenly pop hits comp cd. Great music.
Art School - The Clean: oh how I love the clean. This track for some reason doesn't feature on their 2 cd comp on merge. Don't ask me why. I never went to art school but oh how I was jealous of all the hip looking people that did.
Geoffrey Ingram - Television Personalities: I associate the clean with the TVPs because of a friend of mine. Anyway he put out the live TVPs record called Chocolat Art Live that this version of Geoffrey Ingram comes from. This song tells the story in such a great way, not in a jealous rage (the way I would tell the story) but in a longing adoring way. It is much nicer than I would ever say it.
That's What You Always Say - Dream Syndicate: My current band covers this song. But we kind of play the Luna version. Anyway it seemed like it fit in quite well after the live TVP song, if you don't own it go and get a copy of The Days of Wine and Roses you can usually pick if up second hand for cheap and it is really good.
Pony Club - The Limp: Thins song makes me laugh so much. It also comes from the Can't Stop It comp. The story behind why it makes me laugh is quite funny. There is an Australian TV show for after school kids called saddle club. In it two of the girls read tarot cards. My girlfriend is big into tarot and it just makes me laugh by way of all the associations. Also that lyric "In my pony club/ with my ponytail" is just gold, who sings about ponytails?
Wave and a Sigh - Fog and Ocean: I think this is another band that features David Nichols. You can probably find out more about the band by searching for them on google than you could through me writing stuff here. This track comes from a comp cd put out on 555 records about 4 years ago. It features quite a lot of good bands from that time.
Modern Chemical - The Rondelles: So sometimes I might cop some shit for why I like songs. But basically if your song has the ability to place me in a situation that I can relate to or visualise then I will love it. This song does that so well. As dumb as it may sound I really do wish that what I feel when I hear a song like this could be felt by everyone who listens to such a song. I might miss the point entirely but if I do I'm glad. I don't really get the whole modern chemical in her hair thing, it is probably meant to be a metaphor for something I don't understand being a guy and never having sat in hairdressers waiting for a colour or whatever.
I need you - Kelly Slusher: Um I got this off a website years ago and I still love it. When I was looking on my itunes for songs to put on here I saw this one and it just had to make it on, so it did. No reason other than that. I don't own any of her records (assuming she has more than the one this track comes from) but I really should try and find them. I think the male vocal on this track in done by A Boy Named Thor, I just go the 100 songs thing he did on his website but haven't listened to any of the songs yet.
Nicolas Bragg - Cub: I had to find a song to bridge Television to indie pop (I have been in love with that track venus recently). So I decided on destroyer but it didn't quite bridge it enough, nic bragg is the guitarist in destroyer so I put this on, no other reason really.
Here Comes The Night - Destroyer: I listed to Streethawk: A Seduction every morning when I got up for about two months straight and fell completely in love with it. When This Night came out I didn't dig it so much then about a year later I bought the CD because it was being sold in the local bargain bin and realised just what I had been missing. Genius! Then I went on a This Night bender and well it hasn't ever really stopped.
Venus - Television: As well as the Australian component of this cd I was also asked to put on tracks I have been listening to a lot recently. My audioscrobbler might not show it but I have been listening to this track a lot. It was the one track I knew I was going to put on this mix before I started looking for things to put on it.
Nightime/Thirteen - Epic Soundtracks: I complained on my last mix tape about the Elliot smith cover of thirteen so I figured I would put this on here. Embarrassingly for the longest time I thought this was an original and couldn't understand why it only made it on as a mystery track on the CD.
Mercy, mercy, mercy - The Creation: So normally you put on a mix tape what you’ve been listening to recently. I have been listening to a bit of old time pop music. It all started when I tried to track down a copy of begin by the band millennium. Which I haven’t been able to do yet, but it got me to listening to a lot of old time stuff. Anyway here’s track one of that.
Do You Remember Walter - The Kinks: and here is track two. Remember way back at the start when I said this tape could be themed “beer and cricket” or some other such thing well this mentions cricket. Also it seems that in the last year every second person I know has moved overseas so the whole theme of this song fits in with that and all the reminiscing I am doing thanks to my Saturn return.
Windy - The Association: When I was in Japan one of the records I picked up was a comp of the 53rd and 3rd singles by the groovy little numbers. It had this track on there and I couldn’t remember who did the original yet I knew every word. So here is the original, by the association and a very nice way to finish things off.