Patriotic Songs

01 Jamas te olvidare, chucho avellanet
I don't think you need to speak Spanish to understand it's a mixed blessing when Chucho says he will jamas te olvidare ("never forget you"). It's like he's walking the Latino version of Johnny Cash's line between menace and flattery with questions like "Where could you be? Who are you with? And tell me who ... who are you kissing?"
Fortunately the bright horn section smooths out any lingering weirdness, and maybe reminds his woman how much fun Chucho is.

02 Electric feel, MGMT
SCENE: My 5-year college reunion, 2:14 a.m.
PETE: Where's Matt?
MATT'S X-GIRLFRIEND: He's playing bass for this one band. They're big in Europe. What do you do?
PETE: I write for a newspaper. It's small in Virginia.

03 White winter hymnal, fleet foxes
I hear the Beach Boys' influence in a lot of music right now. Here, we see what Brian Wilson might have done as a 14th century minstrel.

04 Fidelity, regina spektor
Strictly a crowd pleaser. Its batting clean-up because my girlfriend suggested some of these might potentially alienate a listener. Now the haters can say, "I skipped everything but that HA-A-A-A-A-A-ART song."

05 After laughter (comes tears), wendy rene
Macy said she doesn't like minor songs. But there's hope here. The way Wendy wails at 2:45 suggests some bittersweet make-up lovin.

06 Man made lake, calexico
I've spent a lot of time with most of these songs, so I wanted to include one I heard for the first time last week. I imagined Smith Mountain Lake.

07 Don't be scared, a.r.e. weapons
This song's message is particularly important in the post-9/11 era.

08 Nashville, liz phair
Liz's building, almost breaking, voice at 1:50 is one of my favorite song climaxes. Once, after a concert, I asked her what it meant to "feel it seep through the slick divide." She sang the lyric softly to herself and said, "Well, I was hanging out with Urge Overkill a lot then and it sorta felt like I was about to be famous."

09 Heaven is a truck, pavement
I got into this band when I was in my 20s, but always wished a cool uncle had said "You should listen to Pavement" when I was a teenager. I was iffy about including it. Then Matt mentioned he liked piano hooks.

10 The trident pool, pedro + the dolphins
This is me and my buddy Laurence. Every word is true. My mom walked in on us and, at 1:17, asks "Guess who called." It was still our best take so kept it.

11 Blue room, chet baker
This is like a cross between a love song and a ghost story. Chet Baker was a lifelong addict, who said he had to use the horse to even be able to sing in his unmanly tenor. And here it is totally naked.



Afterword: I wanted to order these songs so that they would be undressing production-wise -- like from heaviest production (Chucho) to as bare as it gets (Chet).

saturday = youth

1. "Underground" by Das Pop from Das Pop (2009)
This is a somewhat unknown outfit from Belgium, which is why I lifted the infectious single from their forthcoming self-titled album. I wanted the first track of the mixtape to be something unfamiliar.

2. "Doing It Right" by The Go! Team from Proof of Youth (2007)
Off the Reading, England, quintet's sophomore effort, this track leaves me exhilarated almost every time I listen to it.

3. "D.A.N.C.E." by Justice from Cross (2007)
"That song made me want to sing the alphabet." That's what Jared said when he heard it. That's what I was hoping someone would want to do.

4. "Strange Love" by Depeche Mode from Music for the Masses (1987)
The only reason I included this in the mixtape was to have A Song That Is Actually From the 1980s. It didn't fit in the mixtape the way I hoped it would.

5. "Red Socks Pugie" by Foals from Antidotes (2008)
"You put in too much of that dance shit you like." One of the recipients of the mixtape said that. I don't remember if that was what (s)he said verbatim, so I won't say who it is.

6. "Foundations" by Kate Nash from Made of Bricks (2008)

7. "Dawn of the Dead" by Does It Offend You Yeah? from You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into (2008)

8. "Pogo" by Digitialism from Idealism (2007)
This song is a perfect example of that dance shit I like. They're a German duo, and their entire debut album is excellent.

9. & 10. "Montreal -40" and "Pate Filo" by Malajube from Trompe-L'oeil (2007)
The dudes from this Quebec outfit (say it MAL-a-zhoob) manipulate old-time pop craftsmanship to create tracks that are at the same time funny and beautiful. They can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with artists like Arcade Fire or the Flaming Lips, but most people will never hear about them because they sing in French.

11. "Patrick Swayze Lenny Kravitz" by Adelphi from myspace.com/adelphi (2008)
This is a band from Baltimore County, Md., and an example that many people out there, somewhere, are making awesome music in a basement, somewhere.

Matt's Eleven Songs

Here you go, my rendition of our eleven song standard.

First things first: the odd title on your disc (each disc has a different one) is an anagram of "Matts Eleven Songs."

Methodology: Well, I just started by picking my seven or eight favorite artists and/or songs that I thought the crew might appreciate. I borrowed Jorge's ethic of choosing more accessible songs if the artist might be more obscure.

After that I just organized what I had organically. I knew what I wanted first, and each song after that is one the previous song reminded me of on some organic level, which I either won't disclose or can't articulate. I filled out the remaining songs based on that idea -- this song or that reminded me of one I didn't have in the mix yet, so I added it. Somewhere in my pea brain, these all flow perfectly one to the next.

The numbers: Being a data guy, I can't help but notice the numbers. Eleven songs, 48.9 minutes. That's an average of almost 4:30 a song. Pretty long. Four songs here are over five minutes, and one is over six. Three are four over four minutes.

The notes:

1. "Use It" by The New Pornographers.
Great band, Canadian I think, and this is among their latest releases, if not their latest. I wanted something with pace and energy to start with. I listen to this album often, and picked this for, among other reasons, the great piano hook. I love poppy kind of hooks.

2. "To Go Home" by M. Ward.
Neil turned me on to M. Ward in a mix he gave me before we started the group. My fave song by this guy is the one Neil gave me, but I didn't want to gift that back to Neil, so I picked another off the same album, which I bought immediately after hearing "Chinese Translation, which Neil posted in video form on this blog. More piano here, kids singing backing vocals, which I think is cool, and this great lyric: "God it's great to be alive, takes the skin right off my hide, to think I have to give it all up some day.

3. "While You Were Sleeping" by Elvis Perkins.
Pandora introduced me to Perkins. I loved this song instantly, the way it builds from a simple folk song with guitar and vocals to a kind of acoustic riot by the end, with each verse adding an instrument. Perkins, if you don't know, is the son of actor Anthony Perkins of "Psycho" fame and who died of AIDS may years ago. His mother was on a plane that hit the World Trade Center on 9/11. He can be kinda dark, but I love this album.

4. "Elephant Gun" by Beirut.
Jorge gets credit for turning me on to Beirut, which is mainly this teenage prodigy (when he started the band, anyway) from New Mexico. It's the atmosphere and ethnic flavor of this stuff that grabbed me, along with the horn hook.

5. "All Her Favorite Fruit" by Camper Van Beethoven.
Before David Lowry turned out to be an enormous asshole and Cracker went to crap, Lowry wrote amazing songs for Camper Van. The European flavor of the Beirut song I think reminded me of this tune, a favorite of mine for its mood and lyrics. "She serves him peppered steak, and corn... and pulls her dress up over her head."

6. "Hang Down Your Head" by Tom Waits.
Back when I was an unrepentent punker, it was Tom Waits who opened my mind to the music I was missing by blowing my mind. I saw him on Letterman one night doing "In the Neighborhood" from "Swordfishtrombones." Bought the LP the next day at The Record Exchange and I've loved Waits ever since. This is from "Rain Dogs," the follow up to "Swordfishtormbones," an album more guitar-driven and country and blues flavored than the former. Keith Richards plays on a few tracks.

7. "Dried Up" by the Ass Ponys
If Skynard and Crazy Horse had a bastard child and left it in an orphanage in Cincinnati, this is what it would sound like. Simple songs here, alt.country basically, lyrically moody -- and often hilarious, though not on this song. Alot of these songs evoke for me being a kid in the 70s and having a teenage brother. "I recall the smell of summer on your skin. We were 17 and everything was pounding and it wouldn't top." I feel like I've seen this before, kind of like when I watch "Dazed and Confused."

8. "Two Way Monologue" by Sondre Lerche
Chris introduced me to this album by this Norwegian guy, which is alternately Beatle-ish, poppy and jazzy. Great arrangements, too.

9. "Fiery Crash" by Andrew Bird
This is Bird's second appearance on an 11-song disc, and this is from the same album Beth chose hers from. I could have picked any number of songs from the album, but chose this one because earlier this year, I was sitting in O'Hare in line to board a plane and this song came on my iPod. "You have to imagine the fiery crash."

10. "Real Estate" by Scott Brookman
This guy is from Salem -- Salem!!! Scott's an old, old friend of mine who I used to play a lot of music with when he stilled lived here. He's based in Richmond now. Scott's enamored of 60s pop, even the stuff you might consider dreck, like Burt Bacharach. But bear in mind that people as uber-cool as Elvis Costello have recognized Bacharach's genius and recorded with him. I find Scott's whole album -- and I say this with obvious bias for my friend -- to be absolute candy. (Shameless plug: Available on iTunes and eMusic.)

11. "Missing the War" by Ben Folds Five
This may be the most common song on the disc, but I love Ben Folds and I love this song because it evokes the life of a middle-age male pretty damn well. I think one of the main reasons I included it, though, was to give the song before it some context. Plus, it builds to a terrific finish, which every mix needs.

Now we know why the android is paranoid!

Because Radiohead ripped off the Pretty Things.

See for yoself.

Da Harvey Code

Neil has intimated, by comment and color-scheme, that his mix tape is in three parts. But what are the separate parts of this triptych? And who can unlock the ageless secrets of Da Harvey Code?

Harvey 11 - (Play This Loud)

Screw it. Here's my playlist ....

1) Dialogue: A message about non-comformity and collaboration by Jack Palance. Just be aware that we're getting close to ... burnout.

2) "Blockbuster" - by Sweet

3) and 4) "The Good Mr. Square"/"She Was Tall, She Was High" - by The Pretty Things

5) "Brain" - by The Action

6) Dialogue: A snippet from 1950's radio personality Symphony Sid, introducing Miles Davis' nonet during sessions for the "Birth of the Cool" album.

7) "Fools" - by The Dodos

8) "The Passenger" - by Iggy Pop

9) "The Littlest Birds" - by The Be Good Tanyas

10) "Corrina, Corrina" - by Bob Dylan

11) Dialogue: Excerpt from "The Twilight Zone" episode titled "Where Is Everybody?"

12) "Navajo Joe" - by Ennio Morricone

13) "Today's Your Day (Whachagonedu?)" - by Fatlip featuring Charli 2na

14) "Departures" - by Karminsky Experience, Inc.

"One with a Bullet"

I'm in the process of remixing and remastering my disc for this week.

Here's a very short Tobias Wolff story I came this close to tossing onto the tail end of the mix, just as kind of an odd parting gift or a "hidden track" Easter egg or something.

In the end it was easier just to post here.

T.C. Boyle reads it and if you're going to listen you should just go in cold and skip the pre-game discussion and scan forward to 2:45 on the track where the story starts.

mixes with no song limits

As some of you know I'm a member of another "Seedy Club" that trades mixes on a monthly basis. It's pretty much some college friends and friends of friends.

The two mixes I've received so far have been pretty genre-based. The first was a mix of mostly-instrumental DJ stuff: Aphex Twin, that sort of thing. The second was a two-disc set entitled "Classical Music You Probably Don't Have," which is self-explanatory.

I'd initially thought I'd do a two-disc mix with a pair of my favorite genres: Bluegrass and American hardcore punk. But as you'll see from the set-list below, I decided instead to build on my contribution to the 11-Songs CD club.



1) Eye On Springfield
- When I can put as many songs as I want, I like to start with something that bears little resemblance to the rest of the mix but still helps set the tone. Here we've got Kent Brockman's news theme song from the Simpsons.

2) Bankshot – Operation Ivy
3) Step Right Up – The Pietasters
- These were on my 11-Songs mix. It's a bit risky to put two instrumentals up front but I think works OK.

4) Carry Go Bring Come – The Selector
- Different song by the Selector than "Too Much Pressure" which was on the 11-Songs mix.

5) Nice Nice – The Kingstonians
6) Asshole Dub – Minor Threat
- More repeats from before.

7) Asshole – Government Issue
8) Wasteland – Artificial Peace
9) I Object – Youth Brigade
- DC Hardcore section.



10) Nerd Herder – Descendents
11) Henchman – Bad Religion
- A step to poppier hardcore punk.

12) Hate the Police – Mudhoney
13) Get It Away – SSD
14) No Te Debo Nada – Los Crudos
15) Fusible Front – DS-13
16) Umea Hardcore – DS-13
- A step back to the harder-edged stuff. Los Crudos is a Spanish-language neo-thrash band that broke up a few years back. DS-13 is from Sweden and absolutely awesome. "Umea Hardcore" ends in a way that I hope transitions to the next section.

17) Among the Living – Anthrax
18) Gypsy – Emperor
19) Raining Blood – Slayer
- Which is metal. "Gypsy" is a cover of a King Diamond song by a Norwegian black metal band. Anthrax and Slayer are of course classic thrash metal bands whose songs from the '80s don't sound anything like oldies.



20) My Window – The Resident
21) The Purgatory Line – Drive-By Truckers
- Slayer's "Raining Blood" ends with the sound of a thunderstorm passing through, so it serves as a nice transition to this pair of quieter, more contemplative tracks.

22) Where the Devil Don’t Stay – Drive-By Truckers
23) Ode to a Black Man – The Dirtbombs
- Rockers. "Where the Devil Don't Stay" is about moonshining.

24) It Was a Very Good Beer
25) The Irony of It All – The Streets
- Another Simpsons track that helps transition to a sort of novelty hip-hop track where a UK rapper debates the dualing mindsets of alcoholics and reefer addicts.

26) Judge Dread – Prince Buster All Stars
27) Jumpin’ Beans – The Beans
28) Carry Go Bring Come – Justin Hinds and the Dominoes
- Stuff from the 11-Songs mix. Note that this original "Carry Go Bring Come" brings the mix full-circle from the Selector cover up top.

29) Children Go Where I Send Thee – Marshall Family
- Send 'em home with an a cappella gospel tune. Which also compliments the satanic leanings of Emperor and Slayer.


The entire thing clocks in at just over 77 minutes.

And this, my friends, is what I think of while listening to it:

Double DUTCH

Sometimes I think it would be better if things were a little different or if Gwen Ifill had asked things different so that everyone would see that
OMG!!!!!

Macy's Eleven nonlinear notes

1. "Every Way," Mad Tea Party. I'm not lying: This is really just two people making all this noise, a couple from Asheville. He's playing the drums with his feet, the guitar with his hands and when he's not singing sometimes he plays the harmonica too. She plays the ukelele and sings and wears very awesome Frye boots, which make me real covetous. Thanks to our musician pals, Frances and Lee West, for tipping us off to them when they played 202 Market last month. And next time they're in town, I'll definitely let the squad know -- we should pack the place!

2. "I Love the Rain Most," by Joe Purdy. When I was little, I was the youngest in my neighborhood, and some of the bigger kids were too cool for me but sometimes they begrudgingly let me play. When it rained, I was 100-percent sure that they would not be outside playing without me.

3. "Downtime," by Chuck Prophet. Just a super-cool groove I happened onto via one of those "if you like that song, then you'll really like this song" features on itunes.

4. "At the Beach," by the Avett Brothers. They were in town recently, and I really wanted to go. Instead, I was at the Patrick Henry High School vs. Cave Spring football game watching my son's band march to "The Pyramids of Egypt." Priorities, man.

5. "Casimir Pulaski Day," by Sufjan Stevens. The line about the dad driving to the Navy yard parking lot just to prove he was sorry — killer story-telling. Writing like that makes me believe.

6. "Down the Line," by Jose Gonzalez. Recommended by the coolest niece ever named Willa Rose Vogel who was going to the Grassroots music festivals outside of Ithaca, N.Y., with her hippie parents when she was still in diapers (in their shit-brown van with the "check engine light" flashing red). She has a radio show on Monday nights at Colby College in Maine (though she's in Spain this semester). I'll send you the link when she's back on the air, and maybe she'll give us a shout-out.

7. "Soft and Sweet," by G. Love & Special Sauce. He's all gushy with his new baby on this one — so this is for Sam and Seth and Kathy and John and all our newly urped-upon pals out there.

8. "Everybody Move It," by Teddy Thompson, son of Richard and Linda Thompson, recommended a while back by Kurt Rheinheimer, who writes great short stories about baseball and heartbreak.

9. "Scythian Empires," by Andrew Bird, recommended months ago by our mystery guest, Chris Henson. Chris creates amazing things on his computer while at the same time listening to music and watching "Citizen Kaine" and reading liberal blogs — and yes, I do worry about him come Nov. 5 — at 4:30 in the morning.

10. "Plaid Lined Jacket," by Tom Brosseau, another Willa Rose favorite.

11. "Ed is a Portal," by the Akron Family. I don't know what it means, but it's a great groove to work out to.

The debate's starting, gotta run. Thanks for all the great tunes -- I'm really enjoying these little weekly gifts.

Late night video mini-mix

None of these songs or bands will be included on my mix (which will soon be released on random days at random times in random ways).

The Chinese Translation.

T. Rex.

4 Cent.

The Monks.

The NEW Schedule

Sos I made a mistake with the first schedule cause Grant J. is a squad member and was mistakenly left off the schedule that I posted here before. So here's the UPDATED calendar which we will now be using:

Sept. 3: Mason
Sept. 10: Meg
Sept. 17: Jared
Sept. 24: Tad
Oct. 1: Beth
Oct. 8: Neil
Oct. 15: Jorge
Oct. 22: Matt
Oct. 29: Pete
Nov. 5: Grant
Nov. 12: David
Nov. 19: Mystery member Chris Henson

Closing notes:

>This primarily affects the end of the order: David and Chris. And Matt, who will probably have to tell Chris.

>And remember to include Grant on your CD distribution list.

Apologies,

Pete

Anyone want a random, unlabeled mix?

I'm trying to burn a mix for my *other* mix group, the Seedy Club, but my disc is so mind-blowingly awesome it's apparently short-circuited the program I'm using to burn the CDs.

Three times now I've had the right set list on my screen, but when I burn the disc some songs are left off and others are re-ordered.

The mixes are unlabeled but include a mix of the ska music from my first disc, some early 80s hardcore and revivalist neo-thrash from the early 00s, a couple of Drive-By Truckers tunes, a rocker from the Dirtbombs and even a couple of metal tracks including one from SLAYER~~~!!!!!11!

I've got three.

Come see me if you want one.