Just click the first track below to start up this week’s edition–an official going-away mux by soon-to-be-ex-WW music editor Amy (her last name is too long to fit on Casey’s illustration) McCullough. In her own words, these songs were meant to fit under the common theme of “semi-chronological and anecdotal to my Portland- and/or WW-experiences.” In other words, sappy…and long-winded.

LISTEN (AND REMINISCE) WHILE YOU READ:

The Minders – Don’t You Stop
As soon as I moved to Portland (from Chicago via Eugene, oddly), I started working at the Bagdad Theater & Pub on Hawthorne. In fact, I had the job there locked down, as well as my WW internship, before I even had a place to live here. But I and my then-boyfriend eventually landed a Foster/Powell duplex, which led to my first true Portland music moment: Our upstairs neighbor was the first to play the Decemberists for me (while delivering a house-warming gift of ground weed in a little Tupperware container; he suggested we make brownies with it). Anywho, songs like “California One (Youth and Beauty Brigade)” and “July, July!” quickly gained heavy rotation in our household, which actually has nothing to do with the Minders….

My second big PDX music moment was seeing my boss, Minders keyboardist/vocalist/
sometime-drummer (and Bagdad manager) Rebecca Cole, open for the Shins at the Crystal Ballroom. I was all, “She tells me to take out the trash!” Her then-husband, singer/guitarist Martyn Leaper, worked upstairs in the kitchen (the kitchen at the Bagdad, for those who don’t know, is located directly above the box office area, up two flights of stairs and down a long hallway; man, did I have some calves back then!), and one lucky day he played a really early demo of this track for me, right there by the huge mixers, the cold table and the pizza ovens. I thought, my god, that’s good.

Besides being an awesome songwriter and all-around great guy to drink with, Leaper’s also forever raised the ranting-about-customers bar in my mind. His hilarious dismay at early-morning cheese quesadilla eaters—”Who orders a cheese quesadilla at 10 in the morning? Go ahead, break your butts!”—and McCobbler enthusiasts—”It’s just jam in crust!”—makes for some top notch humor (and the British accent and befuddled looks certainly don’t hurt, either). “Don’t You Stop” ended up on 2006’s It’s a Bright, Guilty World, my fave local album that year.

The Wrens – She Sends Kisses
Phew. That was a long one. This selection is slightly easier. I became completely obsessed with the Wrens’ Meadowlands (and specifically, perhaps unhealthily, this particular song) at some point during late summer ‘04. So the Wrens at the Roseland for that year’s MusicfestNW—during which I was working, not coincidentally, at the Bagdad—goes down as the show I’m most bummed about missing in Portland history. I did, however, get Charles Bissell (who’s currently moonlighting with Okkervil fucking River! Who designed that? God?!) to play the song solo two years later at South by Southwest. He asked me afterward if it “sounded okay.” What a guy.

Kissing Book – Superman vs. Lloyd
One of the first freelance assignments I had for WW was this story about Magic Marker Records’ Curt Kentner and the house venue he once ran that hosted a ridiculous amount of now-huge bands in (the Shins, Thermals, Decemberists, Mates of State; seriously, it’s stupid how many rad shows I missed at that house by not moving here sooner!). But that’s besides the point: Kentner put out a comp (aptly titled A House Full of Friends) commemorating the house and the artists who played there. That’s where I first heard Andrew Kaffer and, eventually, his older band Kissing Book. This, simply enough, is my favorite Kissing Book song. That “Sure, you don’t wanna hurt me/ But you do” just kills me. And it juxtaposes Lloyd freaking Dobler (John Cusack’s character from Say Anything) and Superman. That is just too much.

Love As Laughter – Idol Worship! Idol Worship!
This one goes out to Mr. Mark Baumgarten, my predecessor as WW music editor, good friend and esteemed whiskey-drinkin’ companion. It also, in what I’d like to call a dedication twofer, goes out to WW Arts & Culture editor Kelly Clarke, whose wedding (which, awesomely, took place alongside this super-cool wall of industrial ruins under the Morrison Bridge) inspired the merry-making that occurred to this song. Ohmigod, I just realized this can also go out to new music ed Casey Jarman, as he was my unofficial date to the wedding (I picked him up at after work at his old digs, the CD & Game Exchange. Aw). Dedication three-fer!

Drinks were consumed (doi, it was a wedding), and, en route to Casey’s basement for a post-wedding impromptu Morals show, we dropped the rag-top on my Cabrio and blasted ourselves some Love As Laughter. I’d been trying to convince Mark B. that Laughter’s Fifth is freakin’ brilliant (it is!), and I used “Idol Worship! Idol Worship!” to make my point. As I recall, he was standing in the back seat clutching the roll bar by the time we hit the Steel Bridge (which he is far too tall and waifish to do), so I think it’s safe to say, “I win!”

The Promise Ring – Tell Everyone We’re Dead
Oh lordy, do I love me some Davey von Bohlen. One of my all-time fave bandleaders ever—in all his perfect pop songwriter forms: Promise Ring, Vermont, Maritime and anything in-between (have you heard that Centro-matic split? G-zus!)—von Bohlen’s been a part of my musical life ever since I first played “Is This Thing On?” as a freshman college radio DJ. I actually got to interview him because of my super-rad job at WW, which was a shining moment of my career, for sure.

And, in keeping with the anecdotal mission of this mix, it’s got a li’l story attached to it, as well. A few autumns ago, I was hosting a sort of “transplants and orphans Thanksgiving,” and Mark B. stopped by for a bit of pre-dinner mingling. I was a wee bit drunk, of course (isn’t that the point of holidays?), and balancing a kitchen full of green bean casserole and yams and homemade pie and a giant turkey and all sorts of various buttery items when Mark let the cat out of the bag: He wasn’t that familiar with the Promise Ring. Well, you can bet your ass I laid right into him, and promptly brought every von Bohlen-related disc I own to work post-holiday, forcing him to import, import, import.

If I had to pick a favorite Davey tune, it might be “Stop Playing Guitar” off ’02’s epic last-stand, Wood/Water. Hmmm, or maybe “Red & Blue Jeans” from Nothing Feels Good. Or, uh…you get the picture: It’s a tough call that I will never officially make. “Tell Everyone We’re Dead” would certainly be in the running, though, if not my numero uno. Those “yeah, alright” and “sugar and water” refrains at the end are tits (Is it okay for a girl to say that? Well, I just did).

Tractor Operator – A.M. Sale
Boy oh boy, do old Tractor Op songs take me back. The first time I saw Mr. Eric Jensen play live, it was back in the late-fall/early-winter of ‘05 at Valentine’s. I was having some tough times personally, and was sort of estranged from my home at the time. As such, I got completely hammered with Mark B., Kelly C .and her hubby Dave and a few other folks after work at the VC (as WWers were wont to do back in the SW 10th Ave. days).

We eventually stumbled over to Valentine’s, ordered a bottle of wine and cozied our group into the venue’s upstairs loft space. We’d been rocking Tractor Operator’s self-titled debut quite a bit around the office, and I sure was jazzed about its opening track, “A.M. Sale.” Jensen was graciously taking requests, and I shouted that one out by name (I think we fumbled around at a few other requests by reciting lyrics). He delivered, and I remember it being one of the only times during that era of my life that I felt alright, or that it felt alright to feel like shit, anyway. That spacey guitar line bouncing around in the background paired with Jensen’s “Up side/ Down side/ Left side/ Right side” vocal pile-on at the end made chaos catchy—which was exactly what I needed to hear.

Soltero – The Moment You Said Yes
The next day, I walked from Southeast across the Hawthorne Bridge and back to WW’s office. I had a load of music calendar data entry to do and nowhere to go, really. I bought a breakfast sandwich and an OJ from 7-Eleven, and sat in the office with the lights turned off, listening to this song on repeat and doing nothing.

Super XX Man – I’m Alive Again
A few months later, I was in the WW parking lot—our office had since moved over to the Northwest side; in fact, we moved on Superbowl Sunday; I still remember that—minding my own business, burning the 2006 Jazz Fest calendar in Byron Beck’s metal garbage can (those festival calendars can be a bitch and burning’s, you know, cathartic). Mark B. and Kelly C. approached me and said I ought to go to SXSW that year. I was beyond stoked.

I pitched a story on Austin-to-Portland transplants Super XX Man, who were going back to play three very different sets at the fest (one at an art gallery, one at a day-party BBQ, and one at a noisy rock club) with members of its predecessor, Silver Scooter. At the time, I was really stuck on a song called “Hey Louise,” from Vol. VII, My Usual Way, but “I’m Alive Again,” from Vol. VI: Collecting Rocks, has since displaced it as my fave (for now). I’ve always been drawn to the simplicity of Scott Garred’s songwriting. It’s the kind of approach that calls attention to subtle, poignant transitions like the yearning statement, “I’d be alive again,” changing, without warning, to the affirmative: “I’m alive again.” Beautiful.

The Afghan Whigs – When We Two Parted
This is just one of the best songs ever, and I’d have a really hard time making a super-rad mix without it. The lyrics, the delivery (oh, that old-school, slightly off-key, droney Dulli delivery!), the emotion it translates—it all just feels so fucking raw and right on and real. This song speaks the truth, I tell ya…. And, in a related note, I saw the New Amsterdams play their cover of it at the same SXSW to which I tagged along with Super XX Man—right after a set by Dulli’s post-Whigs band the Twilight Singers. I mean, Dulli was in the same room! Now that’s pressure. New Amsterdams frontman Matt Pryor (also of the Get Up Kids) said it was supposed to be in homage, and in no way insulting. Both versions are pretty fantastic, if you ask me. It’s an unstoppable song! As in, its excellence cannot be stopped! Try to defeat it; I dare you. It can’t be done.

Aqueduct – Lying In the Bed I’ve Made
Around the time of last year’s MusicfestNW, I got really, really into Seattle-based keyboard-pop guru Aqueduct. His nostalgic lyrics and insane hooks—beware! perhaps more addictive than Mates of State’s Bring It Back, no joke!—burrowed deep into my brain, and I don’t think they’re leaving anytime soon. This is one of his more subdued numbers, the lead track to 2007’s Or Give Me Death. I like joining in on both the deadpan “sorrys” that pop up during the chorus and the shout-along “made!” of the title line. This particular tune also starts with some spoken words from frontman David Terry about “singing while driving down the highway,” which is always fun…even though this song is pretty sad.

Oh, and while we’re on the topic, did I mention that I asked Aqueduct—as well as Seattle sloppy-popsters BOAT and laidback locals Graves—to play my going-away show, July 30th at the Towne Lounge? Well, I did…AND THEY ALL SAID “YES!” Can you flippin’ believe that? I can’t, but it’s true. If I’m just drunk enough, I might request R. Kelly’s “Ignition.” Aqueduct, it would seem, likes to throw in the occasional R. Kelly cover (YouTube it and you’ll see what I mean). I might even want to sing along…like I said, if I’m just drunk enough.

Madonna – Cherish
An oldie but a goodie, I’m including this one because it’s the song that—along with Rumor Karaoke Studio in Beaverton—got me over my long-standing fear of karaoke. I was always super shy about it and way too concerned with how good a job I was or wasn’t doing. But Rumor is one of those private “karaoke box” places, where you rent a room all to yourself and just belt it out. Removing the audience aspect got me to come out of my shell a bit, and, because I’ve got a kind of low voice like Madge, “Cherish” turned out to be a perfect fit.

I also have a fun memory of singing this for a bunch of co-workers while decked out in totally ’80s garb after a recent WWholiday party (it was ’80s prom”themed). We post-partied at NE MLK sometime-karaoke bar the Kiknbaque Lounge, and we all looked ridiculous. Kelly C. said after my performance that she could tell I was actually singing to Jimmie (my guy). Aw.

Okkervil River – Lost Coastlines
I get kind of weird sometimes about listening to new material by bands I really love a whole lot. Such is the case with this new (er, forthcoming) Okkervil River record. I want to spend some alone time with it. You know, get a bottle of wine, put something comfortable on, give us some time to get to know each other. WW received an advance copy of the disc—a sequel, if you will, to The Stage Names (titled The Stand-Ins)—a week or so ago (I’m assuming it’s okay to post this particular track since it’s all over the ‘net already), and this is the only song I’ve been able to listen to so far. I’m going on a SAILING TRIP, for crissakes. And it’s called “LOST COASTLINES.” And it’s SOOO GOOD: It has Will Sheff singing all deep down in his low register for a verse; it has jangly rhythm guitar and a bouncy, “Lust for Life”-ish beat; it has a belted-out “la la la” refrain. Honestly, I don’t know if I can take it. For now, I’m planning to save the rest of the album for the open sea. It’ll take some willpower, but I think the payoff will be worth it. I think the payoff for all this will be really, really worth it.

Thanks, y’all. It’s been grand. It really has.

Links:
Amy’s first column
Amy’s last column
Amy’s sailing story for WW’s Summer Guide

Photo: taken by Jimmie Buchanan, ITM art by Casey Jarman.

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LISTEN (AND DANCE) WHILE YOU READ: LocalCut Muxtape – Ryan Feigh

Or (ingeniously), click on the first track below to get things poppin’:

DJ Drama & Saigon – “My Favorite Things”

I thought this would be a good leadoff track as the following songs are a few of MY favorite things. People who know me know that I’m obsessed with hip-hop, and Saigon is one of my favorite MCs right now. This is from the Welcome To Saigon mixtape he did with DJ Drama. Some may recognize DJ Drama as the guy who, along with his business partner DJ Cannon, was arrested on racketeering charges in January 2007 after a raid of the Atlanta offices of their Aphilliates Music Group. Authorities seized nearly 81,000 CDs and held them both in jail until they posted bail, however no charges have stuck since. Basically, the RIAA does not understand the mixtape culture.

I’m a huge fan of mixtapes in general, as it’s a way for hip-hop artists to get their music out to the streets in an “unofficial” manner, often free via download and/or on cheap CDs that bypass the traditional distribution of the music industry. This allows for a playfulness as well as a complete disregard for clearing samples and other nagging legalities that wouldn’t fly at a major label. I’m all for it though, and think that so-called indie-rock labels should and will follow their lead.

Freedom Fighters – “Bob Dylan’s 119th Dream”

Before I moved to Portland I lived in St. Paul, MN finishing my final 3 years of school at Hamline University–which was just a short walk away from a venue called the Turf Club. To this day it remains my favorite music venue in the Twin Cities, and I learned more at the Turf Club than I did at my “real” University.

I ended up eventually leaving Hamline one credit short of an official graduation as they wouldn’t transfer my History of Science class from UW-Madison and I didn’t want to stick around for a summer school Chemistry lab as my heart and mind was already in Portland. So lines like, “I’m on a train bound for glory/and Bob Dylan can’t live for me” and “I found out the fraud of University/And I found out the best things inside of me” were particularly poignant to my 25-year-old self and still resonate today.

I am also a HUGE Bob Dylan fan, so rather than get into a long-winded discussion about how underrated Steet Legal is, or bicker about lost B-sides, I thought this track would suffice by proxy.

Del Tha Funkee Homosapien – “Phoney Phranchise (Domino Remix)”

Summer 2001, I drove halfway across the country and finally landed in Portland. Up until that point my only real job history was working at record stores (Electric Fetus represent). But much to my dismay I found that no one in town would hire a recently transplanted Midwesterner such as myself. And in retrospect I don’t blame them. So, I spent a couple of months selling CDs and records I had accumulated in order to eat and have a place to sleep until I found a “real” job. In these transactions I would almost never take the “trade” option as I so desperately needed the cash.

But one afternoon I spotted this EP from Del at Jackpot on Hawthorne and, as it was an EP, the price was right. I still love this track, and I definitely prefer the Domino production to Del’s on the original. I understand why Del wants to be so hands on with creating the sounds that back his vocals up, but to me he’s like the opposite of how I feel about Kanye. I would be perfectly content if Mr. West stuck to production and making beats and never picked up a mike again in his life. The inverse applies to Del for me. Also he is my must see pick for MusicFest NW this summer.

Lastly, my favorite line is, “With my headphones slammin’/playin’/Iron Maiden/Sleeping in the lobby in the Days Inn.”

Wale – “The Artistic Integrity”

Another mixtape track from Wale’s recently dropped The Mixtape About Nothing. The whole mixtape is inspired by the show Seinfeld, and I find the whole thing brilliant. Whether discussing racism on “The Kramer” or the music industry post-Napster on “The Opening Title Sequence” (where he spits over the slap bass show intro), I find Wale to be intelligent, wordly, and refreshingly aware far beyond the average rapper.

Also this DC MC, like Jack Kerouac, went to college on a football scholarship only to eventually drop out in order to pursue his art full time.

Dolly, Dolly – “When You’re A Phantom”

Speaking of artistic integrity, this local cat has it in spades. This track was recorded under the moniker “Dolly, Dolly,” although he now has a more experimental persona called “The Pepper Clouds” which you can find on MySpace where he’s constantly adding new musical experiments.

When my first ever digital video camera arrived in my mailbox last summer I had some movies due back at Movie Madness that same afternoon. So I tested out the camera on my walk there and back, edited my favorite scenes together, slapped this song on as the soundtrack, and volia! My first ever YouTube clip was born.

Anyway, this guy is an amazing artist in every sense of the word. He also did an unbelievable rendition of “Dixieland” Elvis-style at the Lloyd Center Mall at that “studio” that used to be a couple spots down from Sears in winter ’06.

Jib Kidder – “Mystikal S**t”

I think that, other than Bob Dylan and Dykeritz, I have more tracks by Jib Kidder than anyone else on my iTunes. This guy was somehow blessed to be born in the E*Rock mold. Meaning, not only is he an amazingly prolific musician, but he’s also super talented in countless other artistic endeavors—including graphic design, having an impeccable taste in all kinds of music (which he releases and mixes under the name DJ Kid Slizzard), and running his own southern rap/bounce related blog: www.twankleandglisten.blogspot.com. I first heard the track “Y’all Want That Drell” by him on the States Rights Bro Zone comp and have been an unabashed fan ever since.

The Watery Graves – “Marco Polo”

Maybe it’s because I listen to so much hip-hop, but often when I listen to other music I yearn for instrumental jams. And as far as Portland music goes I can think of no one who does it better than this Marriage Records crew, The Watery Graves of Portland.

I Played a Dykeritz show with these guys once at the old Acme (with At Dusk also if I remember correctly) and they blew me away. I was especially impressed as I was familiar with Davis Hooker from …..worms which he sings for, through my boy Sam Schauer/Humans/Modernstate who drums for them. And he totally mastered music that was on the complete opposite end of the spectrum I was used to associating him with. Anyway, I love this band, and I love Marriage Records.

Dear Nora & Casiotone For The Painfully Alone – “Hot Boyz”

Sweet sweet cover of the Missy Elliott hit that makes up the bottom piece of musical bread of the States Rights/Marriage sandwich. And I’m psyched how it’s obviously done with love sans irony. This is not at all like that bluegrass band doing “Gin & Juice” or Jay-Z doing Oasis because it’s supposed to be funny. You can hear the respect amidst the tape hiss.

I love how this track combines my love of hip-hop with esoteric lo-fi what what. And Owen Ashworth, aka CFTPA, totally KILLS his verse despite sounding so sluggish and laconic that he makes J Mascis sound like a hyper Zach De La Rocha in comparison.

Also, not sure who is on the vocals re: the Dear Nora crew, although my guess would be Katy Davidson. But one of the other founding members of that group, Marianna Ritchey, gets my vote for “Best Blogger Ever Even Though I’ve Never Met Her & If I Was A Major Publisher I Would Instantly Sign Her For A Book Deal” Award. (www.urbanhonking.com/regarding).

P.S. Both Katy and M. Ritchey have a new States Rights project entitled ‘Lloyd & Michael’ you should check as well.

DJ Green Lantern Presents Charles Hamilton – “No Escaping”

I love Nas and all, but this is the reason hip-hop isn’t dead yet. 20 year old kid from Harlem who teams up with DJ Green Lantern and makes a mixtape that “brings you a story all about how/hip-hop got twisted upside down.” And he rocks the piano at the end and showcases how he got accepted the Berklee College of Music, despite his decision not to attend. You can blame/thank Jimmy Lovine for that.

Starfucker – “Myke Ptyson”

I was hopng to use the Fresh Prince & DJ Jazzy Jeff’s “I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson” for this slot, but due to some licensing snafus I ended up with this track instead.

Nah, seriously though, Starfucker is my favorite Portland band by far, and I can’t get enough of its new album. It’s not out officially yet, but come September it’s gonna blow up courtesy of Badman Recording Co. which I’ve loved forever. In fact my favorite St. Paul/Minneapolis musician, Mark Mallman, has dropped some stuff on that label too.

This is the song I listen to on my iPod with my headphones when I wake up kind of hungover and I’m on my way to work and I’m kind of hating life, but I want to get psyched about being alive and get into a positive mood. It does the trick every time.

P.S. the code to fight Mike Tyson on Nintendo’s Punch Out is: 007 373 5963

(Simon &) Garfunkel – “Heart In New York”

I remember when Starfucker’s MySpace had an image of Garfunkel as the profile pic, and it brought me back. When I was in high school I was a big theater/choir nerd. So big that I was in a four man a capella group called Madison Avenue. Top that wannabe music geeks! Chock Full Of Nuts indeed.

So yeah, I was by no means the most talented of the bunch. Case in point, the other three have gone on to solid careers as a music professor, a high school choral conductor, and a professional opera singer. Apparently they let my lack of musical talent slide due to my enthusiasm and stage presence. Which, thinking about it now, explains how I am still in a band to this day.

Anyway, while my peers were uncovering the latest Sebadoh 7 inches and Pavement imports I was shoo-be-dooing to Boyz II Men and the Nylons and rocking out to Simon and Garfunkel on my walkman.

I like this song the most because I too love New York. Almost as much as I like hearing Art’s voice minus Paul’s. Also, it’s a lot sweeter than James Iha’s.

Nomadic Noize – “Loungin@theaalto”

I used to have a radio show on the old PRA pre-FCC bust from Midnight-2am Monday nights/Tuesday mornings. And the DJ before me was this rad guy named Eli/aka Nomadic Noize. This is his music. Also I frequent the Aalto a lot. Perhaps more than is healthy to do so. Maybe I’ll see you there this summer….

Links:
Lucky Madison Records
Dykeritz
Marriage Records
States Rights Records
Mike Tyson’s Punch Out

Photo courtesy of Ryan Feigh

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Depper (right), seen here with dance music icon Moby (bald, smiling, left).

LISTEN WHILE YOU READ: LocalCut Muxtape – Dave Depper

Or (ingeniously), click on the first track below to get things started:

Citay – “First Fantasy”

Fact #1: I am genetically predisposed toward music that features layer upon layer of trippy guitars. Citay is like an army of stoners marching slowly toward you, armed with acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and phase shifters, ready to soundtrack your next wake-and-bake session/lovemaking/long drive/scuba dive with bobbing heads and sleepy smiles. These dudes are on Dead Oceans, a label that’s been pretty unstoppable since setting up shop in the last couple of years. I had the pleasure of sharing a tiny floor with half of this band and Phosphorescent for a week straight at SXSW earlier this year, but that’s another story.

Bobb Trimble – “If Words Were All I Had”

I’m a relatively new convert to the church of Bobb Trimble, having bought the vinyl reissue of his debut, Iron Curtain Innocence, at Slowtrain Records in Salt Lake City on the basis of its cover art alone. Dude put out two albums in the early ’80s and was pretty much never heard from again (I’m not an expert on the subject), but damn, what crazy shit this Bobb Trimble stuff is. More than anything, I get the feeling that Ween’s weirder pre-Elektra stuff was heavily influenced by Trimble. This song is one of the more straightforward things he put down (it’s on his second, and final album) but I picked it because it is simultaneously gorgeous and deeply strange, much like the women I tend to date.

The Pretty Things – “Grass”

In which the rock-gods-that-almost-were singlehandedly invent the sound of ’70s Pink Floyd. This album, Parachute, is another of my favorite jams of all time and was recorded at Abbey Road while los Beatles were laying down the album of the same name. Still not sold? Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say:

“The reviews at time of release were very positive, with Rolling Stone naming [Parachute] the best album of 1970, over Let it Be by the Beatles, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominoes, Morrison Hotel by the Doors, Pearl by Janis Joplin, After the Gold Rush by Neil Young, Moondance by Van Morrison, and Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel.”

The Chameleons – “Swamp Thing”

One of those bands that should have been at least as big as their contemporaries (I’m looking at you, Echo & the Bunnymen and The Cure) but were inexplicably exiled to the netherworld of music nerds and Anglophiles, the Chameleons put out three freaking incredible albums in the mid ’80s. I’d take Strange Fruit over Pornorgraphy or Ocean Rain any day.

Well, maybe not Ocean Rain.

John Cale – “Andalusia”

The prettiest song on an album chock full of ‘em. JC’s second proper solo album after leaving the Velvet Underground, Paris 1919 is very likely in the top 10 list of my favorite albums of all time. Lyrical insightfulness and pure gorgeousness throughout. I don’t know anybody that doesn’t love it. You should probably go buy this album right now, dude.

Jeremy Jay – “Nite Nite”

I read a review of Jeremy Jay’s A Place Where We Could Go in which the album was described as something like “a soundtrack to a Wes Anderson film that doesn’t exist yet” which is probably pretty accurate. In fact, I’ll go one further and postulate that said film is entitled Grand Steinway, about a family of piano tuners who possess ESP, but only at twilight. Hijinks ensure.

Quiet Village – “Pillow Talk”

Fact #2: I am a sucker for any music that sounds like the soundtrack to a pornographic movie, and doubly so if said music samples a jam by Alan Parsons Project. There’s been a lot of buzzy-ness about Quiet Village ’round the Interweb of late, and I can’t stop listening to its stony, sexy grooves. Who doesn’t like stony, sexy grooves, man?

Four Tet – “Ringer”

Yeah, yeah, this is kind of out of place on this Muxtape, but I’ve been listening to it pretty nonstop and I feel the need to get it out there. The first time I heard it, I thought “what repetitive garbage! Four Tet, how mightily you have fallen since the salad days of Rounds!” and second time I was all, “hmm, doth I detect some subtle variations and shifts in mood?” and then the third time I was totally like “damn it, Four Tet, you have drawn me into your colorful web once again! I prostrate myself before your unfuckwithable genius!” I mean, come one, that drum break at 8:06 that lasts for less than a minute? AHHHHHHHHHHH!

Scott Walker – “Duchess”

This is a peaceful little number off of my personal favorite of the maestro’s albums, Scott 4. I wish that I had more to say about it, but I don’t. Well, maybe I do. There’s no individual musicians credited in the liner notes, but the bass performance is strongly reminiscent of the great Herbie Flowers’ playing on Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” IS THE BASS ON THIS SONG PLAYED BY HERBIE FLOWERS ALSO? Can anybody solve this mystery for me?

Vetiver – “Hook and Ladder”

Vetiver is one of those sleepy, pretty folk bands that might seem mundane on paper, but upon listening it’s apparent that they possess that extra spark that sets them apart from the 8 million other pretty folk bands. They’ve just come out with an album of covers called Thing of the Past, and they cover all sorts of weird, obscure things. “Hook and Ladder” was written by Norman Greenbaum, who is much better known for writing that incredibly annoying “Spirit in the Sky” song, which made me want to throw things at my television whenever the trailer for Apollo 13 came out in 1999 or whatever.

Pavement – “Harness Your Hopes”

I’ve been pretty obsessed with this b-side to “Spit on a Stranger” recently. It sounds like it should have been on Brighten the Corners, and it features the utterly incredible line “show me a word that rhymes with Pavement/and I won’t kill your parents and roast them on a spit.” It would serve as Malk’s finest moment of self-reference until “he knew not what band he mixed/ they sounded a bit like the Zephyr and a bit like the Jicks” from Pig Lib’s “1% of One.” Oh, Steve.

Sparks – “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us”

Sparks is the most frighteningly prolific and consistent band in history. It’s true. Don’t even try to argue with me. I didn’t say the best; I said prolific and consistent. Anyhow, this is from their early years, when they sounded like a cross between Queen and Roxy Music. I’ve played this for people recently who were shocked to discover that it was recorded in 1974 instead of 2000-something. Just this month, these guys released their 21st album. Do not even try to front on that.

Thanks again to Dave for making the mix and putting up with some serious flakiness on my part. If you guys like this, let us know who else around town you’d like to see a mix from, and we’ll see what we can do. Happy 4th!

Links:
Dave DepperTape
Norfolk & Western
Loch Lomond
Graves
White Hinterland

Photo courtesy of Muxtape

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