ONE YEAR OF MIXES. christmas '06.

oh friends, it has been a long and strange adventure. some months, i feel like taking a hiatus and skipping a mix, but luckily i get flattered by e-mails from friends with much swearing and cursing asking me for a new mix. and so, i continue. besides, apparently this monthly mix thing is a good idea:

rule #5:
Be prolific: Instead of a four-disc year-end box set, hand out mixtapes several times a year. "If you don't, people lose interest," Kid says, and they'll move on to the next up-and-comer, like, say, your Uncle Steve.

here we go, the christmas '06 mix:

1. sufjan stevens - once in david's royal city
2. john prine - jesus, the missing years
3. john fahey - carol of the bells
4. aimee mann - god rest ye merry gentlemen
5. zoot sims - blinuet
6. harry connick, jr. - winter wonderland
7. snl's tv funhouse & darlene love - christmastime for the jews
8. the choir of westminster cathedral - the holly and the ivy
9. nat king cole - i saw three ships
10. ivy - christmas time is here
11. ella fitzgerald - jingle bells
12. ray brown trio with diana krall - santa clause is coming
13. mark mothersbaugh - snowflake music
14. john fahey - god rest ye merry gentlemen
15. the tipitina foundation (from studio 60) - o holy night
16. calexico - gift x-change

download: http://www.bazoomercom.com/ari/Christmas%20'06.zip

sufjan. do i really need an explanation at this point? plus i love obscure christmas music. john prine is one of those songwriters whose songwriting may not be the most subtle, but i always appreciate his sense of humor. does a nice job illustrating the confusing period between birth and oh, say, age 31. for those of you that have been enjoying/sharing my obsession with m. ward and sufjan should check out more of john fahey's stuff. he was a huge influence for both of them, and is rapidly becoming a huge influence of mine as well. a lot of friendlymixtape alums here, as aimee mann makes another appearance. then you ask yourself, "why blinuet by zoot sims?" well, first, because it's on the rushmore soundtrack, and the rushmore soundtrack always makes me think of winter. second, it provides a nice segue into harry connick jr.'s cover of santa clause is coming to town. the above image of jesus was provided by robert smigel and snl's the best of tv funhouse (by far my top recommended dvd right now), who also provided this fantastic christmas classic, christmastime for the jews. gotta love the line about the daily show. now for those of you that have been playing close attention to the mixes, you'll notice i've repeated two songs from last year's mix. one is the choir of westminster cathedral's version of the holly and the ivy. the other is coming up soon. why, you ask? well, because holiday music tends to be steeped in nostalgia, and i think it's a beautiful piece of music, so bite me. of course, keeping with the nostalgia theme, no christmas mix is complete without nat king cole. the second tune i repeated from last year is ivy's cover of guaraldi's christmastime is here. for those of you with alert eyes and ears...next, ella's version of jingle bells has to be the best version ever recorded. diana krall... well, i needed the token smoky seductress carol on their somewhere, right? more rushmore soundtrack stuff with devo's mark mothersbaugh and some pop-baroque goodness. i threw on a second john fahey track for good measure. if you caught studio 60 a couple of weeks ago, you were probably weeping during the final scene of the show during a musical tribute to the city of new orleans performed by the tipitina foundation. good for nbc for letting people download it for free. and finally, a brilliant, if unorthodox holiday-oriented song from friendlymixtape favorites, calexico.

a happy chanukkah, a festive kwanzaa, a merry christmas, and best of luck for the new year. i'm your biggest fan.

also, 1-2 more mixes coming this month. and don't forget to check out jeff's post too!

jeffroi gives her a go.

(Ed. note: personally, I'm looking forward to the Peggy Lee...)

01 – Jarabe de Palo – Bonito

02 – Iron & Wine – Naked as We Came

03 – Peggy Lee – Them There Eyes

04 – Jesusland – Ben Folds

05 – Little Things – Lilly Allen

06 – Seu Jorge – Tive Razão

07 – Josh Rouse – Streetlights

08 – Amélie Soundtrack – Comptine d'un autre été – l'après-midi

09 – Damien Rice – Delicate

10 – Gemma Hayes – Back of My Hand

11 – Ingrid Lucia and the Flying Neutrinos – Violent Love

12 – Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs – Sovay

13 – Missy Higgins – The River

14 – Margot and the Nuclear So & So's – Talking in Code

15 – The Ditty Bops – Wishful Thinking

16 – Ben Folds – Emaline

17 – Lou Reed & The Velvet Underground – Perfect Day

Download: http://www.bazoomercom.com/ari/mix%20for%20friendlymixtape.zip

Hi all: I figured it was my turn to give back all that I've taken from this site. So this is an eclectic mix of sounds, but one that will hopefully sate the variegated palate that this crowd doubtless already possesses. Some of these songs I've been listening to for years; others I've just discovered. We begin with a little bit of Jarabe de Palo for no other reason other than this is a song that just makes you feel good – everything seems beautiful to Jarabe, which is good enough for me. I'm tossing Iron & Wine on there so folks can get a flavor for what he sounds like independently; I know Ari has offered some I&W teaming up with Calexico before. Them There Eyes is a good song to foxtrot or swing too, plus it's just a fun song. Being a pianist, I'm simply inclined to like Ben Folds. Jesusland is from his Songs for Silverman set which I highly recommend. Little Things by Lilly Allen was introduced to me by a co-worker; the rest of her stuff, as Ed will probably tell you, is pretty solid as well. Her sound has spunk, kind of muted in this track, but others definitely portray it quite well. Anyone who's seen Life Aquatic should check out Seu Jorge not playing David Bowie – here's a start. The album from which this track is taken, Cru, offers truly diverse sounds, some of which are easier to digest than others. Josh Rouse is pretty solid; "Streetlights" is taken from his album Nashville, which has several good tracks on it. Track 08 is on there because the soundtrack from Amélie kicks tail as a whole and, again, I'm a piano guy. Damien Rice combines guitar, cello, percussion and vocals on this track for some great sounds; he's best known for his song "Blower's Daughter" found on the CD "O" which is also host to the track I'm including here. I'm not a fan of all of Gemma Hayes's stuff, but "Back of My Hand" is one of her earlier songs that I think is pretty solid. Ingrid Lucia's "Violent Love" is on here because I enjoy it when mid-20^th century sounds combine with 21^st century lyrics. Andrew Bird – 'nuff said. Missy Higgins is one of those singers who isn't afraid of the sound of her own voice, which is fortunate, because it's a good one. I discovered Margot and the Nuclear So & So's a bit late, but now, despite the fact that they're borderline emo, I dig them a lot. The Ditty Bops are on here because they are truly bizarre – check out their music videos (starting with the one for Wishful Thinking). Emaline's on here because it's one example of a song sounding ten times better when done solo than when done with a band. Check it. And finally, we end with a Perfect Day, because why wouldn't we.

i've got a passion for rhyme in my ration of time

first of all, thanks to adri for pointing this out to me:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/55260

see? i do it all for you...




















the days are getting shorter and winter is slowly coming upon us... i just wish it were a bit nippier, to be honest. i love when the air gets colder and the snow starts to set in. i'm gearing up for a solid holiday season. next month, when we celebrate one year on the air, there will be a new holiday mix waiting for ya and rearin' to go.

here is november:

1. calexico - redwood
2. broken social scene - stars & sons
3. metric - the police and private
4. the roots - long time
5. bonobo - flutter
6. herman dune - not on top
7. erasto vasconcelos + fabio trummer - o baile betinha
8. calexico - crooked road and the briar
9. the incredible moses leroy - 1983
10. yume bitsu - sharp, twisted
11. califone - our kitten sees ghosts
12. calexico - 6 white horses
13. hooverphonic - renaissance affair
14. my brightest diamond - golden star
15. the decemberists - yankee bayonet
16. nat king cole - walkin' my baby home
17. m. ward - paul's song
18. sufjan stevens - pittsfield

download: http://bazoomercom.com/ari/November%20'06.zip

well, i just bought a lap steel guitar so i've been pretty excited about all things slide guitar lately. thus, there's a couple of short pedal steel tracks from calexico's joey burns off of the absolutely amazing tour-only cd aerocalexico. you can get it on their website too... highly recommended. more broken social scene. stars & sons was on the soundtrack to one of my favorite movies of the year, half nelson. i think it's one of the best american movies in a long time. also on the same record label, arts + crafts, is metric, another great band from toronto. the police and private brings out some of emily haines' political songwriting. man, game theory by the roots has quickly moved up the ranks for me. what an amazing album! this is one of the highlights, long time. tyler took me up to montreal to see bonobo last year, and i had been meaning to get one of his discs for a while. just picked up dial 'm' for monkey and am quite happy with it. i don't get herman dune's deal, and i don't care. you HAVE to watch the video of this track to get the full effect, but the lyrics say it all. after all, i don't know if i'll ever get my shirt together. this brazilian track, o baile betinha came off of a great compilation of contemporary brazilian music called transformer. crooked road and the briar is another great calexico track off of aerocalexico. truth be told, i like the name the incredible moses leroy more than most of his tracks, but 1983 is a pretty catchy tune. more noisy goodness from yume bitsu. i got the califone recommendation from jess and pitchfork, and am slowly getting warmed up to it. more calexico pedal-steel goodness. you might remember hooverphonic's renaissance affair from a VW ad back in the day (one of my favorite ads of all time, around the same time as the nick drake, pink moon ad) but this tune has stuck around as one of my favorites. my brightest diamond recently performed with sufjan stevens at austin city limits, and is on sufjan's label asthmatic kitty. she reminds me of a female jeff buckley. thanks to adriane for introducing me to the decemberists. they had plenty of promotional help though, with all the posters around boston. well, the nat king cole track is prepping us for the holidays, but this tune is a nice late fall/early winter intro to the cold. i'm not likely to get sick of m. ward any time soon, but who'd want to with songs like paul's song. and this is a track i've been meaning to put on for months, but i kept forgetting: pittsfield by sufjan. i first heard it while my ipod was on shuffle driving back from new york in an epic rainstorm last summer, and it was the best drive. what a beautiful track.

before there were snakes on a plane...

there was tv on the radio.




















what a month of live music! october kicked off with anais playing a show for a bunch of somervillioanairs (thanks, bostonist!) at toad. as the month progressed, i managed to catch great big sea (shout out to ahmek), tv on the radio, and broken social scene.
now that the obsession has been somewhat satiated by a live performance, i'm staying away from posting any more tvotr tracks. but seriously, don't waste any time: see them live now. they're the future of music 'n shit.

october... october's mix is fumbly and disjointed, much like i'm feeling these days. i wish i could tell you that there is some sort of cohesion to this latest collection, but "i'm not gonna stand up here and lie to you," as m. ward would say. at one point, i thought this mix should be all jazz. then i was thinking all brazilian music. in the end, i think it works track to track if not in the aggregate.


i'm thinking of getting serious about music again. right now, names floating around include academagician (should i go for some kind of four tet-ish kind of thing) , parade turned traffic (as some sort of troubador project), and... well, that's all i have for now. stay tuned on that front. here's the mix:

1. mark turner - zurich
2. boston afrobeat society - ebami eda
3. amadou et mariam - la fete au vilage
4. broken social scene - stars & sons
5. calexico - love will tear us apart
6. silver jews - let's not and say we did
7. demetri martin - personal information waltz
8. m. ward - let my love open the door
9. emily haines & the soft skeleton - our hell
10. fred hersch trio + 2 - a riddle song
11. linda draper - parasite
12. howie gelb - my grandfather's clock
13. martha wainwright - bloody mother fucking asshole (sic)
14. gilberto gil & jorge ben - nega
15. telefon tel aviv - ttv
16. broken social scene - lover's spit
17. yume bitsu - song seven

download: http://www.bazoomercom.com/ari/October%20'06.zip

i never would've thought that a jazz tune would provide my favorite all-time groove, but this is it. mark turner's zurich has influenced a lot of my electronic stuff; i think of the drum production as the gold standard of groove-based music. absolutely perfect. on that note, it's not often (if ever) that i get to hype a friend's band, but you have to hear the boston afrobeat society live to fully experience their greatness. you'll be hearing from these guys soon enough. ed reminded me that i had been meaning to put a track by senegalese duo amadou et mariam for quite some time. it's tracks like this that make you realize how completely absurd the label "world music" is (google david byrne's essay on the subject). i absolutely loved the movie half nelson, for which broken social scene provided a soundtrack. stars & sons, from my favorite of their albums you forgot it in people, will make you want to rock out walking down the street. calexico covering joy division sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but instead it comes across as how wilco's spiders (kidsmoke) was supposed to sound. there is something satisfying about indie rock bands that don't take themselves too seriously, and i would put silver jews in this category. mindless fun! if you haven't caught demetri martin's segment trendspotting on the daily show, i highly recommend a quick trip over to youtube right now. then come back and listen to him and will forte discuss what happened two weeks ago. speaking of wilco-influenced covers, m. ward borrows a bit of the YHF-era production values on this pete townshend cover, a second inclusion from a fabulous cover album entitled sweethearts 2005. emily haines... how can she sound so happy in broken social scene and so heartbreaking in her own stuff? i still love her. fred hersch's piano playing: understated style, unmatched execution. i put linda draper on a couple of mixes for friends not really knowing too much about her, but she is great at the atmospheric production. howie gelb provides a nice segue track on the m. ward-produced tribute album i am the resurrection. rufus' sister martha wainwright manages to nail the pitfalls of love almost literally on... well, you'll know the chorus soon enough. gil & jorge rock the hell out on nega, reminding us that sometimes the best grooves are just two guys with guitars, voices and a shitload of rhythm. and telefon tel aviv is here to remind us that sometimes a computer can help too. i love the epic one-two punch of broken social scene's lover's spit and yume bitsu's song seven as an end to this month's mix. strong and powerful, but layered with complexity. some food for thought... see you next month.

just in the nick of time.

so, if i had to dedicate this month's (ed. note: delinquent) mix of other people's fabulous mixes to anyone, it would have to be the wonderful and forever creative ryan adams. jess, whose epic two-disc summer mix is partially represented on here, introduced me to whiskeytown's back-catalog, which mostly consists of adams-penned tunes.

however, as a lot of fans of ryan adams know already, there are two pretty strange and distinct sides to his persona. first is the mountain man/troubador, represented in photograph #1. second is the bumbling drunkard clown represented in #2. most of the mix, ryan adams sticks to persona #1. but yesterday, he made my day by launching the new version of his website, which included this wonderful gem of a tune that has had me smiling all of the last two days:

ryan adams: aw shit, look who's got a website!

maybe i should've gone with the whiskeytown first... anyways, first, some acknowledgements: thanks to susanna, jess and ronit for the tunes on this mix. the ironic thing about making monthly mixes of what you're listening to is that occasionally other people make you mixes that you end up listening to non-stop. therefore, here is a sample of the mixes that i have been obsessed with for the last few months. as for next month, don't fret, as i already have october mostly finished... sorta.

1. the spinto band - oh mandy
2. the flaming lips - this here giraffe
3. whiskeytown - crazy about you
4. stephen malkmus - face the truth
5. hayden - the hazards of sitting beneath palm trees
6. the boy least likely to - be gentle with me
7. silversun pickups - kissing families
8. hard-fi - hard to beat
9. scout niblett - lullaby for a scout in 10 years
10. pinback - shag
11. serena maneesh - don't come down here
12. vetiver - no one word
13. idaho - hearts of palm
14. whiskeytown - easy hearts
15. red house painters - michigan
16. richard buckner - ariel ramirez

download: http://www.bazoomercom.com/ari/September%20'06.zip

i don't understand any single part of this song, except for the rerun on the WB part, but the spinto band kick off the smile fest with their ode to mandy, oh mandy. keeping with the theme of songs i don't understand, this here giraffe showcases the flaming lips constant ability to come up with some of the more original grooves in indie rock. and the guitar riff puts modest mouse to shame. whiskeytown keeps it poppy and sentimental in the best way with crazy about you. ryan adams #1. malkmus rocks the hell out with face the truth. warning us of the hazards of sitting beneath palm trees, hayden reminds me of old-school cake but with a little bit more pizazz. great summer driving song. i kind of think of spinto and the boy least likely to in the same breath: kind of perky, and finding light in the darkness or something like that. keeping with the theme of bands that sound like bands from the mid-90's, i hear a lot of smashing pumpkins in silversun pickups, especially in this catchy track kissing families. hard-fi is for the brit-pop quotient, contingent in any mix i make every few months. something tells me that scout niblett's lullaby for a 10 year-old scout would be awesome live. something about the dramatic use of dynamics. i love the production of pinback's shag. the song has the potential to sound a bit hollow, but the production is what makes it great. i love getting lost in serena maneesh's expansive sound. this song kind of lulls me into a strange mood every time. vetiver is really something else. folksy in a way i haven't heard in a while. i have to say that this idaho song has been one of my favorites the last few months. short and sweet. ryan adams nails it again with easy heart. tune out and tune in, as they say. i've kept jess' transition from easy heart into red house painter's michigan, because the two songs have become one in my mind now. and richard buckner's ariel ramirez is a great way to end a mix, a night, or pretty much anything.

ok, apologies for the tardiness. see you next month.

i'm working. sue me.

as difficult as it has been to get my proverbial shit together, i do appreciate people hounding me for not having my mix up. apparently, when you work, your free time goes out the window. i did manage to catch little miss sunshine yesterday, and i highly recommend it, as well as the soundtrack which is sampled below. and as buck pointed out, i did laugh about 10 times as hard any time steve carrell was involved.














without further ado, i present august '06, a fine mix in my estimation. keep a look out next month for the best of other people's mixes that i have received in the last few months... keep 'em coming!

1. it's a surprise! no, it is not a snakes on a plane reference.
2. tv on the radio - wolf like me
3. the roots - game theory
4. tv on the radio - snakes & martyrs
5. ratatat - wildcat
6. css - let's make love and listen to death from above (spankrock remix)
7. tv on the radio - dreams
8. m. ward - to go home
9. devotchka - how it ends
10. soltero - the priest
11. common - be
12. herbert - moving like a train
13. youngblood brass band - waiver
14. emily haines & the soft skeleton - the lottery
15. patton oswalt - death bed
16. m. ward - chinese translation
17. matt pond pa - bring on the ending

download august '06 here: http://www.bazoomercom.com/ari/August%20'06.zip

track 1 isn't really a big deal; just a rare glimpse of power at work. every morning on the T on the way to work, i dance to tv on the radio's wolf like me, and am tempted to howl along with the end of the song. man, the roots sound as amazing as i've ever heard them on game theory, a song with an intro as long as the actual verses and well worth it. if you hadn't figured out yet that i'm trying to beat you over the head with how great tv on the radio is, then here is another track, featuring antibalas and a fela kuti-esque groove. i know a lot of you are supremely excited about ratatat's upcoming new album, classics. anyone who went to that show while at midd knows how fun they are (except for coons), and i've never seen a band that played at midd sell more copies on an album just by showing up. everyone say it with me now: reeeoeooaaarroor! you'll know what i mean when you listen to wildcat. css is just fun. that's it; no story. nothing like a spankrock remix to boot. continued beating of tvotr. m. ward covers daniel johnston on his new album, and it is fantastic. can't wait to finally see him live. this devotchka track is the one i mentioned in the intro, the one that accompanies most of the soundtrack to little miss sunshine. thanks to shara, jeff, tommy et al for constantly telling me how cool they are. it finally sunk in. i just found out about soltero in reading an interview with the magnetic fields' stephen merritt, who mentioned a different song of theirs, but the priest is pretty damn cool. not that common needs my help to sell more albums, especially since knef just informed me that his album be just went platinum, but this is a great track that i thought i had put an an earlier mix. herbert's moving like a train is prince for the new millenium. his organic dance tracks make me feel better about what music will sound like when the lights, ehem, go out. damnit, if you don't like youngblood brass band, i don't know what's wrong with you. emily haines from metric is coming out with a solo album, and it sounds incredible. ok, ok, ok, with snakes on a plane finally coming out, i had to throw in a tangential reference, so here is a joke from patton oswalt show about shitty movies. more new m. ward (i feel like my mixes are somewhat repetitive... i apologize), and the lyrics are phenomenal. when i first heard matt pond pa's bring on the ending, i was surprised to learn that it was the first track on its respective album, but it makes for a good last track too.

august mix coming soon!

one for summer, one for the desert

what a week it has been! a most excellent kick-off to the summer months. congratulations to the newlyweds; enjoy the honeymoon!

this month is a double whammy of mixes, one to kick off the summer and one to celebrate a fantastic week in the desert, kicked off by a calexico concert in williamsburg last tuesday. for those of you that gave such positive feedback on the all-vinyl mix, thank you! i will definitely do it again, but it's going to be a little while before i do. as some of you know, i'm heading up to beantown and i'm going to have to get settled in first.



*courtesy of buck

where to begin... well, in honor of a week in tucson and a calexico concert to kick it off, i have created an all-calexico mix originally created for ara and cicely that i now share with you all. it's a great introduction to their music:

1. sunken waltz
2. quattro (world drifts in)
3. alone again or
4. crystal frontier
5. corona
6. across the wire
7. dub latina
8. cruel
9. service and repair
10. roka
11. el picador
12. ballade of cable hogue
13. not even stevie nicks
14. woven birds (cinematic orchestra remixico)
15. cast your coat
16. all systems red
17. sonic wind
18. muleta

download: http://www.bazoomercom.com/ari/Calexico%20Mix.zip

the summer mix, complete with the usual description:

1. wilco - summer teeth
2. chris miller - ton bec est doux
3. tim seeley - funeral music
4. daniel lanois - the unbreakable chain
5. mos def - umi says (zero 7 remix)
6. brian eno and david byrne - help me somebody
7. jon brion - i believe she's lying
8. the beta band - broken up adingdong
9. chris potter - shadow (for joe henderson)
10. john legend - she don't have to know
11. the chemical brothers - surface to air
12. sufjan stevens - no man's land
13. neko case - that teenage feeling
14. phoenix - consolation prizes
15. regina spektor - carbon monoxide
16. sigur rós - glósóli

download: http://www.bazoomercom.com/ari/July%20'06.zip

wilco's summer teeth is my perennial kickoff to summer. no summer mix would be complete without it. chris miller's ton bec est doux is largely responsible for my current cajun obsession. nothing like a bunch of happy, french gibberish to put you in a good mood (see: la bottine souriante). thanks to šara for introducing me to tim seeley. funeral is surprisingly catchy, given its title, and especially given the line "it's that look in your eyes that pictures me dead when i am sleeping." can't help but chuckle. i love daniel lanois' ethereal solo stuff. inadvertently, this mix ended up being a mix of people that have worked with u2 i suppose, as both lanois and eno are on this mix. mos def gets remixed by zero 7 to great effect. it really brings out the classic soul feel in the original. man, listen to the groove on brian eno and david byrne's from help me somebody on the my life in the bush of ghosts re-release. hard to believe it's 20 years old. jon brion's i believe she's lying is for conor, who, after seeing brion, felt inspired enough to call me and tell me all about it. the beta band is immortalized by the line "i will now sell 10 copies of three ep's by the beta band," delivered by john cusack in high fidelity. but contrary to popular belief, there are other songs besides dry the rain, such as broken up adingdong. chris potter's tribute to joe henderson, shadow, is meant for those quiet summer nights of introspection. john legend's she don't have to know is the closest i'm going to come to a pop radio plug. this song came on my itunes randomly a couple of months ago, and i became obsessed with the beat and legend's amazing harmonies. plus the lyrics are hillarious. then, less then a week ago, i heard the song randomly played on the radio. go figure. i only have one description for the chemical brothers' surface to air: where the streets have no name for the new millenium. astonishingly enough, sufjan's most perfectly-orchestrated ode to illinois came on the outtakes album, with no man's land. that teenage feeling by neko case brings back that whole AM radio feel, a new summer regular for me. and because it's summer, sometimes we just need to be happy, so here is phoenix's consolation prizes. regina spektor's carbon monoxide is the happiest tune about suicide since anything that elliott smith wrote. take that for what it's worth. and i've always wanted to end a mix with sigur rós' glósóli. so there it is.

Tags:

• july summer

acoustic june

after emerging from my dark lair, i have selected 17 choice tracks from the vault. that's right: this month's mix is all vinyl. one version is the mix all the way through (including intended transitions and whatnot), and i will also be posting the individual mp3's.

1. taj mahal - queen bee
2. tito puente - niña y señora
3. the rolling stones - i am waiting
4. stevie wonder - too high
5. sam prekop - faces and people
6. roy ayers - everybody loves the sunshine
7. richie havens - we all wanna boogie
8. trio mocotó - maior é deus
9. doves - there goes the fear
10. batucada - samba solos
11. elis regina - jardim de infância
12. caetano veloso - two naira fifty kobo
13. dave brubeck - strange meadow lark
14. roald dahl - charlie and the chocolate factory intro
15. charles mingus - mood indigo
16. wilco and billy bragg - at my window sad and lonely
17. jorge ben - aparaceu aparecida

taj mahal's queen bee was a song that we played with shari p'oons and the funk brigade, and personally one of my favorites. this calypso-ish version is from taj's evolution record. para los rumberos is a phenomenal tito puente salsa record from the 70's. where would santana be without tito paving the way? well, probably not making shitty records with rob thomas, so i guess that one is bittersweet. but the record still kicks ass. you might recognize i am waiting from the rushmore soundtrack, but it is in fact from the rolling stones record aftermath. i highly recommend a copy of stevie's innervisions if you don't have one already. too high was sampled by da alkaholiks song up all night which is a really great use of the beat. get lost in sam prekop's faces and people. it's a track that was truly meant for vinyl. roy ayers' everybody loves the sunshine is an acid jazz classic from the 70's. you would probably recognize richie havens from pbs fundraisers or mr. rogers, but he is in fact a really talented musician as well, and following his initial recognition as the "black bob dylan," produced some truly funky albums. trio mocotó was one of the first groups in brazil to incorporate elements of funk into samba music. check them out on this track, as well as the last track by jorge ben. doves may sound a little out of place at this point in the mix, but there goes the fear has a samba batuque outro that leads beautifully into the next couple of tracks, a batucada compilation with samba solos, and elis regina's beautiful jardim de infância. the afro-pop feel to caetano veloso's two naira fifty kobo really drew me in at first, but the entire album of bicho is one of my favorites all-around. dave brubeck's time out record is hardly obscure (you might remember take five from those old infiniti ads with the british dude), but for those of you less familiar with the record, this is a melodic sample of a seminal record in the jazz repertory. for those of you stressed out with work, i put up roald dahl reading the intro to charlie and the chocolate factory just to remind everyone to sit back and be a kid once in a while and not be in such a hurry to grow up. duke ellington's mood indigo is one of my favorite jazz ballads of all time, possibly because it sounds better with each instrument you add. charles mingus' interpretation is one of the best. i think i already put up this wilco & billy bragg track, and i'm not sure it was totally worth putting up the vinyl version, but alas here it is. trio mocotó is back with jorge ben, backing him up on his track aparaceu aparecida. truly funky brazilian groove. jorge is the master.

Download:
http://www.bazoomercom.com/ari/June%20Vinyl%20Mix.mp3

Tags:

• vinyl june

in the words of bill callahan, it's our (six-month) anniversary.

popozao indeed.

friends, friends of friends, people i don't know (apparently), i feel so close to you all. six months, seven mixes (six monthly + a holiday mix).

when reached for general comments regarding the may '06 mix, a spokesman had this to say:
may '06 shows how far we've come. some artists from the first mix have stuck around (the sea and cake), while others have been cast aside with the swift justice provided by retrospection and hindsight (nickel creek). some of the downsizing was due to feedback from you, the friends, while other reductions were judgement calls made by repetitive listenings, and liberal use of the "next track" function on my tool of choice, the ol' iPod mini.

and so without further ado, i present you with may '06, "a helluva mix."-timeout new york

1. tv on the radio - say you do
2. madvillain (remixed by four tet) - great day today
3. the sea and cake - sound and vision
4. josh ritter - lillian, egypt
5. stephen malkmus - trojan curfew
6. tapes 'n tapes - insistor
7. adem - spirals
8. tower of power - knock yourself out
9. calexico - cast your coat
10. sam winch - banter for the common man
11. neko case - star witness
12. groove armada - lazy moon
13. rainer maria - artificial light
14. calexico - sunken waltz
15. david bowie - sound and vision
16. miho hatori (with the incredible moses leroy) - the color of sky
17. mountains - sewn two
18. calexico - all systems red

i cannot say enough about tv on the radio. this rare gem comes off of their album ok calculator which was only distributed via cdr in public places (cafes, bookstores, etc.). the genius of mf doom as interpreted by four tet. just before i found this track, i was thinking about how much i wanted to hear a beautifully-produced hip-hop track, smooth and stylish with some grit. sound and vision, version one: the sea and cake. josh ritter (not to be confused with three's company's john ritter... too soon?) has a knack for catchy-ass riffs. stephen malkmus too, in his own way. i usually need an album that just rocks, to balance everything out. right now, it's the loon by tapes 'n tapes. adem (remember, it's pronounced ARdem) strikes back with his new record love and other planets. sappy but beautiful. dave garibaldi is all you ever need in a funk band, but tower of power lays it on thick nontheless. the end is TIGHT. i am obsessed with calexico lately. cast your coat is a beautiful b-side from their new album, garden ruin. sam winch: profundity in simplicity. gotta love it. neko case teams up with some alt-country all-stars and produces fox confessor brings the flood. star witness has a terrific piano outro. a little groove armada for after-hours. a new discovery from indie-anomaly rainer maria, who've been around for years while escaping my attention. more calexico, more imagery. sound and vision, version two: david bowie. more japanese singers with oddly sterile voices, but great production in miho hatori. mountains' sewn two is the calm before calexico's storm of a song, all systems red.

download: http://www.bazoomercom.com/ari/May%20'06.zip

Tags:

• may

best. mix. EVAR. so far.

i gotta tell ya, searching for "hyperbole" on google image search is some sort of existential journey or something, much like playing 20 questions with a word like "scorn." but luckilly, i was able to dig this up, which i think is pretty fantastic, both for its pun value and for its expression of an abstract concept:
































which brings me to this month's mix, a DOOZY of a mix. without further ado, i present April '06:

1. samuel l. jackson - the monologue "open a fucking window" from cinematic oeuvre snakes on a plane
2. mark ronson (feat. alex greenwald) - just
3. tv on the radio - i was a lover
4. johnny cash (feat. glen campbell) - gentle on my mind
5. adem - everything you need
6. (smog) - held
7. jens lekman - a sweet summer's night on hammer hill
8. architecture in helsinki - rendezvous: potrero hill
9. os mutantes - o relogio
10. noisettes - monte christo
11. leo kottke - girl from the north country
12. mike birbiglia - whiffle ball tony
13. bob dylan - mozambique
14. gnarls barkley - crazy
15. andre 3000 - vibrate
16. cinematic orchestra - burn out
17. taylor mali - totally like whatever
18. spankrock - put that pussy on me
19. wilco & billy bragg - at my window sad and lonely

download: http://projectbiobus.com/ari/April%20'06.zip

if you haven't heard of snakes on a plane yet, then go to your nearest internet browser, google the words "snakes on a plane" and watch the enjoyment unfold before you. to quote sam jackson, "it's kinda gonna be great." i've been grooving to mark ronson's cover of just for about a month straight now, and it just doesn't get old. makes me wanna dance and kill myself at the same time, just because it's radiohead! i predict 2006 to be the year of tv on the radio. i think this album is going to be dy-no-miiite, especially with tracks like this. i can't even express in words how comforting johnny cash's voice can be, especially in songs like this one. adem (pronounced ardem, strangely enough) was once in fridge with kieran hebden, aka four tet. his own album, home songs is a beautiful album. tracks like everything you need keep permeating my ipod mixes. (smog) rocks the house with held. like a scandinavian motown artist, jens lekman brings the soul in a sweet summer's night in hammer hill. definitely going on the car mixes this summer, when i get a new stereo... sigh. rendezvous: potrero hill sounds like archicture in helsinki's contribution to the rushmore soundtrack. short and sweet, but moody. in o relogio, os mutantes show why they are one of the most influential brazilian bands in history. jeff and i saw noisettes open for bloc party, and at the time i don't remember being particularly impressed. then i heard monte christo... leo kottke takes on my favorite dylan classic girl from the north country. mike birbiglia shows a new generation how to do political humor. and pizza. mozambique: bob dylan and emmylou harris off of desire. gnarls barkley is also going to have a huge year, as their single crazy is predicted to be the first online #1 single in british history tomorrow. andre 3000 continues the a-typical soul train in reverse, with vibrate. cinematic orchestra: extremely atmospheric acid jazz and audio ergo sum favorite. taylor mali's totally like whatever is the most impressive piece of poetry i've come across in quite some time. spankrock tells it like it is. probably not the best song to blast at work. i just made a mix of great wilco songs i keep forgetting about, and at my window sad and lonely always gets lost for some reason. but here it is! just for you, the listeners.

something in the air...

i'm feeling a bit atmospheric this month... lots of evocative choices, with the idea of being transported to a different time, a different place, familiar or foreign. without any further ado, here is the march '06 mix:

1. panda bear | untitled 3
2. saito | track 1
3. jason collett | hangover days
4. scissor sisters | take me out
5. nat king cole | if i may
6. mike birbiglia | secret public journal 1.17.06
7. loose fur | the ruling class
8. spirit of the west | home for a rest
9. broken social scene | backyards
10. michael blake | in the arms of ali
11. the cardigans | in the round
12. cat power | empty shell
13. andrew bird's bowl of fire | two way action
14. feist | it's cool to love your family
15. finley quaye | even after all
16. orchestre baobab | coumba

panda bear's album, young prayer is an abstract tribute to a lost loved one. beautiful album with great ups and downs. i couldn't find any information on the mysterious saito, but his japanese take on nick drake/americana has been lodged in my ipod for the last few months, where it'll stay for quite some time. hangover days includes the wonderful amy millan from stars, but comes from broken social scene's jason collett's album, idols of exile. george michael/elton john torchbearers scissor sisters transform franz's take me out into a mid-80's classic. if i may is possibly my favorite nat king cole arrangement, and an illustrative example of the evocative mood i was going for with this mix. mike birbiglia's inclusion is a bit tangential, but his comedy has been stuck in my mind for the last couple of weeks. check out his podcast, secret public journal on itunes. loose fur (i.e. lucifer) is jeff tweedy and glenn kotche's side project alongside sonic youth's jim o'rourke. this track was initially entitled crack-smoking jesus, but toned down slightly for public consumption. however, the lyrics were not... i think anyone can identify with spirit of the west's home for a rest, perhaps particularly our friends abroad right now (you know who you are) so this one is dedicated to you guys, as well as my camp friends. broken social scene returns with backyards, a fun little mess of a tune. saxophonist michael blake mellows the mood with in the arms of ali, a beautifully produced track. i think he and ben allison have the best produced jazz albums out there right now. thanks to my neighborhoodies pals for turning me on to the cardigans' in the round. clap your hands (you'll see when you listen to the song). cat power brings her supermodel voice to the country on the greatest. i've been getting into andrew bird's older catalog, and this album with his former band bowl of fire reminds me a lot of summerteeth-era wilco. feist's older catalog brought forth this gem, it's cool to love your family, playing on her 80's pop sensibilities. there are any number of places you could have heard finley quaye's even after all, and if you haven't, here it is. i saved the most atmospheric track for last, with senegal's orchestre baobab performing coumba, singing, "it was you who told me that i was the light of your life / it was you who told me that the sky and heavens are always blue." this song never fails to put me in another place. perhaps those of us that have been to senegal would like to expound on that, but i'll leave that be.

download:
http://bazoomercom.com/ari/March%20'06.zip

pretty fascinating, if monotonous musicology project

I came across this art exhibit from Nate Harrison today. It's a fascinating history of the "amen" break, or beat snippet for those of us less-versed in DJing. You've heard it before, and you'll hear it again. Might as well get learned in the process, no? I don't get the whole computerized vocal performance thing, but I was riveted nonetheless.

beautiful, snowy day!

*small request: hey friends. if you like what you hear, please leave comments. it's nice to know who's been stopping by, and what you guys like. and it helps me stay motivated to keep doing this.



i actually had this mix ready on time for once, but i'm glad i waited because i made some additions that were a better fit for the mix. above is the view from my window this fine day, along with some environmental commentary from mr. andrew bird.

1. nina simone - black is the color of my true love's hair
2. emilliana torrini - sunny road
3. jens lekman - rocky dennis' farewell song
4. hooverphonic - renaissance affair
5. architecture in helsinki - theme to motorhome
6. natalie merchant - san andreas fault
7. deerhoof - desapareceré
8. my morning jacket - knot comes loose
9. antony & the johnsons - for today i am a boy
10. my morning jacket - lay low
11. broken social scene - 7/4 (shoreline)
12. (smog) - the well
13. bob dylan - man in the long black coat
14. broken social scene - windsurfind nation
15. dangerdoom/zero7/sia - somersault
16. joe strummer - coma girl
17. the mavericks - dance the night away
18. radiohead - gagging order
19. stereolab - miss modular
20. the minus five/wilco - with a gun
21. broken social scene - fire eye'd boy

download here:
http://bazoomercom.com/ari/February%20'06.zip

nina simone: jazz goddess, and excellent remix by jaffa. i can't remember where i found out about emiliana torrini, but i love the ripoff of the opening of rod stewart's maggie may. i actually didn't like this cd all that much when i first bought it, but jens lekman's oh you're so silent, jens is really growing on me. i've loved hooverphonic for a long time, even before they were ripped off so blatently by frou frou and imogen heap, in my opinion. renaissance affair was in a VW ad a while back. architecture in helsinki makes it back on with an ode to the trailer park. natalie merchant, if you're reading this, i love you. desapareceré is such a great, creepy-ass song, with beautiful chord progressions and samples from deerhoof. z by my morning jacket has been on my ipod pretty solidly for a few months now, and is one of the most rockin' albums around right now. plus i'm a sucker for a lap steel guitar. antony got a lot of acclaim last year, and i am quite late to the party, but that soulful, diva voice is irresistable. lots
of broken social scene this month too, after missing both their shows and feist's show within the last two weeks. i am an idiot. dangerdoom's remix of zero7's somersault is pretty excellent, featuring sia on vocals (sia's colour the small one is another album everyone should check out, right, maia?). joe strummer's mescaleros rocked out on clash-themed tracks right up until his death a few years ago. this is my favorite post-clash strummer track. dance the night away is my favorite pick-me-up song ever, and an even better break-up song by the mavs. gagging order is a b-side from 2003's hail to the thief, and it looks like there'll be new radiohead soon enough! if i were a 60's superhero, i would be miss modular, the best 60's superhero theme song ever, by stereolab (of, "is this... stereolab?" fame in high fidelity). the minus five recently completed another album with wilco, spawning this great, ol' school-style wilco track.

It's late, and I hate Ikea.

before we kick things off... a moment of silence and of song: http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/exhibits/music/audio/
mp3/we_shall_overcome.mp3

-----



sorry, i spent waaaaaay too much time at ikea today...

1. sufjan stevens - in the devil's territory
2. banda uniao black - yeah yeah yeah
3. the strokes - killing lies
4. stars - my radio (fm mix)
5. chris lightcap - lay-up
6. wayne shorter - over shadow hill way
7. architecture in helsinki - maybe you can owe me
8. reid anderson - todos las cosas se van
9. bloc party - two more years (mstrkrft remix)
10. feist - gatekeeper
11. m. ward - big boat v. 3
12. m. ward - hifi v.2
13. something for rockets - the line
14. martin dosh - nothing new
15. la volee d'castor - la voisine
16. kanye west - golddigger (DIPLO mix)
17. fourtet - smile around the face
18. nickel creek - toxic
19. iron & wine | calexico - all tomorrow's parties
20. mark turner - zurich
21. wilco & billy bragg - airline to heaven

download: http://bazoomercom.com/ari/January%20'06.zip

*updated april 25th, 2006

sufjan makes it onto the mix for the second straight month. i'm determined to get you all to love him, so damnit, get to it! banda uniao black's yeah yeah yeah is dedicated to my audio ergo sum/shari p'oons brothers and sisters. called "one of the most important bands of the black rio movement" by seu jorge (pele in the life aquatic with steve zissou and knockout ned in city of god), this track funks hard, and it funks right. with killing lies, the strokes take their sound in a new direction. i'm not going to try and sell anyone on the strokes, but i love this track. i'll even go as far as to say i think the strokes are pulling a radiohead on this one... stars are back for another go at it, and although this track is even cheesier than my last contribution, it has a kickass trombone part for mr. david lindholm. this mix is going to be pretty jazz heavy, mostly because of my personal attempt to renew my vows to jazz, and mr. ando helped me out by introducing me to chris lightcap last week. listen to that groove on lay-up, it's ridiculous... from sir edward comes this catchy architecture in helsinki track, which of course i had to follow up with an amazing jazz composition by reid anderson (of last month's the bad plus fame) entitled todos las cosas se van from the album, "abolish bad architecture." bloc party makes it back with an awesome remix of their new single two more years (which i'm pretty sure is a thinly veiled message of hope to those who aren't... mm... huge supporters of the current administration... but maybe that's my reading). feist is also back, with gatekeeper, a great semi-bossa nova track that highlights her gorgeous, er, voice. yes, there's a lot of repeats, with m. ward making it on TWICE in a row, with two of my favorite songs from his new album transistor radio. some of you are going to hate something for rockets, and some of you are going to love it, and some of you hate the postal service and will possibly like this instead. i dont' know which camp you'll fall into, but i'm curious! martin dosh i across with all my fine wrmc friends when we saw him perform with andrew bird in montreal back in november of '05. if you guys don't listen to acadian music yet, you're missing out. the most well-known is la bottine souriante, once dubbed the "best live band in the world," but this little ditty by la volee d'castor (french for... volleyball?) might be a nice little intro. golddigger: you've heard it in the clubs, at mccullough, played relentlessly, and maybe, if you were lucky, you won the super bowl and drove off in a hyundai. however, for the rest of us, thanks to kremnuts (aka hebrewtronix), you can check out this amazing remix by diplodocus, the hottest dj on the streets. fourtet's smile around the face says it all. nickel creek doing britney? why not! and iron & wine + calexico manage to extract all the epicness of the velvet underground's all tomorrow's parties and concentrate it into a beautiful, lush, americana-ish arrangement. zurich by mark turner has one of my favorite grooves in any jazz composition ever, plus a really cool floating melody. and finally, airline to heaven is one glorious piece of wilco, destined to become your favorite.