MEGA POST!: part 1 of a mega-summer mix/playlist consisting of "mega-chill summer jamz"

(i took this pic and i'm quite proud of it, hopefully you like it)

hey bros. i'm not gonna lie, i just get so stoked every time i realise that it is now officially summer (even though we are still stuck in school). if you have been reading this blog attentively you may remember that i posted a summer mix a while back in winter. i was really tired of cold weather. actually, it is now a little too hot and humid for my taste. i think i like the idea of summer and the freedom and no responsibilities and fun and hangin' with friends more than the real thing (which is not to say i don't enjoy the real thing). anyways, here is part 1 of a mix/playlist compiled exclusively for listening to during summer or while thinking about summer. think of this as disc 1 of a two disc album, or, the A side of a vinyl record, or, Side A of a cassette tape. it may be interesting for you to compare this to my earlier summer mix to see how my tastes have changed/progressed/been influenced by the far-to-humid summer weather. i really hope you enjoy it though.

Link: http://8tracks.com/discretemath/kids-on-holiday (This part is tentatively titled Kids on Holiday, after the song of the same name which appears on it).

Tracklisting

1. Beach Comber - Real Estate

I really like Real Estate, and this is my favorite song of theirs. There is something about their twangy, reverb drenched, washed out/far away sound that is very summery and relaxing and "chill". Their s/t full length came out last year and is great, I heartily recommend it to everyone.

2. Mega Secrets - Family Portrait

I don't really know much about this band, but I enjoy their stuff. I first heard them on a compilation by the Friendship Bracelet Club.

3. Providence - The Love Language

This song is quite fun. I found out about this band last summer and listened to this song a heckuva bunch, so I guess there are some summer memories behind it. They are sorta reminescent of bands like Dr. Dog and The Magic Kids. Lo-fi retro pop excellence.

4. People - Silver Jews

The most criminally overlooked band. There album American Water is one of the best albums ever, but vastly overlooked. Stephen Malkmus plays guitar, Dave Berman sings and writes the tunes. There are other members too. Dave's lyrics are very amazing, but there is some nonsense/"out there" lyrics so beware. The band Suburban Kids With Biblical Names got their name from this song. Listen to "Random Rules" as well.

5. Twin Peaks - Surfer Blood

Man, I really, really like this band, I think Astrocoast is maybe my favorite debut this year so far. It's kinda odd, cause when i first heard "Swim (To Reach the End)" last year I really didn't like it, but they really grow on you. My recent love is sparked by a friend including their song "Floating Vibes" on a mix she made for me. This song is my favorite of there's I think. Key Lyric: "Why is everything a chore? I'm too young to be defeated" Youth and no responsibilities is what summer is all about. Sort of surfy lo-fi-ish garage pop with reverby vocals. It's really excellent.

6. Droplet on a Hot Stone - Julian Lynch

Julian Lynch has some cool songs, they are really lo-fi and far away sounding. He's very akin to Ducktails I think.

7. Shore Patrol - Fluffy Lumbers

Man, I really like this song (and Fluffy Lumbers in general) a whole lot. He's from NJ and is kind of a part of that whole Real Estate/Ducktails/Julian Lynch scene. Very beachy, summery tunes, he has only one EP out I think.

8. Fair Weather Friends - Daedelus

This is a little different from all the other stuff I have on here. This song is a lot different from most of Daedelus' other stuff too (I don't really like a lot of his stuff). He sounds sort of like Flying Lotus so if that is your thing I'd recommend him. This song's good though, fun samples and beat and stuff.

9. New Wife, New Life - Truman Peyote

This song is very heavily AnCo influenced. I like it a lot, but I don't really like much of Truman Peyote's other stuff, excluding a couple of songs. A lot of it is sort of unlistenable in my opinion.

10. Kids on Holiday - Animal Collective

You probably know AnCo so I won't really go into them. However, I will say that I really really really like Sung Tongs and think it is a superb summer album.

11. In Spain - Vadoinmessico

I don't really know much about this band. This song's quite fun though. There is a definite latin/spanish influence (as noted by the title) in this song with fun rhythms and guitar and percussion. The voice is definitely tinged by an accent as well. I think most everyone will probably enjoy this one.

12. Summertime - Girls

I love Girls. At first I wasn't really into them but "Lust for Life" is such a irresistable, catchy pop song and that kind of lead me into listening to all their stuff. All the songs off Album are good and fun. While some of the songs are sad/mopey (in a good way) they don't need to be taken seriously, they just need to be enjoyed. They also do a lot of good songs that weren't released on the album, I'd recommend "Heartbreaker".

13. Texico Bitches - Broken Social Scene

Broken Social Scene is a band I forget a lot about, but love every time I listen to. You Forgot it in People is truly a great album and one I always come back to. There's a lot of variety and I like how they are a large band with a lot of rotating members but a kind of core sound. This song's off their new album and I like it a lot.

14. Summer - Modest Mouse

Good song by my favorite ever band off the great The Fruit that Ate Itself EP.

15. July, July! - The Decemberists

The first Decemeberists song I heard, so I guess there is some nostalgia here. It's quite a fun song.

16. Crushed Bones - Why?

I've been listening to a lot of Why? recently. While I generally don't like rap/hip hop these guys pull it off quite well and a lot of their songs aren't technically hip-hop but there is a definite heavy influence. If you know some other bands like them please let me know. Great, great lyrics by Yoni.

17. Boardwalk Theme - Desolation Wilderness

Read about them here: http://ourmathissodiscrete.blogspot.com/2010/05/desolation-wilderness.html

18. Young Hearts Spark Fire - Japandroids

Japandroids are awesome. A two-piece drums/guitar garage-y band where they both sing and play their hearts out. There songs are very fun and have a youth-y "let's just have fun and do stuff" feel to them. I listened to Post-Nothing more than any other album last summer. Japandroids are summer. simple as that. Check out their new song "Younger Us". They were also featured on my previous summer mix.

19. Tunguska - Cymbals Eat Guitars

Cymbals is another band that I found out about and listened to a lot last summer. I've seen them live several times and they completely kill (look up the show review about them and Los Camp). They're super nice guys as well, and their facebook fan page is really fun. This song wasn't on their album, Why There Are Mountains, but it, along with their other new songs, is great.

20. Relax at the Beach - The Sandwitches

Read about them here: http://ourmathissodiscrete.blogspot.com/2010/02/sandwitches.html

21. All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem

I don't really like most of LCD Soundsystem too much, but I quite enjoy their non-electro-dancey songs, like this one. The piano riff/jive is absolutley rad. It's very fun and anthemy and free-spirited but there is also a "tinge of melancholy". I think it's quite a good closer to part 1 of this mix.

Stay tuned for part 2.

-Alec

An Old Favorite

So I think in some posts now I'll take a break from mentioning new "cutting-edge" bands and maybe just talk about some of my favorite bands that have really impacted my musical taste. First off is my favorite band in the world, Modest Mouse. I'm only gonna mention their Pre-Good News stuff, because it's completely different and, in my opinion, better (which is not to say their newer stuff is "bad" it is just different and I prefer their older work).

First things I'll mention are some early demos: Uncle Bunny Faces and Tube-Fruit, All Smiles, and Chocolate. These were both released on tape in the early 90's and are pretty rare/hard to find. I found a download of Tube Fruit online, but I've yet to find Uncle Bunny. I really like tube-fruit. It's really lo-fi, which is not necessarily a bad thing, and it's interesting to see the beginnings of MM. It sounds sort of like the Microphones mixed with MM, and what I like a lot about it is how private it sounds. It sounds really intimate, like it was just recorded in Isaac's bedroom late at night and that it was never really intended to be heard by people other than maybe a few friends. I'd really like to hear Uncle Bunny, so if anyone has a download link if they could send it I would really appreciate that.

Next up is Blue Cadet-3, Do You Connect? It was their first official EP I think and all the songs were later released on Sad Sappy Sucker (pictured above) which came out in 2001 but was actually recorded to be their debut album. It was produced by Calvin Johnson which is pretty cool I think. I haven't listened to SSS as much as I probably should have because on the version I have the tracks are messed up and some are mistitled, which really bugs me. I've been meaning to get a new one and I probably should sometime soon. It's really a good release, definitely underappreciated I think. All the members were quite young when it was recorded and I think that's probably why it comes off as really real and you can tell they really meant everything. The songs are all succinct and they manage to say a lot with so few lyrics and relatively simple music. Listen to: "Worms vs Birds" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_b0DcMB82A)

Next is the Interstate 8 EP. This is one of my favorite things they've put out. All the songs except "Pushing the Buttons" are incredible. It's one of first release where their own unique sound is apparent and developed. Both the songs "Broke". "Edit the Sad Parts" and "Positive Negative" are really, really good and the low quality of the recordings makes them seem more personal and emotional I think. Most of the songs on this EP were later re-recorded and released on Building Nothing Out of Something, a b-sides and rarities comp that is almost as good most of the regular albums. They add in some new verses and lines in some songs, and they're really good additions that don't change the spirit of the original, but just make it better. Both are definitely worth a listen. By far the best song on it is "Baby Blue Sedan" which is a little repetitive, but everything about it is completely great. The repetition works out well I think and serves to emphasize the message instead of just being a way to make the song longer. Check Out: "Broke" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72h5g66mMZ8) "Edit the Sad Parts" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0cKykFcWOM)


The next album to mention is their first official full length, the great This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About. It came out the same year as Interstate 8 (although I'm not sure which came first) and has two of the same songs on it. Every single song on here is great. It starts of with "Dramamine", arguably one of their best songs that opens with such a great into, that loops and keeps adding layers. Other favorites include the song "Ohio" (about a bus trip, with the incredible line: "rows of lights to illuminate lines, why can't they turn them off and let us see night") "Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset" and "Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds" (which segues pretty seamlessly from a pretty soft relaxing beginning (with the dank lyric "And I said you can't make everybody happy. He said you'd like to at least make yourself happy though") to an instrumental section where the guitars sound somewhat like a screeching bird call). I think this album is sort of underrated. It's really quite good, especially for a debut, and it has some really, really, incredible songs on it. The only thing I don't really like is the song it ends on. I think it should have ended on "Make Everyone Happy/Mechanical Birds", but maybe that's just my opinion. Hear: "Dramamine" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK1bi4emEkk) and "Talking Shit About a Pretty Sunset" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqHCpsxzg2M)

The last album I'll really mention is The Lonesome Crowded West. It's my favorite of theirs and arguably their magnum opus (although I'm sure a lot of people would say that The Moon and Antarctica is better (it's a great album too, but i just prefer this one)). It starts off with one of my favorite songs ever "Teeth Like Gods Shoeshine" which realy shows how Isaac can jump between singing/shouting and how MM will make use of dynamics in their music. It has too many great lines/lyrics to mention just one, but I will say that if you listen to only one of the songs I put in this post it should maybe be this one. My second favorite song off of this is "Trailer Trash" which is quite emotional, even for MM, and really easy to relate to. When the fuzzy instrumental bit kicks in near the end it's such a nice feeling. Another song I want to mention is "Shit Luck". This is a song that took me a while to like, because it's kinda abrasive and noisy and chaotic, but once you listen to the lyrics and think of the song more as a concept then it's awesome. It also features "Bankrupt on Selling", another song which has too many great lines to only mention a few. It's short and acoustic and incredibly emotional. It's definitely one of their best I think. I feel like this post's maybe too long, so to be brief, I'll just say that I also love "Doin' the Cockroach", "Cowboy Dan" (Cowboy Dan's a major player in the cowboy scene, he goes to the reservation, drinks and gets mean. He drove the desert, fired his rifle in the sky and said, "God, if I have to die, you will have to die), "Polar Opposites", and the closing track "Styrofoam Boats/It's All Nice on Ice". Please, please listen to: "Teeth Like God's Shoeshine" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT0qBdHLspQ) "Trailer Trash" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc6l5w1mhqg) and "Bankrupt on Selling" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f43WbnN2tBU)

I skipped over some very good things, but I think there is just too much to mention about Modest Mouse for one post, and I think I need to draw it to a close. I really hope you listen to the songs I posted, MM is my favorite band ever and I hope that you like them too.

-Alec