First, I must concur with Tom and say that "Am I Black Enough For You" draws you into its spectacular groove from the second it starts.
Now, down to the more pressing matters concerning the mix in its entirety. I personally feel that in comparison to Mike's mix, this one is more theatrical while still having a tongue in cheek playfulness to it overall. I felt at times that the songs were more than just tracks but almost like movements within a play. Normally when I hear new music I don't try to decipher any lyrics let alone try to hear what the vocalist is saying because normally I'm terrible at hearing what is said. That being said, The Grand Spectacular's track certainly caught me off guard when I actually heard what he was saying. Hilarious.
I noticed you had more than one comedy track on here, I had heard "Horse Outside" just last month and got a good laugh when I realized it had wiggled its way into this mix. The only other song I had heard prior to receiving this cd was the Dramarama track, although I can't recall where. (Probably some store overhead radio)
As far as my "homework" goes, I found out that Panoply Academy Glee Club (or the various other names the band assumed) was from close by Bloomington, Indiana. I had to do some google scraping but someone had already done the homework for me in the book "The Great Indie Discography". Ultimately what I found out about them is that they shared a label with a few bands about which I had heard so much, along with the previous mix artist Damien Jurado who happened to play at the Southgate House just last night.
Great mix Clay. I agree with Andrew that the humor was spot on, and not just with the comedy tracks, but also with a couple tracks that are just plain fun (Jud Jud/Glorious Dawn). Shannon Wright, Panoply Academy, Mock Orange... all right in the NSRS wheelhouse. Merkle is a personal fave, and Billy Paul steals the freakin show. Damn nice job with the compiling.
As for my homework track... #4
Although this was my first time knowingly listening to Dead Moon, I'd actually heard of them through a Pearl Jam connection back in the day(PJ and Vedder actually covered them/idolized them - thanks wikipedia). This track started promising, went a little flat with the female vocals, finished strong, and continues to grow on me. Actually I find I like this song (and track 2) more with each listen. First impression, gritty lofi garage rock. I appreciate the fact that if you turn it up loud enough the tape hiss becomes a fourth instrument. Impression after repeated listens: simple but true rock music. For better or worse I like Neil Young. This is what he would have sounded like if he was 20 in 1990(Neil the rocker, not Neil the folkie).
I had track 13. John Eastburn Boswell (March 20, 1947–December 24, 1994) was a prominent historian and a professor at Yale University. Many of Boswell's studies focused on the issue of homosexuality and religion, specifically homosexuality and Christianity.
The John Boswell featured on clay's mix, however, was a different guy -- as I learned after additional wikipedia searches. Boswell's Glorious Dawn features Carl Sagan AND Stephen Hawking. So you know you can dance to it. Boswell's mission is to bring physics to the people. And Lil Wayne owes him quite a debt, as Boswell is apparently one of the pioneers in the use of AutoTune.
Billy Paul and Dan Bern are the only artists I recognize from this mix, so it has been nice to get my horizons expanded a bit. Clutch and Dead Moon are early standouts, and I love the inclusion of the murder ballad towards the end of the mix. (I can't place its title on review of the track list.) I am still toying with making my mix exclusively songs about murder, but that seems like more of an November mix than a July mix.
I had some issues with commenting after Hef's mix hit (user error), so I will post my comments on his disc on the post with the track listing.
Overall: Great. Had the same kind of flow as Heff's disc. Are we working toward an ideal tempo progression?
Variety: Very good. Folk to Funky and a lot in between
Originality: Fantastic. I had none of these songs and was only familiar with two of the artists. Four if you count Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking, which you should.
Judge Nothing, Three Fish, Dead Moon - very nice, good starting points for the rest of the disc.
The Grand Specular - Ha.
Dan Bern - I was very enthused to see him make an appearance. He sounds angry that Heff left him off the first disc. Dan Bern Song about the Cubs = erection for Clay. This song is great, and sparked interest in the events that it documents. Although Bernstein takes liberties with the facts, the story itself has become mythology, and benefits from loose interpretations. For example, it was Johnny Evers that picked up the ball, but that account does not lend to the play on words, "leave nothing Chance".
Greg Graffin (homework (will Corman grade it?)) - A traditional folk song about a murder that occurred in North Carolina in 1808. Similar to Merkle's Boner (heh) the facts have been transformed over time and expression. The murderer, John Lewis, ended up in Clark County, Indiana. The line, "He said he would bring her money and other fine things" is a reference to the practice of compensating the mother of children had out of wedlock. This would have been Noami Wise's third such child. John Lewis spent time in jail, but was never found guilty of murder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omie_Wise
Billy Paul - Yes, you are black enough for me. I love this song.
Black Dub - very nice follow. They have a great sound.
Panoply Academy glee Club - Not my favorite on the disc. I intend to say nothing bad about the tracks that are so thoughtfully sent my direction, save for pointing out which I enjoyed the least.
John Boswell - Jackson got a kick out of this one as well.
Self - Will look into them further, thank you for the intro.
Jud Jud - What is this? Why do I always listen to it twice?
Mock Orange - Wowsers. Mock Orange. I used to see these guys in high school, as they are from my hometown. Me and my siblings were practically raised by the guitarist's mother at her day care service. It is great to see that they are still making their way around, as they deserve nothing but good things.
Rubber Bandits - Very nice.
Creed Bratton - Creed Bratton
Good stuff, Clay. Thank you for the effort. Lots of new stuff for me to dig into here.
2. Junkpile - Judge Nothing
ReplyDelete3. Song for a Dead Girl - Three Fish
4. Down the Road - Dead Moon
5. Being a Dickhead's Cool - The Grand Spectacular
6. Merkle - Dan Bern
7. The Hem Around Us - Shannon Wright
8. Cancer - Poster Children
9. Omie Wise - Greg Graffin
10. Am I Black Enough For You - Billy Paul
11. Last Time - Black Dub
12. The Entrance of the Candidate - Panoply Academy Glee Club
13. Glorious Dawn - John Boswell (Carl Sagan ft. Stephen Hawking)
14. Trunk Fulla Amps - Self
15. Suspect Device - Stiff Little Fingers
16. Anything Anything (I'll Give You) - Dramarama
17. Wah Wah Song - Jud Jud
18. My God - Mock Orange
19. Horse Outside - Rubberbandits
20. Cypress Grove - Clutch
21. Rubber Tree - Creed Bratton
22. Sci-Fi Song - Phillestines, Jr.
My early favorite is definitely Billy Paul's "Am I Black Enough For You".
ReplyDeleteFirst, I must concur with Tom and say that "Am I Black Enough For You" draws you into its spectacular groove from the second it starts.
ReplyDeleteNow, down to the more pressing matters concerning the mix in its entirety. I personally feel that in comparison to Mike's mix, this one is more theatrical while still having a tongue in cheek playfulness to it overall. I felt at times that the songs were more than just tracks but almost like movements within a play. Normally when I hear new music I don't try to decipher any lyrics let alone try to hear what the vocalist is saying because normally I'm terrible at hearing what is said. That being said, The Grand Spectacular's track certainly caught me off guard when I actually heard what he was saying. Hilarious.
I noticed you had more than one comedy track on here, I had heard "Horse Outside" just last month and got a good laugh when I realized it had wiggled its way into this mix. The only other song I had heard prior to receiving this cd was the Dramarama track, although I can't recall where. (Probably some store overhead radio)
As far as my "homework" goes, I found out that Panoply Academy Glee Club (or the various other names the band assumed) was from close by Bloomington, Indiana. I had to do some google scraping but someone had already done the homework for me in the book "The Great Indie Discography". Ultimately what I found out about them is that they shared a label with a few bands about which I had heard so much, along with the previous mix artist Damien Jurado who happened to play at the Southgate House just last night.
Okay, I'm done rambling.
Great mix Clay. I agree with Andrew that the humor was spot on, and not just with the comedy tracks, but also with a couple tracks that are just plain fun (Jud Jud/Glorious Dawn). Shannon Wright, Panoply Academy, Mock Orange... all right in the NSRS wheelhouse. Merkle is a personal fave, and Billy Paul steals the freakin show. Damn nice job with the compiling.
ReplyDeleteAs for my homework track... #4
Although this was my first time knowingly listening to Dead Moon, I'd actually heard of them through a Pearl Jam connection back in the day(PJ and Vedder actually covered them/idolized them - thanks wikipedia). This track started promising, went a little flat with the female vocals, finished strong, and continues to grow on me. Actually I find I like this song (and track 2) more with each listen. First impression, gritty lofi garage rock. I appreciate the fact that if you turn it up loud enough the tape hiss becomes a fourth instrument. Impression after repeated listens: simple but true rock music. For better or worse I like Neil Young. This is what he would have sounded like if he was 20 in 1990(Neil the rocker, not Neil the folkie).
I had track 13. John Eastburn Boswell (March 20, 1947–December 24, 1994) was a prominent historian and a professor at Yale University. Many of Boswell's studies focused on the issue of homosexuality and religion, specifically homosexuality and Christianity.
ReplyDeleteThe John Boswell featured on clay's mix, however, was a different guy -- as I learned after additional wikipedia searches. Boswell's Glorious Dawn features Carl Sagan AND Stephen Hawking. So you know you can dance to it. Boswell's mission is to bring physics to the people. And Lil Wayne owes him quite a debt, as Boswell is apparently one of the pioneers in the use of AutoTune.
Billy Paul and Dan Bern are the only artists I recognize from this mix, so it has been nice to get my horizons expanded a bit. Clutch and Dead Moon are early standouts, and I love the inclusion of the murder ballad towards the end of the mix. (I can't place its title on review of the track list.) I am still toying with making my mix exclusively songs about murder, but that seems like more of an November mix than a July mix.
I had some issues with commenting after Hef's mix hit (user error), so I will post my comments on his disc on the post with the track listing.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOverall: Great. Had the same kind of flow as Heff's disc. Are we working toward an ideal tempo progression?
ReplyDeleteVariety: Very good. Folk to Funky and a lot in between
Originality: Fantastic. I had none of these songs and was only familiar with two of the artists. Four if you count Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking, which you should.
Judge Nothing, Three Fish, Dead Moon - very nice, good starting points for the rest of the disc.
The Grand Specular - Ha.
Dan Bern - I was very enthused to see him make an appearance. He sounds angry that Heff left him off the first disc. Dan Bern Song about the Cubs = erection for Clay. This song is great, and sparked interest in the events that it documents. Although Bernstein takes liberties with the facts, the story itself has become mythology, and benefits from loose interpretations. For example, it was Johnny Evers that picked up the ball, but that account does not lend to the play on words, "leave nothing Chance".
Greg Graffin (homework (will Corman grade it?)) - A traditional folk song about a murder that occurred in North Carolina in 1808. Similar to Merkle's Boner (heh) the facts have been transformed over time and expression. The murderer, John Lewis, ended up in Clark County, Indiana. The line, "He said he would bring her money and other fine things" is a reference to the practice of compensating the mother of children had out of wedlock. This would have been Noami Wise's third such child. John Lewis spent time in jail, but was never found guilty of murder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omie_Wise
Billy Paul - Yes, you are black enough for me. I love this song.
Black Dub - very nice follow. They have a great sound.
Panoply Academy glee Club - Not my favorite on the disc. I intend to say nothing bad about the tracks that are so thoughtfully sent my direction, save for pointing out which I enjoyed the least.
John Boswell - Jackson got a kick out of this one as well.
Self - Will look into them further, thank you for the intro.
Jud Jud - What is this? Why do I always listen to it twice?
Mock Orange - Wowsers. Mock Orange. I used to see these guys in high school, as they are from my hometown. Me and my siblings were practically raised by the guitarist's mother at her day care service. It is great to see that they are still making their way around, as they deserve nothing but good things.
Rubber Bandits - Very nice.
Creed Bratton - Creed Bratton
Good stuff, Clay. Thank you for the effort. Lots of new stuff for me to dig into here.