Interim

I've been grandly slacking at this website which is both fun and entertaining for me -- I don't know why. I'm sorry especially to the people who check in for new stuff. I had been planning my next post to be a thorough examination of Free Jazz called something like "On Free Jazz" or "My fist in your asshole: A guide to Free Jazz", but I didn't get to it yet. Stay tuned for that one.

I've also given up on combing my record collection. The apartment that I was going to be moving into, is no longer. I am now going to take residency in an as-yet-unconfirmed apartment in Philadelphia with my brother, Andy. As I get closer to the time of my departure, I will once again begin cataloguing my records and will give you some updates on my journey.

For now, here's a mix I made my girlfriend. I have entered this International Mixtape Project and I thought it might be interesting to look back at something I made the person closest to me and write about each song (or not). Okay:

1. Thin Lizzy - "Jailbreak" - Jailbreak: Fuck yes. Gotta kick this shit off hott. Ever since Ted Leo has been talked about in the indie press, Thin Lizzy has seen a minor revival (at least in my mind). And, yeah, Leo sounds like TL, but their brand of rock is much tighter and sweatier. This is one of their crowning achievements and an utterly fantastic driving song.
2. Neil Young - "Cinnamon Girl" - Decade (I don't know any better...got it off of iTunes...): This is, currently, my favorite Neil Young song. It's got that nice fuzzy, crunchy guitar tone and a simple, good refrain ("I wanna live with a cinnamon girl..."). My girlfriend doesn't really like Neil too much, so I put this on there to make her like him.
3. Prince - "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" - Diamonds & Pearls: Ladies love a good Prince song. It shows them that you can be sexual and non-threatening at the same time. I chose this one because I didn't think she ever heard it and it locks into a smooth sultry synth jam. This song has a great male dominance theme that women all secretly love.
4. MF Doom - "Potholderz (f/ Count Bass D)" - MM...Food: Sometimes I just choose songs because I like them at the time. This is one. I love this because of the beat and because when MF comes in for like 30 seconds he totally negates Count Bass D's (who?) rap.
5. Curtis Mayfield - "Give It Up" - Curtis: Not really sure if she digs on the Curtis like I do, but I threw this on anyways. I have a thing for Mr. Mayfield and this song closing out Curtis is prime stuff. All orchestral, harps, violins, etc. swelling up to this grand soul revue. Also, a great love song to his sweets.
   
6. Bob Marley - "Turn Your Lights Down Low" - Exodus: Another fantastic love song. I'm sure you've all heard this before. It's so nicely polished like the Prince song, and both never seem too slick.
7. The Zombies - "Time of the Season" - Odessey & Oracle: I put this on there because I needed a change of pace in the mix. This song keeps the low vibe of the Marley tune in the beginning ( all with hott mouth percussion) and then explodes into a psychedelic organ freakout.
8. The Arcade Fire - "Rebellion (Lies)" - Funeral: Another one that everyone (that reads this site) has probably heard before. I don't think she did and it's one of the better, more accessible indie songs that I like alot. So, in.
9. Built to Spill - "Carry the Zero" - Keep it Like a Secret: Ah, the meat of the mix. This song is one of my favorites of all time with that melancholy guitar strum at the beginning, the heady, squiggly solos, all the way through to the ad infinitum repeated outro. I wish I could hear them play that ending for like 10 minutes. And those damn drums at the end.
   
10. Death Cab For Cutie - "405" - We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes: I can't say I'm suprised that they're going to be on the OC. They're a fantastic pop group and this, even though its emo boy sad, is great for everyone to listen to. It doesn't fit the overall theme of "The Triumph of Our Endless Love" for a boy to girl mixtape, but it hopefully makes her think of me and get sad when she hears it. (We live a flight away.) Kinda sadistic and dickish, I guess.
11. Big Star - "September Gurls" - Radio City: Our official anniversary is in September so this one is apt, I guess. A nice pick up after the last one too.
12. Grateful Dead - "Box of Rain" - American Beauty: One of the best Dead songs ever, hands down. I remember reading in The Electric Cool-Aid Acid Trip that Jerry's guitar sounded like "rays of sunshine". I like that description -- it sounds like that in this song.
13. Beck - "Jack-Ass" - Odelay: No reason, just a really nice tune.
14. Doves - "Catch the Sun" - Lost Souls: I always liked this band and I never liked this song for some reason. I was wrong: it's great.
15. Dismemberment Plan - "The Other Side" - Change: This song has some great lyrics about love "There are times when you will not like the sound of my voice..." It's a great song we can all learn from: don't pick the other apart, it will undo you. And those damn drums.
16. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - "For Kate I Wait" - For Kate I Wait: I needed a sketchy stalker song on here. This'll do.
17. Magnetic Fields - "Luckiest Guy On the Lower East Side" - 69 Love Songs: My gay love song. I do love this song a lot: it's kitschy, campy and really perfect somehow. I honestly didn't know Stephen Merritt (main songwriter) was gay when I first listened to this record. God, I was naive.
18. Papa M - "Glad You're Here With Me" - Whatever, Mortal: Like this song because it's a way we all will feel after we've done shitty stuff. Repeatedly.
19. Bright Eyes - "Lua" - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning: Download this song and tell me it's not the best close to a mix ever.