2020 RM Secret Mixtape Exchange

[Jorge]

OK, let's do it:

Track 1: This song moved between a bozo rocker and a boilerplate atmospheric 80s rock thing. The guy sounds like he’s singing “I got us a puma!!!” in the first part but he probably isn’t. There’s nothing I liked about it at all.

Track 2: This was an instrumental rocker, probably more straight-ahead than my usual tastes in this vein, but I enjoyed it OK.

Track 3: A reverb-heavy vaguely shoegaze/indie song. This one did nothing for me at all.

Track 4: This one is great and is easily my favourite song so far. Going to search out more by whoever this is because I enjoyed it a lot.

Track 5: The Doors-y bit around a minute and a half in was probably the part I liked the most, I otherwise didn’t like this one very much. I especially didn’t like the rockier sections.

Track 6: I liked the mix of the riffier guitars and the brass. I also liked that it kind of lazily loped around a central idea without needing to “go somewhere”. This one was good.

Track 7: I really, really hated this one.

Track 8: This one was OK. I liked the feel of the quieter sections but I didn’t find her voice very engaging and the rockier parts were a bit overdone for my tastes.

Track 9: Kind of a late 60s/early 70s rock throwback thing. The problem I always have with this stuff is the drummers can’t play it right and this guy is no exception; no swing or groove, all thump and bash. I didn’t like the guy’s voice either. It reminds me of a quote I’m paraphrasing from Jim O’Rourke when he was asked if there’s any new rock bands he likes and he answered along the lines of “I don’t really listen to new rock bands, I already own all the Led Zeppelin albums.”

Track 10: This was a pretty boring rocker with vocals transmitted from the depths of a cave. Anyway, I didn’t like it.

Track 11: Hey, this is jazzy and not bad! I liked it, particularly the parts where I think the piano and guitar are doubling each other.

Track 12: This was OK. My favourite part was the instrumental break from 1:10-1:30, I probably would’ve liked three minutes of that better.

Track 13: This one did nothing for me at all, I found it kind of exhausting.

Track 14: Hey, this one is great! One of the two songs on here I really enjoyed. I really liked her voice, the guitar playing and the overall vibe. Good stuff.

Though perhaps it's not entirely apparent, I really enjoyed the process of listening to and reviewing this mix and I appreciate the time theplatypus took to put it together - thanks!

Tracklist and link:

01. Acá No Se Fuma - DDM
02. El Dilema del Origen - Poseidotica
03. Ascensor - Violenta Josefina
04. Un Día Punk - Juana Molina
05. Playa - Placard
06. Lilith - Carola Zelaschi
07. Los Escombros del Jardin - Ararat
08. Oscura - Feli Colina
09. No Existe Solucion - Ambassador
10. Carl Sagan - Los Aullidos
11. Mambo Negro - Julián Mekler Sexteto
12. 5A - Melanie Williams & El Cabloide
13. La Despedida - Temporada de Tormentas
14. Entre Dos Relámpagos - Maria Pien

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1O251 ... oNsfsuEEyw

You are a motherfucker. Thanks for listening

It's all local stuff from the Buenos Aires scene, I especially leaned into the darker side of things because you are a dark man with a dark heart. Maybe I will make you a BA Jazz mix

[Birds in Hell]

The Juana Molina and Maria Pien songs were fantastic.

I liked the Carola Zelaschi one a fair bit too.

[washing machine]

Spenno was probably the perfect person to get a Jorge mix.

[Kaius]

And the gloves are off.

[washing machine]

I meant that as a compliment, Kaius. Those two are soul brothers.

[VinylGuy]

Ok, here its my review.

1- Cradles -sub urban : Guess, it was fine? It weird and i liked it enough, but i dont quite feel the vocals and the overall sound of the production.

2- Tokyo Drifting -Glass Animals/Denzel Curry: Interesting...some cool moments here, i havent listened to these guys. Cool song.

3- F' Do It - Tech N9ne: I hate this one. Its loud in the worst way it can possible be.

4- Happy Pill - Granson/Moby Rich : its fine. Like the chorus, and the overall vibe. But it also feels too....loud. Not my thing.

5- Desole -Gorillaz/Fatoumata Diawara : Finally some chill vibe! after the last two i needed this one. Loved it.

6- Leave Me Alone - Kari Faux: Love love love this song...the mix is getting to my vibe finally. I adore this song, i already knew it, but damn its good. Great 1/2 punch with Desole.

7- Zaharila - El Michels Affair/Piya Malik : its good. I like it enough. Good vocals, very cinematic.

8- Far East For The Trees - Dessert Sessions: yeah, one of my favs from the last DS album. It goes well with the previous song.

9- Kaleidoscope Eyes - Liz Cooper & the stampede : cool song, good vocals and instrumentation.

10- Recite Remorse - Waxahatchee : Loved it. I really like this girl, i should listen to her more. Great song.

11- My Body is a cage -Peter Gabriel : I like this cover enough, its a little long and it gets a little boring but its fine.


A cool mix. It has different moods, it different vibes and i really like that. Im sure it was made by good old Ruddo like i say before, there are too many of his favorites...im sure its him.

[washing machine]

Thoughts before getting into my mix: This was a well put together mix. Thematically there's a lot going on. The word "run" turns up in a few of these songs, and there are several allusions to either hunting or hiding. Almost all of these tracks felt like they were performed by narrators addressing some adversary or settling some score. There is no artist on here that I recognize. If I'm being honest, I don't fully recognize the genres on here either. Overall I liked this mix and would reach for it again in certain situations. Say, late at night behind the wheel on a long drive. Or buried in paperwork at the office, alone with a mind that veers to dark thoughts every now and then. I can't even begin to guess which RMer made this mix, so I'll say that it was probably NotThatGuy and that he/she is an old RMer back from the dead.

Track one: Starts with a bare bones strumming rhythm, almost like a Delta blues riff. Within ten seconds, it's apparent that this will not be a traditional folk and blues mix. Mumbling vox, minor key piano tinkering and a thick cloud of anguish start to sink into the track. This is a little like a Tom Waits track off of Bone Machine. That's my closest reference I can reach for. After hearing this, it's obvious that this mix is going to take a lot of work on my part. I'm okay with that.

Track Two: An ambient pattern that oscillates with increasing volume and intensity. I could lose track of time listening to an entire album of this. This music reminds me of the sound design in a Lynch film. I'm thinking of some specific scenes in Twin Peaks: The Return.

Track Three: This song physically hurts me to listen to. I feel the music deep down in a way that I cannot describe, and I feel like this mix is sucking me into some sort of dark hole. Ambient soundscape that is soft and airy, but the screams that cut through the air on this track are so fucking real.

Track Four: That bird came at me with a knife
Told me she wanted my life
Shake that bird out of the tree
So that everyone can see

This actually feels like a breather after the first three songs, despite these lyrics. The second half of the track, when the band kicks in, feels like a respite on this mix. Some sort of anchor to desperately grab onto if I'm going to make it through the rest of these tracks.

Track Five: Okay, now we're in it. This is a fantastic track. It's short and it's instrumental. Fuzzy-ish guitar pattern with some keyboard swells underneath. It feels like it's on the brink of breaking into a jam, but ends before it can go anywhere.

Track Six: Oh, I like this one a lot too. After that last track, we're back into some darker head space, but this one feels a little theatrical and stylish to me rather than differing shades of black. I hear a bleating sax, once again putting me in the mind of David Lynch. This time Lost Highway, but this is not from that soundtrack. I've never heard this but it sounds familiar. This would not be out of place on some of Bowie's more left-field jazzy tracks.
Your efforts are futile
When did we become so very
Brutal

These words could describe how I feel reviewing this mix...

Track Seven: This one is up there with track three. I do not like this and I'm kind of afraid of the mix master after hearing this.

My friends all wear your colors
Your flag flies above every door
But bitch, I smell you bleeding
And I know where you sleep
Do you doubt me traitor?
Throw your body in the fucking river
I'm the cuntkiller

Track Eight, Nine and Ten: This is clearly all one piece. Jazz and spoken word. More saxophone bleating. "This Little Light of Mine" starts of, then we get into a spoken word poem narrated by a woman recalling words of her mother and father. Running through woods is a recurring theme. The narrator seems to be alone at the end of the poem, which is the first track, then the next two tracks are mostly instrumental. If this is from a bigger narrative album I would like to hear it. This track stands out among the rest of the tracks on this mix because it channels pain and anger in a way that feels redemptive.

Track Eleven: This is a song about killing a woman named Maria. There is some German imagery in the lyrics too. The music sounds like a hellscape.

Track Twelve: Quiet closer. I can kind of settle in to this atmosphere. Gentle keyboard and manipulated vocals. I'm too drained to really dig into the lyrics.

[Birds in Hell]

VinylGuy, you guessed correctly that your mix was made by: E.H. Ruddock

washing machine, your mix was made by: kreng

I’ll update the header post later today.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Well, thanks for the review VG. I'll try harder next time

[VinylGuy]

Well, thanks for the review VG. I'll try harder next time

I liked the mix!! Loved the sequence...the middle part is my favorite.

[Brett]

Washing Machine, that three track jazz piece is from the latest Matana Roberts album that came a few months back, Chapter 4 of her Coin Coin series. I remember kreng being in to it, and it's cool he's included it on his mix. If you liked that, you'll probably like the other three chapters, too.

[kreng]

Jesus, you guys are quick to review this. I haven’t even had a chance to listen to the whole thing once.

Washing machine, thanks for the thorough review. Really appreciate it. And I’m glad you liked most of it. Did you somehow receive it without tags? Or you listened and reviewed it without looking at them?

I don’t know you well, and also don’t know your musical tastes too well other than you popping in some threads here and there and the obvious love for Sonic Youth. I sort of went with that. Thanks again!

[washing machine]

Oh cool, thanks Brett. Yeah I'll definitely be checking that out, along with some other tracks on here. The instrumentals are really where this mix interests me the most. The more and more I listen to the second track, the more I like it.

[kreng]

Washing Machine, that three track jazz piece is from the latest Matana Roberts album that came a few months back, Chapter 4 of her Coin Coin series. I remember kreng being in to it, and it's cool he's included it on his mix. If you liked that, you'll probably like the other three chapters, too.

Well spotted mr constellation It’s really hard to pick just one track of that record since they all blend into one another, so I went with those 3.

[kreng]

Oh cool, thanks Brett. Yeah I'll definitely be checking that out, along with some other tracks on here. The instrumentals are really where this mix interests me the most. The more and more I listen to the second track, the more I like it.

That’s Abul Mogard. Top 3 artist of the last decade for me. His first 3 records are impeccable. After that lots of good tracks but albums overall don’t hold up to the first three.

[washing machine]

Jesus, you guys are quick to review this. I haven’t even had a chance to listen to the whole thing once.

Washing machine, thanks for the thorough review. Really appreciate it. And I’m glad you liked most of it. Did you somehow receive it without tags? Or you listened and reviewed it without looking at them?

I don’t know you well, and also don’t know your musical tastes too well other than you popping in some threads here and there and the obvious love for Sonic Youth. I sort of went with that. Thanks again!

It was either review this now on one listen, or wait days for a chance to listen a few more times and really dig into the overall arc of it all.

I'm a new dad and I manage a bar, so I have very very little time alone now.

Thanks for taking the time to make it. It's really heavy. You don't know my tastes well, but you've somehow taken a specific portion about what I like in one corner of my mind and expanded heavily on it.

If your mix was a Sonic Youth album, it would definitely be more Evol and Bad Moon Rising than A Thousand Leaves.

I can tell you put a lot of time and thought into it. Quite frankly, it scared me. Very powerful mix making, Kreng!

[washing machine]

I listened without tags. Hooked headphones up to my phone and pressed play. No looking.

[washing machine]

Well, thanks for the review VG. I'll try harder next time

Lol

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

To my mix maker, i havent been able to listen yet, ive been under the weather all weekend and was hoping to be in the right mind to listen tonight but still feeling kinda rough. I did download it tonight and will be listening tomorrow. Sorry for the delay

[Higgs]

Ha! Nice one. Thanks indeed Chris, I really enjoyed the mixer. It will get repeat play for sure.