Though there were many mix tapes made & received between the last one I featured and this one, sadly none of them exist today. I’d love to get my hands on one I made for Nathan at a critical point in the expansion of my appreciation for music, but it’s gone. If it ever rises from the dead I’ll be sure to post it.
This particular tape was given to me by Matt just after we graduated from college and I was planning my move to New Orleans. It shows the progression from the indie rock heavy selections of the “Seven Inches…” cassette into the more moody territory of what would go on to be considered post-rock. What an odd term that was…post-rock. At first glance it seems loaded with pretentiousness, but when you think about what the label is trying to capture it makes sense. It wasn’t that indie rock died and this was the outcome. It was more like the indie rock aesthetic had begun to fuse with electronica, jazz, folk, modern composition, hardcore etc. and this was the statement it made. I always think of Tortoise as being the first to really encapsulate this sound, but I’m sure others can make valid arguments against. Regardless, I don’t think the label gets used much any more. At this point the fusion is so common place it’s no longer thought of as something new or extraordinary. But at the time…
So here it is. Not all of it would fall into the post-rock category. There’s a pretty healthy mix of music here. It not only captured the evolution of our musical tastes, but it also made for a wonderful send off soundtrack.
Title: Wake Up Again, Start at the End - compiled by Matt (1996)
Side A Side B
The For Carnation - On The Swing Freakwater - Drunk Friend
June Of 44 - Arms and Arteries Superchunk - Driveway To Driveway
Unwound - New Energy Palace - Arise, Therefore
Mavis Piggott - Scouts of St. Sebastien Big Star - Big Black Car
Nation Of Ulysses - 50,000 Watts of Power The Sea & Cake - Fontana
Rocket From The Crypt - Trouble Tortoise - Ry Cooder
Radon - Kibbles ‘n Bits Denison/Kimball Trio - Factory Loop
The Grifters - Spaceship Sonora Pine - The Gin Mills
The Red Krayola - Hard On Through The Summer Gastr del Sol - Why Sleep
The Cardigans - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath Flying Saucer Attack - She Is The Daylight
The Misfits - Cough Cool
Helium - L’enfant #12
Having finished “Everyday Zen: Love and Work” by Charlotte Joko Beck last week, I’m still left trying to decide if I liked it or not. Actually, that’s not quite accurate. I liked the whole thing, but at times felt I was reading a self help book. Perhaps that’s the risk in taking on the task of describing or writing about zen for the average reader. There was one particular passage I’d like to highlight here. She says it’s a famous Buddhist parable so I’m not quite sure who gets credited:
“A man was being chased by a tiger. In his desperation he dove over the side of a cliff and grabbed a vine. As the tiger was pawing away above him, he looked below and saw another tiger at the base of the cliff awaiting his fall. To top it off two mice were gnawing away at the vine. At that moment he spotted a luscious strawberry and, holding the vine with one hand, he picked the strawberry and ate it. It was delicious!” - Beck pp. 119-120
I like this story quite a bit. Since we’re all heading in the inevitable direction of non-existence, it seems like the only sensible action we can take is to enjoy the luscious strawberry of this moment right now.
There was a time when corporate rock sucked. And I guess to some extent it still does. But back in the early 90’s this was more than just a clever slogan by SST, it was the plain and simple state of popular music. Sure there were some exceptions, but for the most part the exciting things were being done under the radar. Because of this, the world of indie rock became my home. So after reading “Perfect From Now On” by John Sellers this past week (damn funny!) to get in the mood, I decided to post my second installment of ‘In the mix’ and focus on a mix tape I made for myself in the early days of college.
Looking over the shelves of vinyl in my apartment now, it’s hard to believe that at one time I barely had enough 7″ records to fill both sides of a 90 minute cassette, but that was the challenge at the time. Matt & I had begun a 7″ collecting frenzy that was in it’s infancy and I decided that it would be nice to listen to some of these gems in my car as at the time, much of the material released on 7″ record was only available in that format. Back then, if you knew a thing or two about indie labels, you could successfully navigate the 7″ bin in any record store. My personal obsession was with releases by Teen Beat (home of Unrest) and Simple Machines (home of Tsunami) but by the end of college my preferences drifted toward releases by Drag City, Thrill Jockey and the lo-fi supremacy of Shrimper (initially a cassette only label if you can believe that). This particular mix was made in the earlier years.
So here it is. A mix tape comprised entirely of tracks from the few 7″ records I had collected up to that point (plus a couple selections from Matt’s stash). Some of the bands I never heard anything of again while others went on to major label status. For the early part of college, this would be my soundtrack.
Title: Seven Inches of Pleasure - compiled by Jason (1993)
Side A Side B
Man..or Astroman? - Bermuda Triangle Shorts Blast Off Country Style - Weiner Dude Attitude
Gravel - Yesterday Spoke - Harsher Winds Fall
Pavement - Sue Me Jack Jawbreaker - Busy
Madder Rose - Sleep In Your Arms Rocket From The Crypt - Pigeon Eater
Fudge - Montpelier Train Station Severin - Me And You
Unrest - Make Out Club Autoclave - Summer
Heavenly - Atta Girl Bratmobile - Queenie
The Ropers - Lost Unrest - Bavarian Mods
Tsunami - Kidding On The Square Slack - Word Traffic
Lilys - Claire Hates Me Aurora Paralysis - Borrow My Body
Versus - Tin Foil Star Scrawl - Reuters
Small Factory - If You Hurt Me Veronica Lake - Saints Above
Dos - Imagine That
Eggs - Fever
Even As We Speak - Air
Last Friday I bought a cover for my new ipod, but when I got home and took it out of the package it appeared to have already been used with scratches on the protective film. Uncharacteristically, I threw the receipt away so now Virgin will only give me store credit and since I purchased a new cover at the new Apple store on 14th yesterday, I now have nothing in mind for the credit.
A few years ago I asked Nathan & Matt for a new summer listening recommendation which worked out well. Nathan suggested Lief Inge’s 9 Beet Stretch which I downloaded (legal, mind you) and Matt suggested a Manitoba (now Caribou) cd which I enjoy quite a bit as well. Now with a credit for about 2 cds I’m posting the same inquiry. Any recommendations for something new to listen to this summer? I don’t mind if it’s an old or new release, it just has to be new to me.
There are some moments in history when you can recall exactly when and where you were when the news came your way. My parents generation always reference the deaths of JFK, Martin Luther King Jr. and the moon landing. My generation is left with only the OJ verdict and the death of Kurt Cobain, both of which I have no clear memory of time or place. There is one moment, trivial though it may be, that I do hold clear as day in my mind.
They were a post-punk trio from Pedro who arose from the tragic ashes of one of the most original and influential punk bands on the West Coast (or either coast for that matter). Ed, Mike & George…or you may know them as fIREHOSE. I know what you might be thinking, and no I’m not talking about Firehouse, the 80’s hair metal band named after a kick-ass classic Kiss tune. fIREHOSE managed to pull off one of the most unique sounds on the SST catalog, and that’s saying something. Frantic and angular, yet anchored by that bass and laced with a sense of soul and social commentary, they only released 5 full length albums and a few EP’s then they were gone. Of course the time between first and last releases was quite a few years, but the audio evidence left behind always seems sparse. Much like the work of Nick Drake or the Impulse years of John Coltrane, with each listen you always wish there was more. At least I do.
It was the month of May, fourteen years ago that I first heard the news. A bunch of us were at a Five-Eight concert at the Go! Lounge (me quarantined in the corner due to my status as a 20 year old) when the singer announced between songs that he had just heard the news before the show that fIREHOSE had broken up. I was devastated. I don’t even remember how the show was after that moment, because for all I was concerned the night was over. I’m sure I either played some fIREHOSE in the car on the way home or blasted it when I got there. I didn’t know what else to do.
As I mentioned in the beginning, I realize it’s a trivial moment. But what I hope comes out of this, is that someone of some connection stumbles upon this post, summons the post-punk gods and convinces Ed, Mike & George that a reunion and tour would not only work, but would bring the house down. Dinosaur Jr. recently did it, and I see the Feelies are giving it a shot as well, so come on guys…one more econo jam would be nice.
Since yesterday was Earth Day, and in response to Matt’s presentation of a fine meditation chamber, I thought I’d share a story (of sorts) regarding meditation. It’s written by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in his book ‘The Long Road Turns To Joy: A Guide To Walking Meditation’. Fortunately in NYC there are plenty of opportunities to practice this (whether you like it or not), but the beauty of this is that you can meditate anywhere…just go for a walk.
Return to Earth
Imagine that you and I are astronauts. We have landed on the moon, and we find that we cannot return to Earth because our ship’s engine is broken beyond repair. We will run out of oxygen before mission control in Houston can send another ship to rescue us. We only have two days to live. What would we pray for? What would make us happier than to return to our beautiful planet and walk on it? When confronted with death, we realize the preciousness of walking on the green Earth.
Now imagine we have somehow miraculously survived and have been transported back to Earth. Let us celebrate our joy by walking on our beautiful planet together, with deep peace and concentration.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
It’s time to clean (audio) house and reformat my ipod. With the changing of the seasons I like to wipe the slate clean and load up with a whole new 15 gig batch of songs. So this being the last day for this particular ipod set, I thought I’d document what the last hour of shuffle has yield. Think of this as the luddite version of LastFM.
Artist - Song - Release
James Blackshaw - O True Believers - O True Believers
Scott Walker - Angelica - Scott 1
John Lennon - I’m Losing You - Working Class Hero
Sandy Bull - Improvisations for Oud 1 - Still Valentines Day 1969
Antony & the Johnsons - The Lake - The Lake ep
Kim Doo Soo - Cape Jasmine - 10 Days Butterfly
Beastie Boys - Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun - Paul’s Boutique
Philip Glass - Metamorphosis One - Solo Piano
The Shins - Know Your Onion! - Oh, Inverted World
Jim Black’s AlasNoAxis - Ble - Splay
Miles Davis - Turnaround - The Complete On The Corner Sessions
I know it’s officially springtime in NYC when the Mitzvah Tank parks outside my office window. Nice to see you again ol’ buddy.
I used to love a good mix tape. Hell, I even enjoyed a not-so-good mix tape as long as it was an honest reflection of someones musical taste. So it’s been with great amusement that I’ve been reading Thurston Moore’s compiled accounts of mix tape recollections called “Mix Tape: The Art of the Cassette Culture” (Rizzoli). It’s a sampling of many artists & musicians who reveal their favorite mix tape experiences, whether given or received. Some mixes lean towards the standard torch bearers of love & love lost while others fly off the map of total & complete obscurity (come on Jim O, throw me a bone here…).
Yet as I turn each page I can’t help but think back to some of my own personal favorites made for and received from friends over the years. It’s in the spirit I’d like to share a few of my favorite mix tapes with you. In an ideal world each tape would be available for download in order to complete the cycle, but that’s just not how it works. In the meantime, if you have these tracks you can arrange them accordingly and come away with the complete experience. Periodically I’ll post a new mix tape track list, and when I run out of tapes (because let’s face it…how many tapes can one save over the years) perhaps I’ll move on to mix cds or current play lists of interest.
Without further adieu, I present to you mix tape number one. A friend of mine in high school made this mix for me as a going away gift when I moved from Colorado to Florida in the middle of my junior year. This is the oldest mix tape I still have that has miraculously survived 5 or 6 moves through the last 19 years. The fidelity totally blows, but I can’t say that ruins the experience. This pretty much set the foundation for what I would listen to and consider essential for years to come.
Title: Just ’cause you’re from Pueblo don’t mean you ain’t got no Culture. - compiled by Boo (1989)
Side A Side B
Husker Du - Celebrated Summer Minutemen - Bum’n at Parties
Husker Du - Heaven Hill Neil Young - Cinnamon Girl
Husker Du - Apologuise Husker Du - Standing in the Rain
Minutemen - Tour Speil Dinosaur Jr. - Little Fury Things
Fugazi - Waiting Room Throwing Muses - Soul Soldier
Fugazi - Bulldog Front Fugazi - Give Me the Cure
Dinosaur Jr. - Freak Scene Fugazi - Suggestion
Pixies - Winter Long 4 Way Cross - Apologize
Sonic Youth - Computer Age Husker Du - Could You be the One
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Pretty Little Ditty Golden Palominos - Boy
Slovenly - Cartwheels Of Glory Throwing Muses - A Feeling
Minutemen - Cheerleaders Meat Puppets - Two Rivers
Jane’s Addiction - Jane Says Velvet Underground - Sweet Jane
Soul Asylum - Never Really Been Jonathan Richman - Don’t let it go to waste
Of course the web doesn’t need another blog…I know this. But perhaps my musings on those things I find interesting may be of some entertainment to someone. Perhaps.