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