I'm always looking for new stuff, and luckily, you know more than I do. Have something to recommend? email me. Have a show coming up? Let me know: topomodesto[at]gmail[dot]com
For a while now (and when I say a while I mean more than 3 days… more like since i started doing monthly mixes), I’ve wanted to do a delta blues-themed mix. But every month something new comes along that I really want to put on a mix and I scrap the blues for a more eclectic mix. Occasionally one or two blues tracks make it in to the otherwise indipophoptronicoul mixes, but this one is finally dedicated to being more of mood music than the other mixes. And it was hard too… this month the new Diamond District and Tap Tap nearly put me over the edge. Luckily my all-together behindedness assembling selections forced my hand. Yes there are a couple gospel tracks, a jazz track and a 60s blues track, but I think they all fit the mood. Mississippi Records (out of Portland, Not Mississippi) should get some credit for this mix, as I used 3 tracks from their own delta blues and gospel LPs. Go out and research further into any of these artists, there is plenty more to be rediscovered. Well, except maybe Radio Four… I don’t think there really is anything else by them.
November 2009 Mix
01 Cryin’ Sam Collins – Lonesome Road
02 Cecil Gant – I Wonder
03 Radio Four – Walk Around My Bedside
04 Jack Teagarden – Stars Fell On Alabama
05 Mississippi John Hurt – Stack O’Lee Blues
06 Memphis Minnie – North Memphis Blues
07 Elmore James – Dust My Broom
08 Kokomo Arnold – Milk Cow Blues
09 Robert Wilkins – That’s No Way To Get Along
10 Washington Phillips – The Church Needs Good Deacons
I’m late on this month’s mix, so I’m not going to bother going on about it too much. How could you not like Kitty, Daisy & Lewis‘ bluesy Canned Heat cover? The Nouvelle Vague track is another guilty pleasure cover that made it in to this one. Finale makes it on to another mix, from his album deep with amazing tracks… This one is produced by electronic producer, Dimlite, who was featured last month. I only recently noticed The Middle East after Jason Bentley played them one morning, but they seem like a nice Rogue Wave + female vocals act, and I mean that in a good way. Wrapping up this month is the hipster collaboration to define hipsterdom for the next decade, Michael McDonald singing Grizzly Bear‘s “While You Wait For The Others.” I know that, just in that it exists, it is like the epitome of hipster irony: to have a 70s yacht rocker incorporated into an indie track; but at its heart, it is a pretty awesome song and enjoyable listen. I give them credit for making it happen.
[I really don't remember where I got the banner image from, but it was some "boring postcards" collection or something. The font is Pattua]
October 2009 Mix
01 Kitty, Daisy & Lewis – Going Up The Country (Canned Heat cover)
02 14KT – Black N Gold (prod. by Black Milk)
03 Themselves & Why? – Canada
04 Holiday Shores – Phones Don’t Feud
05 The Middle East – Blood
06 Tsunami – Hockey
07 Nouvelle Vague – In A Manner Of Speaking (Tuxedomoon cover)
08 Mayer Hawthorne – Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out (Astronote El Camino Remix)
09 Finale – Issues
10 Grizzly Bear with Michael McDonald – While You Wait for the Others
The last two months were some good summer, poppy mixes, and I suspect that the friends who liked them may be let down by this one. Fair enough, you have to have contrast in order to make an impact. There are a few electronic acts in this one: Larytta is a cool experimental act that a friend turned me on to; Dimlite I know from arguably my 2nd favorite beat from Finale‘s A Pipe Dream And A Promise; and then there is Guidance Counselor, who piqued my interest with the Talking Heads-sounding “Creature” on their recent Demolisten appearance.
Other than that it is all pretty much standard awesomeness. I owe finding Crayon Fields to last month’s Carbirdseat mix, which I promise to continue to rip off in the future.
September 2009 Mix
01 Larytta – Money For Pizza
02 The Black Keys – I’ll Be Your Man
03 Crayon Fields – Mirror Ball
04 Dimlite – Back To The Universe Pt. 2
05 Guidance Counselor – Creature
06 Thunder Power – Sleep, Not Violence
07 Okkervil River – He Passes Number Thirty-Three
08 Marion Black – Go On Fool
09 IAM – Demain, C’est Loin
10 DJ Jazzy Jeff – Musik Lounge (feat. Oddisee)
This past month I resurrected this early Smog (Bill Callahan) track, “A Hit,” and thought it would be good for a mix. Little did I know at the time that it would make for a pseudo theme for the month, but it’s appropriate. “It isn’t going to be a hit, so why even bother?” I definitely have some should-be hits in this collection, from Bo Diddley‘s “I Can Tell,” which feels ripe for use in a Showtime or HBO show; The Rural Alberta Advantage‘s “The Dethbridge In Lethbridge,” which is so catchy that it deserves frequent radio-play; and Binary Star‘s all-but-forgotten gem, “Reality Check.” Binary Star were a short lived hip-hop group from Pontiac, Michigan whose album, Masters Of The Universe, was a collection of anti-industry shout-outs backed by fantastic production. I love how the beat tricks you with an intro that fades out be for opening up to a more delicate piano loop.
I also included a bit more poppy songs than usual. This YACHT track, off their just-released DFA debut, See Mystery Lights. To me it feels like this year’s MGMT, only with inspiration from The Talking Heads rather than MGMT’s Bee-Gees appropriation. Then there is Ultra Orange & Emmanuelle‘s “Don’t Kiss Me Goodbye,” which I mistook for a Concretes song when I first heard it played in a vintage shop in Long Beach. An unnamed track on a store mix CD, I wasn’t able to figure out who it was until renting The Diving Bell And The Butterfly, a 2007 film in which it was used. On the store mix it had been placed alongside The Velvet Underground, which seems entirely appropriate considering the distorted guitars and Emmanuelle Seigner’s Nico-like singing. And finally, The Pica Beats are finally making it on to one of these mixes. Their track, “Shallow Dive,” has nearly been included a few months now, but ultimately it is “Poor Old Ra,” which I first heard on Catbirdseat last year, which I’m including. I love the condescending manner of of characterizing Egyptian gods of old, and the thought of Ra as a disheveled, past-his-prime hobo.
August 2009 Mix
01 Smog – A Hit
02 The Rural Alberta Advantage – The Dethbridge In Lethbridge
03 Bo Diddley – I Can Tell
04 Ultra Orange & Emmanuelle – Don’t Kiss Me Goodbye
05 Outerlimitz – Greater Things
06 Arthur Alexander – Soldier Of Love
07 Binary Star – Reality Check
08 The Pica Beats – Poor Old Ra
09 State Bird – I Don’t Luv U Anymore
10 YACHT – Psychic City (Voodoo City)
This one was almost late, so I’m going to save the long mix description. Mostly newer stuff again this month, somewhat grounded by Les Savy Fav and Carissa’s Wierd. Those and The Mosby Family Singers’ “Eternal Life,” which made its way onto Mississippi Records’ 2008 compilation, Oh Graveyard, You Can’t Hold Me Always, as well as Paul Chaplain & His Emeralds’ “Shortnin’ Bread,” which is hard to find, save inclusion on the Bob Dylan-curated radio show compilation, Theme Time Radio Hour, also released last year. Most of the others are newer, although Forest Fire, Pete & The Pirates, and hip-hop album of the year nominee Finale have all made their way onto older mixes. I found Pariah via Gorilla vs. Bear. Enjoy.
July 2009 Mix
01 The Mosby Family Singers – Eternal Life
02 Forest Fire – Fortune Teller
03 Pete And The Pirates – Knots
04 Noah And The Whale – Rocks And Daggers
05 Finale – No More Mr. Nice Guy (prod. House Shoes)
06 Beach House – Apple Orchard
07 Pariah – Detroit Falls (Mixdown)
08 Les Savy Fav – Je T’Aime
09 Paul Chaplain & His Emeralds – Shortnin’ Bread
10 Carissa’s Wierd – Heather Rhodes
I sometimes wonder if – of the two or three people that listen to these mixes – if they appreciate the variety of the mixes as much as I do or if it just comes off as a self-congratulatory exercise in showing my taste. I don’t think anyone else in the world would couple Pete & The Pirates with Slum Village in a mix, but I really like the coupling here. Pete & The Pirates are the other face of (Hearsay 2006 favorites) Tap Tap. The voice is the same, but I have to admit that I wasn’t aware of the Pirate variation of the group until the WOXY session that they at SxSW. They played a bunch of new songs in that set that I’m looking forward to, but I’m absolutely in love with “Moving.” I’m pretty sure that I found this Catcall song after watching a Pitchfork.tv video of it last year. It almost made the videos of the year list on the strength of the song alone. I still know very little about them, except that they (she) are from Australia. There you go.
A couple throwback hip-hop tracks here: a remix of Nas from a Justus League bootleg CD, and the aforementioned Slum Village track, which I’ve found myself returning to ever since Finale‘s album closer/bonus track, produced by Flying Lotus, that pays homage to it. Speaking of which, there’s a Flying Lotus remix of Mia Doi Todd on here too. I mentioned Diamond Districtlast month – the Oddisee-helmed group from DC/Maryland/Virginia (self-termed as “DMZ”). “The Shining” is one of only 2 tracks that aren’t produced by Oddisee, and even though I love his tracks, it is somehow more emblematic of the album’s vibe than any other.
If you don’t keep up on the blogs, The Rural Alberta Advantage is a band that is getting a lot of attention, first for the similarities in the vocals to that of Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel fame. It’s a fair comparison, but one that ignores the peppy Broken Social Scene feel of the instrumentation. They also signed to Saddle Creek. I really dig “The Deadroads.”
June 2009 Mix
01 Nas – Second Childhood (Bluegrasspedroremix)
02 Catcall – August
03 Pete And The Pirates – Moving
04 Slum Village – Fall N Love (prod. J Dilla)
05 Diamond District – The Shining (prod. Dung)
06 Why? – As I Went Out One Morning (Bob Dylan cover)
07 The Rural Alberta Advantage – The Deadroads
08 Helene Smith – True Love Don’t Grow On Trees
09 Mia Doi Todd – My Room Is White (Flying Lotus Remix)
10 The Be Good Tanyas – Waiting Around To Die (Townes Van Zandt cover)
April was a good month for hip-hop. There was Finale‘s A Pipe Dream And A Promise, 2 albums from DC/Maryland’s producer/rapper Oddisee, and then a bunch of hints of what’s to come from Elzhi, Black Milk and others. So I’m kicking this month off with the obvious statement that “Hip Hop’s Cool Again.” I know, I basically claimed the same thing at the beginning of the year… But I had no idea then how good Q-Tip’s album would be, that Oddisee had grown so much since the few tracks that didn’t catch my attention years ago, or that Finale would match his unique cadence and flow with the depth of a well-crafted album.
So, like I said, first up is “Hip Hop’s Cool Again” off Oddisee’s solo LP, Mental Liberation. He also fronts a group, Diamond District, who just made a clean version of their soon-to-be-released LP, In The Ruff, available for free HERE. Honestly there’s not that much cursing so it’s not that far off from the final product, but it is good enough that I’m definitely going to pick it up, and I bet that this method of marketing the album pays off.
Besides for Little Big Adventure‘s “Happiest Times,” soon to be released by Labrador, most of the rest of this month is some older stuff. I really like this Charlemagne song, but it took me a while to weed through the cheeriness of Detour Allure to appreciate it. This Heartworms track is pretty hard-to-find (at least for me), and is the version from the very first Little Darla Has A Treat For You sampler that I still remember picking up in ’95 at Kim’s Underground West Village location. The Thermals cap off the mix… “Test Pattern” is far more 50s rock than the rest of The Body The Blood The Machine, and it is probably my favorite.
May 2009 Mix
01 Oddisee – Hip Hop’s Cool Again
02 DJ Andrew Unknown & DJ Mekalek – Premier
03 Charlemagne – Nematode
04 Little Big Adventure – Happiest Times
05 Lilys – Catherine (Let A Positive Stream…)
06 Black Milk – Dreams
07 Heartworms – Really Really Really Sorry Parts 1 & 2
08 Finale – Heat (prod. J Dilla)
09 Archers of Loaf – Hate Paste
10 The Thermals – Test Pattern
If the building looks familiar, its probably because it was designed by the same architectural team that designed Grand Central Station in New York. Abandoned since 1988, the building fell into severe disrepair through the 90s. With tower windows blown out and deteriorating vaulted waiting rooms, the building is now a modern ruin: a symbol of what was (and what never was) in Detroit and the difficult heritage left to this nearly forgotten city. For me, in Detroit it seemed and emblematic symbol of both the problems that the city faced as well as the unique quality and potential of the city. Over the years, I realized I was not alone in seeing the building as a symbol: besides for use as a car chase backdrop in Michael Bay movies, the building made it’s way into Godfrey Reggio’s Naqoyqatsi (see the opening below), and most recently in videos for local rappers, Invincible (with Finale) and Black Milk.
I hope that the council reconsiders ordering demolition. I recognize the difficulty that literally living in ruins proves for residents, but I don’t think that erasing one’s history is a way to move forward. Or at least to move forward as a unique and engaging city. As Invincible noted, when you “mow down Motown for a parking lot next to the game,” “it’s like erasing Proof, only remembering Eminem’s name.” It would be such a shame to loose this buiding – this history – for an empty lot. It would be to answer local residents’ pleas for assistance with a deafening silence.
PS – Picked up Finale’s debut, A Pipe Dream And A Promise, yesterday at Record Store Day. Detroit hip-hop has truly gotten out of control. Heat!
It took me a while to get around to doing a proper writeup this month… I don’t know, it might just be me, but the slow build of Forest Fire‘s “Slow Motion” with the heavy drums and blazing recorders is awesome. Sounds like it would fit into a Wes Anderson sequence. Towards the end of the movie. I’m feel obliged to put Kurt Vile (of The War On Drugs), The Mary Onettes, and Foreign Born on here. But they’re all great songs so I don’t expect any lip for it. Noah23 made it into Cokemachineglow’s year end picks, and is wothwhile for the Daniel Johnston sample alone. And can you believe that this Nobody beat is relegated to Interlude status? I mean Pacific Drift is good, but that is some stand out track shit right there. Oh yeah and I finally put anotherHoney Brothers track on one of these mixes. A bit tacky, maybe, but I love the Weezer-ness of it all. Couple throwbacks to round out this months selections. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
April 2009 Mix
01 Forest Fire – Slow Motion
02 Kurt Vile – Freeway
03 The Honey Brothers – Some Of Them Are Nice Days
04 Noah23 feat. Ceschi – Faded
05 Nobody – Interlude 2
06 The Mary Onettes – Dare
07 Foreign Born – Vacationing People
08 Oxford Collapse – B-Roll
09 Close Lobsters – I Take Bribes
10 Descendents – Bikeage
Pretty much as soon as it posted, I fell in love with the Pale Young Gentlemen cover of M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” from Cokemachineglow‘s annual Fantasy Covers Podcast. Only imagining the effort that it takes CMG to organize these collections, I was hesitant to appropriate the song for a mix until chromewaves pointed out that the band had sent it out themselves as well. I’m not all that familiar with the work of the Gentlemen, but I was shocked to find out that, despite every lyrical hint they could give me short of big-upping their high school in an ad-libbed verse, they weren’t a Scottish band, but rather one from Wisconsin with an accent that I still refuse to accept as American. The instrumentation of the Clash sample, gun and cash register sound effects, as well as the toned down mood of the track make it irresistible.
I’m also finally posting a Lattimore Brown track, and fellow vintage soul fans might also enjoy the Nas/Marley Marl-sampled Soul Children track. Throw Me The Statue is a band from Seattle that used to sound awfully Andrew Bird to me, but this track from their new EP has a very different sound and appeals to me on a much more Pedro The Lion meets Havergal way. Lykke Li has been getting a good deal of radio play, at least out here in L.A., but mostly for her song, “Little Bit” rather than “Tonight,” which substance(s) had recommended, and is a great, if not greater, track. Isaac Brock’s pre-Ugly Casanova LP track, “Diggin’ Holes” rounds out the mix, which I only just realized is a funny last minute replacement for Mercury Rev’s “Holes” which very nearly made the cut. That era of Modest Mouse tracks all have such an adorably simple witticism to the lyrics, and I love the way that this relatively harsh condemnation builds in such an innocent but straight forward way. That and the line about building permits.
March 2009 Mix
01 Soul Children – Move Over
02 Pale Young Gentlemen – Paper Planes (M.I.A. cover)
03 The Dodos – Trades & Tariffs
04 Q-Tip feat. Busta Rhymes, Raekwon & Lil Wayne – Renaissance Rap (Remix)
05 Throw Me The Statue – Ship
06 Bedhead – The Unpredictable Landlord
07 Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
08 Lattimore Brown – I Wish I Felt This Way At Home
09 Lykke Li – Tonight
10 Ugly Casanova – Diggin’ Holes
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