DOWNLOAD THE FULL MIX HERE

I was watching Anvil: The Story of Anvil on VH1 Classic the other night, and I believe it was Slash who said something like: “You know, there aren’t many bands who have been together for 30 years.”  And he’s right (well, if Slash really did say what I attributed to him).  Bands or singers who have been recording music for long periods of time are rare birds indeed.  Some certainly hang on to their core sound and often fit prevailing musical trends into one or two songs (Think “Emotional Rescue” or “Miss You” by the Rolling Stones), while others will revamp their sound and sail off on a new musical direction– leaving puzzled fans wondering: “What the hell is this?” (Think KISS in Music From “The Elder” or when Rush went headfirst into a synthaholic binge).

What I wanted to do for this mix was to feature bands and singers who, by hook or crook, have been able to maintain a musical career that went beyond their salad days.  In putting together this mix, I generally took the first album and the most recent release, paired them together to see what, if any, changes or similarities were there.  Sorry if this sounds a little too academic in its description, but really what I’m trying to do is best summed up in the title of this mix:  “Then and Now.”

“Buddy Holly,” Weezer (download)
“(If You Are Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To,” Weezer (download)

Now granted, after all the changes in the band, Weezer could easily be called “The Rivers Cuomo Project.” He’s the chief songwriter, frontman, and generally the focus of all the media attention.  “Buddy Holly” and “(If You Are Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” have similar themes:  awkward guy, awkward girl, some kind of conflict (in the dramatic sense) and a declaration of love/lust/trust. Between 1994 and 2009, I don’t think Cuomo’s songwriting has changed all that much.  What he’s done is indulge in throwback guitar riffs  that channel ’70s arena rock bands in ways that make old geezers like me smile.

“East of Eden,” Lone Justice (download)
“No Other Way to Love You,” Maria McKee (download)

A sleeper album that begs for a re-listen 20-something years later.  I was one of the few who bought Lone Justice after seeing “Ways to be Wicked” on MTV, and really loved the country rock (with an emphasis on rock) vibe the band was groovin’ on.  “East of Eden” had that ever so popular Bo Diddley beat underneath and Maria McKee’s helium vocals that provided the right amount of counterpoint to raw sounding guitars.  Flash forward to the semi-present and what has become of Maria?  Well, her voice is a lot lower, it has a operatic quality to it, and her songwriting is less “pop” and more sprawling. If you’re looking for Lone Justice redux, you ain’t gonna find it on “No Other Way to Love You.”

“On Sunday,” ‘Til Tuesday (download)
“Thirty One Today,” Aimee Mann (download)

Okay, here’s where I cheated.  This is actually from ‘Til Tuesday’s second album, Welcome Home, but to me it’s the album where they really gelled as a band.  The songwriting was even more forlorn than their debut album, Aimee’s singing was more confident, and the arrangements were more mature.  Damn shame the band broke up!  With Aimee’s solo work, the tempo of each album became slower and slower, and the songwriting reached its nadir with The Forgotten Arm.  By the time @#%*&! Smilers came out, I had pretty much given up on her.  And while I found this album to be kinda sorta good, I rarely listen to it — save, perhaps, for this track. I think “Thirty One Today” is classic Mann, and if she could find her misery muse that inspired her to write great songs like she did on Welcome Home, I think her solo output would be less hit or miss.

“Dreams Never End,” New Order (download)
“Dynamo,” Bad Lieutenant (download)

I love New Order, and was saddened by the breakup of such an influential new wave band.  Listening to their debut album, it’s clear they hadn’t completely exorcised the ghost of Ian Curtis, nor had they jettisoned their Joy Division sound.  How could they?  It’s was only roughly a year after Curtis’ suicide that they reformed as New Order.  You can clearly hear the Joy Division sound on the lead track to their debut album, Movement, but there’s also that unmistakeably New Order sound lurking in there as well.  Now that Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook hate each other, what to do?  Well, you take a name from a 1992 movie staring Harvey Keitel and fuse it with some hooks from the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and you have the curious case of a Peter Hook-less “Dynamo” by Bad Lieutenant.

“Got The Time,” Joe Jackson (download)
“Invisible Man,” Joe Jackson (download)

Listening to these albums as bookends makes for an interesting career comparison.  Look Sharp had a very snotty pop/punk thing going on (which did nothing to foreshadow the artiste Jackson would later display from the mid ’80s onward), the band was tight, the songs certainly reflected a late ’70s/early ’80s post-punk Brit working class thuggishness, and yeah, the album contains the (now) classic “Is She Really Going Out With Him.”  However, what’s really fun when comparing these albums is the fact that the original band who backed Joe on Look Sharp is the same one on Rain — with Gary Sanford missing in action. David Houghton’s drumming is tasteful and mature, Graham Maby’s bass playing is fluid but understated, and Joe’s piano playing is in top form. It’s a shame “Invisible Man” induces nothing but a shrug from me.

“Down to the Waterline,” Dire Straits (download)
“Piper to the End,” Mark Knopfler (download)

Dire Straits makes my personal top three bands of all time.  I don’t know what it was about Dire Straits’ music that made me connect with this band, but it wasn’t their eponymous debut album. Don’t get me wrong, I do like this album … a lot. However, the production is kind thin and compressed, and the songwriting misses the mark at times, but there’s no denying the talent of a (then) young Mark Knopfler on guitar.  “Sultans of Swing” certainly brought that fact home, but Knopfler’s playing  on “Down to the Waterline” is equally as blistering.  And now here we are 31 years later and Knopfler’s playing has less flash, but his voice has greater clarity.  Some could point to a song like “Piper to the End” as evidence that Knopfler is fading away into a laconic haze of Celtic dirges, but to me this song reminds me of the inspired work he did on the Local Hero soundtrack.

DOWNLOAD THE FULL MIX HERE

Last year, I was feeling all boo hoo about the fact that no one, and I mean no one comes to our house on Halloween.  Call it fear of strangers with candy (who might shove a razor blade in that Snickers bar, or snap off a hypodermic needle in that family size peanut butter cup), or, more realistically, it’s the fact that I live in a condo complex where the motto is “A place for the newlywed … and the nearly dead.”  Yeah, there really aren’t any kids around here, so we just gave up buying candy for those non-existent trick or treaters.  So, that leaves me with you, dear reader and lover of the ye olde Mix Six, to spoil you with musical treats. So grab a mug of bitches brew and get ready for a Mix Six Six Six for ‘09!

“Freaks Come Out At Night,” Whodini (Download)

You can’t always start out a mix with a top of the hour cooker.  Nope, sometimes you gotta dig a little deeper and find a song that signals the keynote of the mix in a “deep cut” kind of way. Sure, this tune by Whodini has a pretty long shelf life because, well, the title of this song pretty much guarantees that it’s going to end up on a Halloween mix.  And look: it did!

“Intergalactic,” Beastie Boys (Download)

Okay, so Dunphy featured this classic (yeah, it’s a classic) Beastie Boys tune on his Mix Tape a few weeks ago, but it’s mixes so well with Whodini that I couldn’t resist. Plus, it has a kind of freaky vibe that fits well with Halloween … so there!

“Disturbia,” Rhianna (Download)

Perhaps the “Bum, bum, dee, dum, bum, bum, dee dum, dum” alone will drive you crazy, but before you start pointing your bony finger at me for spiking in an obvious choice, just get over your snobbish Pitchfork attitude and feel the pop loveliness.  Oh, and don’t pretend that you wouldn’t be dancing to this one if the lights were off and you found yourself at the Exotic Erotic Ball in the city by the bay.

“Decode,” Paramore (Download)

You gotta wonder if the producers of New Moon approached Paramore and asked if they would write another “Decode” for the soundtrack.  I’d like to think that their answer was, “Um, we’re not a Twilght band okay? We had a huge following before your vamp film, so the answer is no — unless, you know, you think the songs on our new album suck.”

“Devil Inside,” INXS (Download)

When all else fails, you gotta pull out the heavy hitters — and “Devil Inside” is one of those songs in a Halloween mix that doesn’t fail to deliver.  Plus, you have a dead lead singer, and that just adds to the devilish fun.

“Monster,” Fred Schneider & The Shake Society (Download)

I do believe “Monster” is the strangest creation Fred Schneider has ever come up with.  Sure, it’s got a beat and you can dance to it, but when it comes to Halloween, what’s more scary?  A Barry Manilow song in the mix, or the monster in Fred’s pants?

“People Are Strange,” Echo and the Bunnymen (Download)

It’s a little odd that Echo started channeling the Doors, but that Ray Manzarek keyboard on “Bedbugs and Ballyhoo” and of course, on “People Are Strange,” isn’t all that odd when you consider that Manzarek was a fairly major player in the punk/new wave scene in the ’80s.  His work producing X was invigorating, but it didn’t have the magic bullet needed to convince the band that the music they were making in 1987 was any good (they all thought their eponymous LP was pretty much crap).  But even with all that, I still like this cover.

“Superstition,” Stevie Wonder (Download)

Stevie played almost all the instruments on this album (except for the brass section stuff), and what I love is the kind of odd time feel he’s able to play on the drums.  Superstition isn’t really a Halloween song, but is sure spices up a mix roughly midway through!

“Voodoo Lady,” Ween (Download)

Now, here’s one song that’s got Halloween written all over it. But the album cover is pure eye candy for the 13-year-old boy in many a-male grouping.  Interestingly enough, the band members never met the model who posed for the cover (according to the Wiki on the album), and I’m guessing that’s been a great career disappointment of theirs ever since.

‘”Halloweenhead,” Ryan Adams (Download)

Well, they do call it nose candy, don’ t they?

“The Ghost in You,” Psychedelic Furs (Download)

Ah, this song is a treat. It’s has all the things I love about good new wave music:  tasteful synth, a semi-dark theme, a great chorus, and plenty of guyliner!  Also, this is one of those songs that’s weaved into a mix just to remind people that you’re not stuck in a certain time period.

“Monster Hospital,” Metric (Download)

Metric is one of those bands who alternate between pop bliss and wannabe alt rock band.  Personally, I like their poppier moments (like their current album), but this tune certainly strikes the right tone in this mix.

“Summer Breeze,” Type ‘O’ Negative (Download)

Hey now!  Despite the erotic PG-13 album cover (one I’m sure Ween would have loved to have), this tune was featured in the I Know What You Did Last Summer and is creepy enough that even Seals & Crofts probably pissed themselves with fear after hearing this for the first time.

“Fistful of Terror,” The Bomboras (Download)

I don’t know what it is about surf music, but it certainly fits with Halloween — especially if you’re ripping it up like the Bomboras do on “Fistful of Terror.”

“Hellbound,” The Breeders (Download)

I’m a big fan of Tanya Donelly’s work with Belly and her first solo album, but lately she’s been stuck in mommy mode in her songwriting. So it’s really refreshing to hear some of the late ’80s work she did with Kim Deal to remind me that the chick could rock once upon a time.

“The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead,” XTC (Download)

I think among the Popdose staffers, Andy Partridge ranks in the top three of personal favorite artists, but we all know him affectionately as “Wanker” — and we do mean it in the way one would call a good friend a douchebag.  The Halloween theme is not really apparent in this song, but according to Partridge (well, at least according the Wiki), he wrote it about a Halloween pumpkin he carved and stuck on a fence post.  All that government conspiracy from a pumpkin head? Now who’s the real halloween head, huh?

“Bad Things,” Jace Everett (Download)

Have you been watching True Blood?  No?  Well, it was kind of hit and miss the first season (and the first part of the second), but the show found its mojo and rode it home in a satisfying way.  What’s not to be missed is the opening credit theme song by Jace Everett.

“Millie and Billie,” Alice Cooper (Download)

And what better way to close out an 18-song set than with an Alice Cooper number about a loving couple who happen to be “criminally insane”?  Happy Halloween, bitches!

I think David Medsker can relate to this… Back in my salad days of college, I made extra money with two turntables and a microphone.  More often than not, some guy at a wedding reception I was working at would amble up to my DJ rig with a toothpick in his mouth, trying in vain to dig out a small bit of rubber chicken or steak, and stand there looking at my setup.  I’d get the once over twice, and then it started.

“So, you do this a lot?” Queried semi-drunk reception attendee.

“Yeah,” I would answer (knowing full well what was coming next).

“Seems like a pretty easy job.  I mean, all you do is get paid to play records.  Hell, any trained monkey can do that!  How hard can it be? You just play some songs, get paid, and go home.  Seems like a dream job to me.”

“Well,” I would patiently try and explain, “It’s not as easy as you think.  You have to read the crowd, pick songs that you think they will like, watch the tempo of the mix, and know when to play a heavy hitter that’s going to be a crowd pleaser. It’s not science, but there’s a skill at doing this right.”

“Like I said,” Mr. Bibulous Blowhard would intone,”any trained monkey can do this. In fact, I’ll bet you one day there’ll be a computer that can do what you’re doing.”

Flash forward twentysomething years later, and the fucker’s right. There is a computer that can do what I used to do. In fact, if you work in the radio industry, a computer has by and large replaced what DJs used to do. Yep, most DJs who work in the radio industry just play whatever the music director has scheduled into the computer.  They rarely have any control over the music content, so it stands to reason that it would only be a matter of time when “shuffle” mode on your favorite music player would morph into DJ mode. And so it is with Apple’s “Genius Mixes” — which comes with the latest version of iTunes.

What the computer does (for those who don’t know), is analyze your entire library and then group songs by genre, decade, and style.  Since the trained monkey has arrived, I thought I would see if Apple could come up with a good mix based on its algorithm.   So, first things first. I randomly picked one of the mixes iTunes put together for me, and this was it:

Okay, not the sexiest title, but, ladies and gentlemen, behold Apple’s Genius Mix that any trained monkey only Apple’s iTunes can put together! Oh, and for the record, Apple can pick the music, but has yet to figured out how to write about the music you’re going to hear.  So take that, Apple! Yeah, ON THE GROUND!

“Shadow Dancing,” Andy Gibb (download)

“Second Hand News,” Fleetwood Mac (download)

“Horse with No Name,” America (download)

“Do Ya,” Electric Light Orchestra (download)

“25 or 6 to 4,” Chicago (download)

“Same Old Lang Syne,” Dan Fogelberg (download)

I led a semi-sheltered suburban life in my high school years, so it wasn’t until MTV made its debut on my cable system a year after it launched in 1981 that I really started getting exposure to music that wasn’t AC/DC or Rush.  But that’s not all MTV was able to do. Because the channel only had so many videos to play in a 24 hour programming schedule, it meant that they were open to artists who had videos ready to go — ’cause, you know, they were starving for content.  I had no idea what was going on in the bowels of MTV programming back then, but what I did find that I was able to hear and see artists I really didn’t know much about. Of course if you look at this list you’re thinking “Yeah, it’s classic ’80s…so what?” But before they were classics, they were new songs that were untried in the music marketplace.  But MTV being what it was back in the day, meant the programmers were able to give many of these song/videos extremely high rotations.  So much so, that one couldn’t help like (or love) what they were hearing or seeing.  MTV affected radio playlists in ways program directors never thought it could. Kids seeing the video for something like “Rockit” on MTV would call their local stations and request the song.  As the requests piled up, the songs eventually made their way to radio.  Not all were breakaway hits, but if it wasn’t for MTV they certainly wouldn’t have been played on the radio all that much.

“Something to Grab For,” Ric Ocasek (download)

Okay, so it wasn’t all AC/DC and Rush at my high school.  A lot of kids were into the Cars, so when Ric Ocasek came out with his first solo album in 1982, this single didn’t sound all that different from what the Cars were doing — except it was more synth heavy.  The video was kind of famous in a pervy high school guy way because it featured Marianne Gravatte, who was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month, but on a more musical note, the lead track off the album (”Jimmy Jimmy”) is one of my favorites just ’cause it’s so damn quirky.

“Space Age Love Song,” A Flock of Seagulls (download)

My gawd how I hated “I Ran (So Far Away).”  I thought it was one of the worst songs when it came out, and the video just underscored how stupid it was (to me, that is).  Then the fuckers in A Flock of Seagull had to go and release “Space Age Love Song” and, well, they got me to buy the album.  No, I didn’t have any idea who these guys were, but there’s a certain something about this tune that I just don’t get tired of.

“Gloria,” U2 (download)

I had never heard of U2 prior to seeing the video to “Gloria,” but I was transfixed by their raw passion for the music and the rather transcendent quality of the song when I first saw this video.  And then the next day at school while talking about the glories of MTV, I was accosted by a bunch of born-again Christians who were warning us “unsaved” folks about the evils of rock music.  When I mentioned that I rather liked U2, the Posse Christiantatus had a quick huddle over the merits of U2 and deemed them okay because they had been saved.  For that, I will always be grateful to the band for giving me a card to play so the Jesus freaks at my school would leave me alone.

“Rosalita (Won’t You Come Out Tonight),” Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (download)

Remember: I had a semi-sheltered life.  So, while I had heard maybe one Springsteen song before “Rosalita,” I had no idea who this guy was.  But MTV used to play all 13 minutes of a live version of the song (not the one featured here) almost every day for about a month.  I can’t say that I fell in love with the song the first time the video aired, but over the course of a month, it rapidly became a favorite.  And damn MTV for saying the live version was from The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle. I bought that album after seeing the video, and, well, it was the studio version of “Rosalita” that was on the record — which, after seeing the power of the live version, kind of sucked.

“Blue Light,” David Gilmour (download)

It was early on Saturday morning when I first saw the video for “Blue Light.”  I had no idea that this was the same David Gilmour who played guitar for Pink Floyd.  Why? Well, the video was so freakin’ un-Floyd.  Still, I really dug this song (indeed the whole album), and partially because of MTV, songs like “Blue Light,” “All Lovers Are Deranged” and “Murder” were AOR hits.

“Rockit,” Herbie Hancock (download)

I’m sure Herbie is very grateful for the vision Godley and Creme had for this song. If it wasn’t for the video, I don’t think Mr. Hancock — for all his amazing bona fides — would have charted in the UK and Europe.  Sure, “Rockit” really didn’t do much in the U.S. in terms of chart action, but it had a lot of underground cache that made it a popular tune on mega mixes on the radio back in the day. Oh, and certainly, um, inspired Harold Faltermeyer to rip off pay homage to Herbie on his “Axel F Theme” from Beverly Hills Cop.

There was a moment in the mid to late ’90s when I passed an invisible line from young adulthood — where you crave new and exciting things and your mind is generally open to cultural changes — to adulthood, where more staid things like parenthood, owning a home and, alas, feeling like you’re just culturally out of it tend to creep in.  And so it goes with the neo-swing revival of the ’90s –well as far as yours truly is concerned.  By the time this type of music became popular again, I was in that latter category where the excitement of dressing up in a zoot suit and learning some new dance steps sounded fun, but my energy level for such things was pretty much nil as my wife and I were raising our daughter and, it seemed, the most culturally connected to new music came when I could sit in a rocking chair with my toddler and watch the VH1 Top 20 Countdown.  Flash forward 10 years and what do we have?  A Mix Six, naturally!

“Rock This Town,” the Brian Setzer Orchestra (download)

Brian Setzer was clearly born at the wrong time, and has been trying very hard to take us back where he belongs. First to the ’50s, and then when the swing revival started to ascend, he reverted back even farther and, at least for the time being, has found his niche.  This version of “Rock This Town” certainly rocks, er, swings with some really smokin’ guitar work The Quaffed One.”

“Hey Pachuco!,” Royal Crown Revue (download)

Gin martinis, anyone?  If there was one band that’s responsible for the popularity of neo-swing, it’s the music of Royal Crown Revue — without any hint of irony.  And I gotta say, from the perspective of a drummer, Daniel Glass is really rippin’ it up on the drum on this tune.  If this song doesn’t make you want to dance, then I weep for your sorry ass.

“One Hour Mama,” Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers (download)

Lavay Smith, like many of the performers featured here, comes from Southern California where, it is often said, there is no culture.  Not so!  Just one listen to one of Lavay’s albums and you’ll hear a wonderfully seasoned sound that begs for repeated listens.

“Baby Wants a Diamond Ring,” Squirrel Nut Zippers (download)

These cats have been a favorite of mine since I first saw the video to “Hell.” Refreshing doesn’t even begin to describe how much I liked their music.  Like a dutiful fan, I kept buying their albums when released only to grow more disappointed by the quality of the output.  It seemed like the Zippers were slipping into a laconic haze until they released Bedlam Ballroom.

“Mr. Pinstripe Suit,” Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (download)

This is one of those tunes that gets stuck in your head — but in a good way.  It’s probably one of the Daddy’s most popular tunes, and I had the good fortune of seeing them play live in the Spring — and they didn’t disappoint when it came to “Mr. Pinstripe Suit.”  It was at the infamous Great American Food and Music Festival in Mountain View, CA, and while the lines were long for the food (A three-hour wait for a hot dog), the concert venue was pretty much empty. But even with the smattering of people waiting to be entertained, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy played like they had a sold out crowd in front of them.

“Since I Fell For You,” Lily Wilde (download)

Can I confess something?  The first time I heard this song wasn’t when it was featured on “Moonlighting,” but when my girlfriend (now my wife) had the Bob James and David Sanborn cassette, Double Vision. Popdose staff favorite Al Jarreau (download) sang his Jarreau out on his cover, while Lily Wilde does a more boozy version featured here.

Call this mix the postscript of Beatles Week at Popdose … a postscript that’s a couple of weeks late! But better late than never, right?  There’s been a lot of talk about the marketing savvy of Beatles merchandise, and it’s pretty damn impressive. I mean, getting people to buy remastered recordings they’ve probably had in their collections for years (and I’m talking about vinyl, cassette, 8 track, CD, and mp3s) is no easy feat – unless the product really is superior to what came before.  And yes, the remasters did live up to the hype.  But if I may start a second sentence with a conjunction, what also lives up to the hype is the long shadow of the Beatles’ style of music on popular recording artists.  Billy Joel, Andy Partridge, Roland Orzabal, Jeff Lynne, Neil Finn, and the Gallagher boys must have all, at one point or another, fantasized about being “The 5th Beatle” while singing along to one of the Fab Four’s songs.  So much so, that they all wrote songs that were unabashedly Beatlesque.

“Scandinavian Skies,” Billy Joel (download)

Billy is certainly a singer/songwriter who doesn’t need to copy the style of musical giants since, well, he’s in that pantheon.  I’m not a big fan of his music, but The Nylon Curtain was, for me, the most impressive of his catalog.  The sappy love songs were absent and the themes tackled were certainly a step up from what came before and after this album — and having several nods to the Beatles only added to the depth of this album.

“Sowing the Seeds of Love,” Tears for Fears (download)

Watching the video on MTV back in 1989, it seemed a little old and tired to see Tears for Fears pushing flower power. The blatant Beatles parroting just seemed like a big bowl of wrong — to me, at least. Being a fan of the band, however, I was quick to forgive them of what I thought was a big transgression and bought the CD.  I wasn’t disappointed, and over the years have grown to appreciate the sonic prowess of the studio production on this song.

“Morning Glory,” Oasis (download)

Talk about wearing your influences on your sleeve!  Oasis really wanted to be the Beatles II, and one listen to this album and it’s pretty clear that there was nary a Rolling Stones album in the Gallaghers’ home.  Christmas at the Gallagher abode is probably going to be awkward this year– what with all the fighting between the boys.  No, don’t count on a Christmas photo of the brothers Gallagher sipping a nog by the fire while singing “Morning Glory” or “Wonderwall.”  You’ll only see that happening at the McCartney household with Ringo.

“The Diary of Horace Wimp,” Electric Light Orchestra (download)

For those who live in the U.S. (and remember when this album came out), “The Diary of Horace Wimp” was a deep track. For those who live in the UK, it was top 10 single back in the day.  Lyrically, the song is a pretty simple narrative of “Awkward boy gets the girl,” but the production on this song is anything but simple — and maybe that’s why Lynne became a much sought after producer after ELO broke up.  But for all his love of the Beatles, Lynne is a guy who can put his unique stamp on artists whom he produces — so much so that he’s made George Harrison and Roy Orbison sound like members of ELO.

“Earn Enough for Us,” XTC (download)

Yes, people have asked why Andy Partridge is a wanker, but for all his brooding and pouting over his personal travails, his ability to craft amazing pop songs is, as Darth Vader said to Luke, “Impressive.” Skylarking is one big Beatles fest in style, but what struck me about “Earn Enough for Us” is the the wonderful Paul McCartney imitation Colin Moulding created on the bass guitar.  Just listen to that closing riff as the song ends cold and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

“Not the Girl You Think You Are,” Crowded House (download)

What I like about Neil Finn is that he wasn’t shy about saying “Um, here’s a song that written in the key of Beatles.”  That’s not a direct quote, but it’s clear that “Not the Girl You Think You Are” was written while drinking heavily from the Beatles’ well. Oh, and don’t forget that Jon Cummings’ interview with Neil Finn is coming to Popdose very soon – where he might be talking about the influence of the Beatles in his music.

One of the lost arts of being a radio DJ is the art of mixing records. Nothing too pre-planned, mind you — just starting with a song, and flipping through the stacks to find the next song that would (hopefully) sound great next to your previous pick.  Back in the ’80s and ’90s when I would make mix tapes, I would pick maybe two songs to start off the mix.  One I had the first two songs set, I would cue them up on the turntables, hit “record” on the cassette tape player, and start mixing away.  The challenge during these mixes was to find the right combination of songs in real time.  I knew that I had roughly four minutes to find the next song while the tape was recording or else I would have the proverbial “dead air” on the tape — and that would suck.  Sometimes the mixes would turn out really great, and other times the mixes had a few “Awww yeah” moments, but were overall uneven efforts.  I would learn from these tapes as to what makes for a good mix by doing what any self-respecting homebrew DJ does:  play them in the car for friends and watch their reactions.

And while it’s not really possible to duplicate the cassette tape mixes from back in the day, I have to say that I really tried to for this mix.  I had two songs that I started with on my music player. And while one was playing,  I hunted for other songs that would round out the mix.  And even though there isn’t a stated theme to this mix other than “random sample,” I think there’s a wistful desire to hear more off the cuff mixes from radio jocks — something that ain’t gonna happen in the age of pre-programed radio.

“Break Up The Concrete (Ted and Eric’s Mix),”  the Pretenders (download)

Last year when this album came out, the Pretenders and Apple had a contest to see who could come up with a cool remix of “Break Up the Concrete.”  If you had Garageband, you could download the individual tracks of the songs (i.e., the stems), and use Garageband to remix it to your heart’s desire.  Once the song was complete, you uploaded your remix to a site where it was judged by some, uh, judges.  The prize pack included the winning remix added to the digital download on iTunes.  Well, I took the challenge.  I was working on the song when my friend Eric came over and wanted to know what I was doing.  I explained “the challenge” and he asked he could help.  I played what I had assembled, and he offered suggestions on what I should add to the mix.  After a few hours playing with the loops and effects, this is what we came up with.  Oh, and we didn’t win the contest (nor does it seem that anyone did, ’cause there isn’t a remix added to the digital download on iTunes).

“Percussion Gun,” White Rabbits (download)

If you’re like me, then you often load random songs on your iPod without knowing much about the band or their music.  This was one of those pleasant surprises from a band I knew very little about.  Sure, I knew White Rabbits were loved by music critics, but I wasn’t sure what all the hubbub was about.  Well, one listen to “Percussion Gun” and I was hooked by the tribal drumming and, of course, the hook in the chorus.

“Quiet Dog,” Mos Def (download)

I’m not a lover of hip hop, but there’s something just so damn appealing about Mos Def that I just can resist.  I bought Black on Both Sides back in 1999 and found it an amazing collage of styles.  It’s still a favorite of mine. This new CD has some really great tracks on it, and what I like about “Quiet Dog”is that the cadence to his rap is clearly right out of the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight.”  Sly.

“Crystalised,” The xx (download)

Hey, you heard that New Order broke up, right?  Yeah, I know they’re kinda sorta back together under the moniker “Bad Lieutenant,” but if Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook ever had a baby, I do believe the xx would be their progeny.  I rather like this album for its dark and moody quality that’s tempered with the right amount of pop savvy.

“She Sells Sanctuary,” the Cult (download)

Okay, this is one of the songs that was on my mind last week.  During the summer of 2008, there was a little presidential election in the U.S.  Remember that? Well,  Jon Cummings, Dw Dunphy and yours truly decided to cover the conventions — which was a lot of fun ’cause I, for one, felt like a real journalist working on a hard deadline.  One night it was my turn to put the post to bed, and while waiting on Jon to finish his draft, I was playing “She Sells Sanctuary” on my guitar over and over.  I can’t play the guitar very well, but damn if I didn’t rock that song that night.

“Help I’m Alive,” Metric (download)

I bought Metric’s 2003 release on a whim back when it came out, and was really surprised by the songs.  Well crafted pop songs with an indie/modern rock vibe.  When Fantasies came out this year, I was eager to hear what the band was up to, and from the get go, I wasn’t disappointed. “Help I’m Alive” is clearly the single off this album and it’s doing pretty well on the U.S. rock and alternative charts.  But more importantly, it’s one of those songs where, at least in my little world, people who hear it say “Who’s that?  ‘Cause this song is great!”

So, I’ll be upfront about where I ripped off got this idea for this mix.  I was reading the San Francisco Chronicle (Essentially my hometown paper because I’ve tried reading the Contra Costa Times, but found myself going back to “The Chron” time and time again) and they had a pretty good article on a reunion concert featuring artists who were on the 415 label back in the day. Even though I consider myself a serious music junkie, I never obsessed over labels.  If the song was good, that’s all that mattered to me  — well, until I got older and realized what it meant to be on a certain label.  For those who don’t know, 415 Records was the brainchild of Howie Klein (who’s now doing a lot of political writing), Butch Bridges, Chris Knab and, later, Queenie Taylor.  The label promoted mostly new wave bands (though some punk bands were on the label, too), and they cranked up their little machine in 1978 to sign and promote bands that would (hopefully) revitalize the music scene in San Francisco — which it did.  With the success of bands like Romeo Void, the label caught the interest of Columbia records and Bill Graham and 415 acts were able to carve out a niche whereby some new wave musicians living in the “City by the Bay,” could make records, get paying gigs, get airplay on radio stations , and with the interest of Bill Graham, be booked on tours with big selling acts.  Oh, and maybe have a video or two in rotation on MTV.  Best of all, the local bands didn’t even have to relocate to New York or L.A.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and 415 Records (after being in partnership with Columbia) ceased to exist in 1989.  Boo!

Oh, and I don’t feel so bad about ripping off getting inspiration from The Chron because the day after they published the story about the 415 reunion, they did a story about celebrities who make music — which, to be frank — I scooped them on last year with a mix called “Stars Who Sing.” Okay, so maybe the big boys and girls over at The Chron don’t read Popdose, but I like to think they do!

“Free Again,” Until December (download)

The first time I heard this band was when they performed at The Bay Area Music Awards (”The Bammies”) in 1987. I was a young pup at a radio station in Concord, CA, and we got invited to the Bammies in San Francisco where I briefly met Bill Graham when we were accidentally shown to his table.  He looked confused as to who we were and why the hell we were sitting at his table.  My boss walked up to Bill, introduced himself, talked about how we were playing a few of the artists on the 415 label and gave him his card.  Bill was polite, but knew there was a mistake.  After all, why would three of the unwashed masses from Concord be sitting at his table?  About five minutes later someone escorted us to our real seats as Until December took the stage.  What I remember about their performance was that there was lots of mood lighting, lots of mysterious affectation, but ultimately a really great three-song set featuring “Free Again,” “Heaven,” and “Until December.”  I bought the album the next day   — even though I should have gotten it for free! After the band broke up, lead singer Adam Sherburne started the politically left hip-hop group, Consolidated — which, on one of their songs off their debut album, I’m pretty sure sampled the turn signal noise from a San Francisco city bus.

“They Walk Among You,” New Math (download)

I have a visions, kids!  I mean, this is money in the bank kind of vision.  Ready?  A new wave horror/space invasion flick called They Walk Among You.  Whaddya think?  I mean, I have the title track right here, and, except for Repo Man, when was the last time there was a really good/crappy film made with a new wave vibe? And don’t bother with this video, ’cause it doesn’t count!  Seriously, though, New Math’s “They Walk Among You” came out in 1982, and it’s moody synth vibe has a kind of Joy Division quality to the music with a slight twist:   Lead singer Kevin Patrick’s vocal phrasing is a cross between Phil Oakey (Human League) and Johnny Rotten. No really, it is!

“Insect Lounge,” Mutants (download)

Before videos became popular, groups like Mutants and the Tubes created their own visual fun with theatrical on-stage performances that kept audiences coming back for more.  “Insect Lounge” is a snotty little punkish song whose chorus reminds me of “The Monster Mash.”  I would have loved to seen the Mutants back in the day because their more current performances are, um, lacking that certain youthful something.  Know why?  ‘Cause they’re old.

“You’re Everywhere I’m Not,” Translator (download)

MTV did a lot for new wave bands in the early ’80s and if it wasn’t for the video to this song, I probably wouldn’t have known about it because the modern rock/new wave/alt/whatever station in San Francisco didn’t have the wattage to make it to my stereo receiver back then. Translator gigged at the 415 Records reunion, and if you’re a huge fan of the band, you can get a recent album of B-sides, live tracks, and outtakes from Almacantar Records.

“Home Is Where the War Is,” Red Rockers (download)

Another “MTV band” whose hit, “China” was a Bottom Feeder hit back in ‘83, and a song that was very atypical for Red Rockers.  “China” was clearly a calculated move to have a radio-friendly hit that would sound great next to other more mainstream new wave bands like the Cars or U2.  But if you bought Good as Gold, you’d be hard pressed to find any “China” soundalikes — which is probably why the band was one hit wonder.  Still, to me, that’s a good thing ’cause I do like the guitar-heavy sound of “Home Is Where the War Is.”

“Never Say Never,” Romeo Void (download)

And the big finish!  Romeo Void has been covered by David Medsker, in his pre-scaled back White Label Wednesday feature, and by John C. Hughes.  However, the song “Never Say Never” hasn’t been featured on Popdose (to the best of my knowledge, that is).  I had the EP that featured this song and seem to remember it being used in a montage sequence in Reckless with Aidan Quinn and Daryl Hannah. But more to the point, this was one of my heavy hitters I would use as a mobile DJ (back in the day, of course) if I really wanted to get people out on the dance floor. Worked like a charm — but only at college gigs. Weddings and corporate parties?  Not so much.

]]> http://popdose.com/mix-six-415-records/feed/ 9 http://popdose.com/mix-six-woodstocks-children/ http://popdose.com/mix-six-woodstocks-children/#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:30:13 +0000 Ted Asregadoo http://popdose.com/?p=27213 DOWNLOAD THE FULL MIX HERE

For the past few weeks — and because of my job managing a promotions department at a radio station — I’ve been inundated with Woodstock. The film Taking Woodstock, the director’s cut of Woodstock, TV specials, and special radio programming dedicated to Woodstock have all, in one way or another, crossed my desk this month. From the way Woodstock is marketed, it’s as if 1969 was the beginning and end of live music festivals. But we all know better. Where I live (the San Francisco Bay Area), the Outside Lands Music and Arts festival just wrapped up. It was a lower key event this year — owing in no small part to The Great Recession– but still, a crush of people descended on Golden Gate Park to enjoy band after band, substance after substance, and being with friends who love live music. Now we all know (or at least I hope most of those who read the music section of Popdose know) that some bands are just sublime live. Other bands, alas, suffer from ProTools-itis. That is to say, their limited musical abilities are masked by the plug-ins and other bells and whistles that come with digital multi-track recording. I’m happy to report that the bands and performers featured here have probably all used Pro Tools, but not for the reasons stated above. One disclaimer: before you get started sampling this mix, the song by Westbound Train is not a live recording, but I have seen crappy You Tube videos of them, and they are a tight, talented group.

Viva la live!

The Raconteurs, “Old Enough” (download)

I’ve read enough on the Internets about Jack White being a giant D bag, but let’s bracket the personal stuff for a moment and just focus on the music. The studio version of “Old Enough” is, to me, just okay. I wasn’t really blown away by it until I heard (and saw — since this is taken from the DVD) this version from the Bonnaroo Festival in 2008. The song just comes alive (in a Peter Frampton kind of way) that reveals a level of playing that for some reason doesn’t come through in the studio version.

Elvis Costello, “All You Need Is Love”(download)

I just bought this DVD a couple of weeks ago because I was thinking about Live Aid and how that concert was, for me, one of those magical moments when music, as the cliche goes, can make a difference. The documentary that’s on the four disc set takes the viewer from the initial BBC documentary about famine in Africa, to the recording of “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” to Live Aid, and then to post-glow of the concert where the political reality of distributing the food had more than a few bumps.

Not all the performers are on this disc (most notably Led Zeppelin and Santana), and the song order on some of the performances are out of whack, but what a concert it was. Reading the liner notes, there’s an interesting bit of trivia about how Bob Geldof didn’t want the tapes of the concert saved. MTV and the BBC ignored his request, but other companies complied and erased the copies of the tapes. It was only because so many performances surfaced on the Internet that Geldof decided to put together an official DVD — and I’m glad he did. The sound and picture quality are really quite excellent, and having most of the concert in one complete package is a great memento of an amazing day. I had forgotten about Elvis Costello’s version of “All You Need Is Love” until I saw it on the DVD and thought it was a wonderful display of sincerity from a guy whose lyrics are certainly sincere, but often bitter.

The Rolling Stones with AC/DC, “Rock Me Baby” (download)

Before the Great H1N1 scare, 2003 was the year SARS got everyone all panicked. So much so, the city of Toronto suffered a “vote with their feet” economic downturn after an outbreak of SARS among 257 people and a number of deaths (over 40). To essentially say “Hey, we’re back and this SARS thing is mostly hysteria” the Rolling Stones, Rush, AC/DC, and a number of other acts got together and put on a huge concert in Toronto. Almost 500,000 people gathered to see this daylong event. The DVD features some great performances from The Isley Brothers, the Guess Who, Rush, and AC/DC. But, for me, the best part was seeing fans of the Stones throw bottles on the stage during “Miss You” (featuring Justin Timberlake). Just seeing Keith Richards lose his temper was worth the price of the DVD. However, the Stones with AC/DC doing the B.B. King tune “Rock Me Baby” was pretty damn impressive.

Candlebox, “Arrow” (download)

It’s hard to believe that the 25th anniversary of Woodstock was in 1994, but there ’tis! This celebration, however, was anything but a reunion. Instead, the 1994 Woodstock — which wasn’t held on the site of the 1969 event — was marked by branding it with a Gen X stamp. Sure, some of the alums of 1969 concert were there, but really the mud-soaked field, the mud fight the audience had with Green Day, the sheer loudness of the performances on the second and third day of the event carried on the spirit of Woodstock (i.e., a musical event that marked a generation). And Candlebox — while not really the music of a generation — certainly reflected the power of the gathering with a blistering performance.

Westbound Train, “Come and Get It” (download)

I dropped the ball on the live performance here — mostly because I couldn’t get my hands on a good live recording of this song. Nevertheless, the Warped Tour may be a concert that tries too hard to be hardcore — and falls very short. But lurking among the throng of emo bands and “Mommy never hugged me” screamer groups, there’s Westbound Train. Their ska sound added a much needed counterpoint to the plethora of soundalikes at this year’s Warped Tour.

Bjork, “Aeroplane” (Download)

Because of a recent trip to Rasputin Records, I can now say that I am the proud owner of all three 120 Minutes CDs produced by MTV. This one has the moniker “Live,” and what that means is that the performers featured here played in the 120 Minutes studio. And because I’m a semi-prisoner to the Sugarcubes and Bjork, I had to have this one for Bjork’s live performance of “Aeroplane” –with has a kind of Indian lounge feel. So, sorry for cheating on this song and Westbound Train because the recordings were not captured at large outdoor music events … but hey, no one got hurt, right?

I’m a sheep at the card table, just waiting to be fleeced. I’ve got no poker face, for starters — everything comes out in the eyebrows, and in the smirk I simply cannot erase. Add in a general fogginess on the actual rules of most card games, and you can see how I’d spend a rainy afternoon getting fearsomely bluffed by a five-year old in multiple hands of I Doubt It.

But as a writer, I’m in love with the language, with the music of the games, with double down and shoot the moon, with five-card charleys and busted flushes and inside straights, with one-eyed jacks and suicide kings. There’s romance in that language, and it has run like an underground river through folk and popular song for centuries before Lady GaGa was born.

LISTEN TO THE FULL MIX

“The Rovin’ Gambler,” Tennessee Ernie Ford

This is one of my earliest pop music memories. My dad had a fistful of Columbia promo LPs, cheap disposable things — the “Now that’s What I Call Music” of their day, I guess — fifteen or more years old even when I first heard them. I was allowed to listen to them on my little turntable with the built-in speakers. Al Hirt, June Christy, Steve and Eydie, Les Baxter — it all seemed so impossibly grown-up. And Ernie Ford, with his finger-snapping shuffles and that big, friendly voice, seemed almost like a favorite uncle.

“The Card Cheat,” the Clash

This is Strummer & Co. going back to some of their own pop memories, I think. It sounds like they’re trying to make a Petula Clark record here.

“Solitaire,” Suzanne Vega

These days, more and more kids are getting their first exposure to card games via the computer. They’re missing the essential people-reading skills, maybe, but taking a short ride to the obsessive nature of the pastime. I don’t play many computer games, myself, precisely because I know I’m capable of pissing away an entire evening at hand after hand of Vegas-rules Klondike.

“The Ace of Spades,” Motörhead

The cards make such a brilliant metaphor that sometimes it’s hard to stop seeing them as such. Symbolism is so inevitable that even the author of the stubbornly literal “Killed By Death” is seduced by it.

“Shape of My Heart,” Sting

Say, remember how weird it was to see Sting playing the lead character’s dad in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels?

“Deal,” the Jerry Garcia Band

I’m one of those sneery punk types who hated the Grateful Dead, and I always assumed that I hated them because of Jerry Garcia. As I listened further, though, I noted how lively and focused Jerry’s work could sound with Dave Grisman and the Jerry Garcia Band. I still hate the Dead. But now I blame Bob Weir. That motherfucker.