All Hallow's Mix - Halloween Music

It struck me a while back that there is an inordinate amount of Halloween flavor in Alternative music.  Indie artist the world around make mention of "ghosts", "monsters", "vampires", "evil" and general creepiness.  Perhaps it is the pensive, introspective, and distrusting nature of the artistic mind that drives success in today's music scene.  Or maybe the raw imagery of these spooky specters are so vivid that they lend power and strength to any composition.  Or it could be that we all still like to tell ghost stories around the campfire and yearn for that tingle running down our spine.  Whatever the reason, there are a lot of cool songs out there that have a tinge of All Hallow's Eve.

Here is a mix I made of some of my favorites. 

1) Time of the Season - The Zombies
2) Skin and Bones - JET
3) Creep - Stone Temple Pilots
4) Ghosts - The Head and the Heart
5) Fake Palindromes - Andrew Bird
6) Dracula - Gorillaz
7) Give Up the Ghost - Radiohead
8) Evil Bee - Menomena
9) Your Bones - Of Monsters and Men
10) In Our Blood - Horse Feathers
11) Ghosting - Freelance Whales
12) Creep - Radiohead
13) The Ghost Inside - Broken Bells
14) Vampire - Dr. Dog
15) Scatterbrain (As Dead As Leaves) - Radiohead
16) Ghostship - Menomena
17) Caring is Creepy - The Shins
18) Little Ghost - The White Stripes

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TV on the Radio - A Method

Went to a great concert out at McMenamins Edgefield.  TV on the Radio was playing, and Menomena opened for them.  It was a beautiful day that faded into a perfectly calm night.  As the last vestiges of daylight dwindled in the distance, during the encore, TVOTR came back on to play this little gem.

"A Method" is an infectiously awkward tune driven by manual percussion (i.e. clapping) and flat monotone vocals.  It does grow to crescendo as little by little other instruments are added, but it never loses the focus it begins with so simply.

It is an elegant song, even if it is strange to the ear at first.  But after a few listens you will find yourself whistling the tune at the grocery story, or in the shower, or driving around town.  It is one of those songs that doesn't go away easy.  But you will be happy to know that the song you're humming to yourself in public is cooler than most earwigs that people are stuck with...  (check it out)

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Album Review: Live From Nowhere Near You: Volume 2

Few things inspire pride in the human condition more than when people lend not only their time to worthy causes but their talents as well.  The charity album is not a new idea, but few have the twist of musicians being on the album with many of the very people they are working to help.  This is the concept of Kevin Moyer's "Live From Nowhere Near You: Volume 2".  It is described on the cover as "A Benefit Concept CD: Collaborating Street Musicians + Professionals with the Profits Going to the Homeless and Street Youth Programs of Charity OUTSIDE IN".  A worthy cause indeed, and with 3 CDs, 64 songs, 80+ contributors, and over 3 and half hours of music, many hours and talents were lent in the making of this project.

The album has a jaw dropping line up including: The Strokes, Modest Mouse, The Dandy Warhols, Ryan Adams, Bright Eyes, The Helio Sequence, Wilco, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and members of many other popular bands like Pearl Jam, The Shins, Menomena, and The Decemberists.  Much of it is brand new music, but there are also special previously unreleased demos and acoustic versions of old favorites.

Of course it falls into the common pitfalls of any compilation albums, with artists of such variety and differing genres, of inconsistency and frantic concerns of where it is going next.  But considering the subject matter of the album these issues are not only appropriate but add a tangible feel to the sense of immersion.  "The Streets" are woven throughout and are a reoccurring character reminding the listener not to assume they know what is coming around the next corner.  Musical interludes like the take off of the Jimi Hendrix classic "Little Wings" called "Winging it" by Skeeter, and "A Piano in New York" by Thomas Lauderdale of Pink Martini move the story forward as the journey from block to block continues.

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The Cousin's B-Day Mix 2011

Since the last mix I put up here was from years gone by, I figured I should put up a more recent edition.  My cousin and I are about 16 months apart in age, and while we are very different on several levels, we sort of have our own short hand much like sibling, and one thing we usually agree upon is tunes.  Every now and then he asks for me to make up a mix of music for him, and it has become a nearly annual tradition for me to give him a mix for his birthday.

Here is the latest iteration, I think its a fun blend of some new stuff and some gems from the past.  It also has a good balance between very very chill stuff, and some more up-tempo-get-out-of-your-seat-and-shake-it jams.  But don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself and let me know what you think...

(also if you see my cousin don't tell him you saw this because I give him his birthday mixes without a playlist so he has to do some sleuthing and learn more about the bands on the mix.  But for you, I included links to info on all of the bands)

(song-band-album)

1. Two Weeks- Grizzly Bear- Veckatimest
2. Wordless Chorus- My Morning Jacket- Z
3. Hang On- Dr. Dog- Fate
4. I Gotta Woman- Toots & The Maytals- Light Your Light
5. Rosetta Stone- Bombadil- A Buzz, a Buzz
6. Sailing to Nowhere- Broken Bells- Broken Bells
7. Cubism Dream- Local Natives- Gorilla Manor
8. Thistled Spring- Horse Feathers- Thistled Spring
9. The Black Roses- Codeine Velvet Club- Codiene Velvet Club
10. Dirty Cartoons- Menomena- Mines
11. Ragged Wood- Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
12. Hotel Yorba- The White Stripes- White Blood Cells
13. A Good Man is Easy to Kill- Beulah- The Coast is Never Clear
14. Weekend Wars- MGMT- Oracular Spectacular
15. Say Hello- Stars of Track and Field- Centuries Before Love and War
16. Don't Look Away- The Helio Sequence- Love and Distance
17. Hannah- Freelance Whales- Weathervanes
18. Daylight- Matt & Kim- Grand

A couple final notes- My Morning Jacket just had a real cool set on VH1 Storytellers; Toots & The Maytals is playing at the Washington Park Rose Garden Amphitheater on the 4th of July (just a few weeks from the time of this post, buy tixx here); The Polymouth is still mourning the breakup of The White Stripes, say it ain't so Jack and Meg; and as always stop piracy and BUY THE MUSIC!

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