::REVIEWS:: 2013 Secret Mixtape project

[E.H. Ruddock]

It's not actually a cover, Gram Parsons wrote it and used essentially the same backing band as Elvis did when he did "Viva Las Vegas". It's a great song and always makes me happy.

Gotcha. I know Emmylou Harris did this song too, and that's what came to mind when I heard it.

[Fuzzcharger]

WHO DID MY MIX!?

Ditto. But in lower case.

Your mix was made by dsb1218.

Tracklist:

1. Bookends - Simon & Garfunkel
2. Ashes of American Flags - WIlco
3. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat - Beck
4. Holland, 1945 - Neutral Milk Hotel
5. Barrels on Fire - Norfolk and Western
6. I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll - Gillian Welch
7. Modern Girl - Sleater-Kinney
8. Hail Hail - Shovels and Rope
9. Smile - Pearl Jam
10. Flashes and Cables - Centro-Matic
11. Farewell Transmission - Songs:Ohia

Guilty as charged.

Thanks

[William Bloke]

Just listenned through PHATJ's mix and really enjoyed it. Lot's of songs on there that I was happy bopping along to. Good stuff.

[William Bloke]

That was Super Nintendo Chalmers's mix and it's one of my favorites in this whole shindig. Every song is good.

Thanks, appreciate that.. Needless to say, It was a bit of a tall order. So I just compiled a bunch of stuff that came out this year. It got me though the crunch of finals and provided some parameters to make this thing.


http://www.sendspace.com/file/20atyt
Here's the tagged version.

Listening to this now, 5 songs in and enjoying it muchly. That 'The Rutabega' song is just glorious.

[doone]

Just listenned through PHATJ's mix and really enjoyed it. Lot's of songs on there that I was happy bopping along to. Good stuff.

what page is the link on please?

[Jorge]

I promise I'll update the header post tonight with all the links revealed so far.

[doone]

k thx

[Jorge]

PHATJ's mix can be streamed here
or downloaded from here: http://jorgefarah.files.wordpress.com/2 ... ft-mix.mp3

[stip]

Platy, would my mix have let you down?

[E.H. Ruddock]

Since it looks like there is no review of mine coming, here was my mix to Alex:

1. Unknown Brooklyn - Shannon Yarbrough
2. Dragon - The Corin Tucker Band
3. Chan Chan - Buena Vista Social Club
4. The Alien Song - Milla Jovovich
5. If I Had a Heart - Fever Ray
6. Here - VAST
7. Up Where the Clouds Come Down - Soulo
8. Behind the Sun (Deep Ambient mix) - Two A.D.
9. Lyin' In Bed - Ziggy Marley
10.Parting Ways cover - Shaun Douglas
11.Chick Habit - April March
12.Shattered - Eddie Vedder feat. Jean Triplehorn

[stip]

that's a bold final track, Ruddo

[super nintendo chalmers]

Listening to this now, 5 songs in and enjoying it muchly. That 'The Rutabega' song is just glorious.

Nice!

[retortion]

I'm thoroughly enjoying my mixtape! The flow is great (with nice, clean transitions), most of the songs I have not heard before and it's refreshing hearing the couple songs that I have in a new context, there aren't any songs I don't like, and the mix is overall easy going. This is definitely the kind of music I enjoy listening to on a regular basis and I'm grateful for new bands to add to my collection!
A+ mix What more could you ask for in a mixtape!
I'll add some more specifics to make this a real review when I get the chance to listen to it without interruption (first listen was in three parts unfortunately).

would love to hear your extended thoughts, totally forgot to add fades on a few transitions. glad you liked it!

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - To Russia My Homeland
James Blake - Limit to Your Love
Explosions In The Sky - Catastrophe and the Cure
Junip - Walking Lightly
Wilco - The Whole Love
Foster The People - Miss You
Caribou - Jamelia
Elliott Smith - A Distorted Reality's Now A Necessity To Be Free
The National - Sea Of Love
Arcade Fire - Afterlife
AltJ - Taroooooo
TV On The Radio - Second Song
Foals - Prelude
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Will You Smile Again For Me?

[Malloy]

the weather this week has disrupted much of my schedule, but review is forthcoming

[Alex]

my review is also forthcoming

[washing machine]

Glad to see some love for that Elliott Smith track on someone's mix.

[Lament]

Alright, here's my review...

Spoiler: show

My mix was a single track, so I've put what appear to be the starting points of each song. It is entirely possible that I'm wrong, especially with some of the instrumental, so I apologize in advance.

Track One (0:00): A lengthy, scratchy instrumental that builds but never really managed to capture my attention. Some of the drumming was interesting, especially when the drums first come in. A bold way to start the mix

Track Two (5:57): This song was much more suited to my tastes. It's airy, poppy, and dancey. It feels a bit like a blend between M83 and the 1975. Cool song.

Track Three (10:09): This was a cover of New Order's Age of Consent. The original is one of my favorite songs, but this cover (like most covers of this song) doesn't do it for me. There's a tense uncertainty laced with a profound naivety in the original, and I've yet to find a cover that manages to capture that. Musically it sounds a bit like Camper Van Beethoven once the first chorus ends.

Track Four (14:32): A slow, jangly number that reminded me a bit of Teenage Fanclub, which is a good thing. Nothing earth-shattering, but a nice song. Not as good as the second track, but still very enjoyable.

Track Five (17:08): I can't make out any of the vocals, but this song was the first on the mix to really capture my attention. It's a female vocal over a very simple, descending, Joy Division-esque riff that builds in layers as it progresses. I really enjoyed this song.

Track Six (20:29): This is Laura Marling, but I don't remember the name of the song (I looked it up, Devil's Resting Place). Really good song, and a perfect follow up to the previous track.

Track Seven (23:31): Another female vocalist (if this was done on purpose, nice work, otherwise I guess I just got lucky). A more abrasive song than the previous two, but still very catchy and instantly enjoyable. Probably my favorite of the songs I'm unfamiliar with. I'm curious as to who this is.

Track Eight (25:38): This is The Joy Formidable's This Ladder is Ours. I fucking love this song. I used to play it at the club I worked at in Tampa nearly every single week when it came out. So great.

Track Nine (30:03): A mellow track with some nice slide guitar, but ultimately not enough to engage me, especially following up the killer run that preceded it.

Track Ten (34:00): This song didn't do much for me. It seemed kind of generic and plodding, a dude singing in a hushed manner over a steady, plodding beat. The spacey keys/fake strings in the chorus help break it up a bit, but not enough to make me a fan.

Track Eleven (39:04 ): This has to be Belle & Sebastian, but I don't know what song. I've never been a fan of theirs (well, I always liked the song I Fought in a War), but they just don't do it for me. I kinda gave up trying after Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant (I think that's what it's called). This kinda sounds like every other B&S song to me.

Track Twelve (43:11): Another female vocalist. Mellow song, but a definite step up for the three songs before it. The backwards bits in between the chorus and verse are nice. A pretty song. I'm on the fence about whether or not it'll stick with me, but it's a nice listen. I could see myself possibly coming back to it.

Track Thirteen (48:07): This is the Arctic Monkey's That's Where You're Wrong. I know this song. I've always liked it. Reminds me a lot of Echo & the Bunnymen, whom I love. Nice choice.

Track Fourteen (52:12): Another lengthy instrumental. I preferred this to the one that opened the mix, and it had a few really pretty moments (and featured some nice gentle piano melodies), but it didn't really keep my attention.

Track Fifteen (58:30): I have no idea what this is, but I'm interested to find out. Very dark, very moody, and some very interesting choices in terms of instrumentation. Very pretty classical sounding guitar, very abrasive bass and drums, and bursts of horns (Right? Or am I crazy? Also, is that a theremin at the end?). The vocalist almost sounds like an evil, twisted twin sister of Drugstore's Isabel Monteiro. Definitely the high point of the last chunk of this mix. I don't know that I'd enjoy a whole record of this type of stuff, but it works here.

Track Sixteen (64:47): This instrumental seemed to not stand up under the weight of the track ahead of it. I didn't find much memorable about it.

Track Seventeen (66:48): This instrumental kinda meandered for the first few minutes, but the last two and a half minutes finally took off for me once it got heavier. An interesting choice to close the mix, but it makes sense, and the last ninety seconds of it are nice, especially the guitars.

I have no idea who made this mix, or whether or not they made it with me in mind. My instinct is to say they didn't, but it's possible they did to an extent (or at least included as many female vocalist as they did for that reason). Like I said in my initial comments when I first received the mix, it's very well crafted. A lot of thought was obviously put into it, and it definitely shows. As a whole it didn't really appeal to my sensibilities, though it definitely had one stretch (tracks four through eight) that I really enjoyed. I have a feeling a lot of other posters are going to REALLY like this mix a lot once it's made available to everyone, but like I said, on the whole it seemed to skew a bit too far from my personal tastes. Very well done though, and I really appreciate it. I would highly recommend anyone with even a sliver of curiosity to check it out, as you'll probably find something you like on it.

[LetMeSleep]

Mix for Lament

1. Because Of Ghosts - Upwards! Forwards! Towards The Sun
2. Maps - To The Sky
3. Disaster Plan - Age Of Consent
4. The Pernice Brothers - She Heightened Everything
5. Electrelane - This Deed
6. Laura Marling - Devil's Resting Place
7. theredsunband - Sleep Forever
8. The Joy Formidable - This Ladder Is Ours
9. January - Through Your Skies
10. Horse Stories - Radio
11. Belle & Sebastian - Desperation Made A Fool Of Me
12. Trespassers William - Alone
13. Arctic Monkeys - That's Where You're Wrong
14. Manitoba - Seaweed
15. Mum - Weeping Rock, Rock
16. Season - Give Up The Ghost

Glad you enjoyed some of it Lament. I'd started the mix before I knew it was for you. I had a mainly instrumental post rock vibe going but then I changed it for you with more female vox and a couple of tracks I thought you'd dig. I also have not had the chance to discover and delve into new releases of late so I tried to use older material with a few concessions.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/124 ... %20Mix.mp3

[Lament]

I weirdly almost guessed it was you at first when you made a comment about yours being a single track, but then I thought "eh, I'm sure a lot of them are, and I don't even really have an idea of how many people were in the exchange." Sleep Forever is a pretty awesome song. I will have to check out theredsunband. I know the name (they're Aussies, right?), but don't think I'd ever heard anything by them before this. I will also have to check out some other stuff from Maps, Electrelane and Mum. Actually, the female vocalists make up pretty much all of the stuff I liked (apart from Maps and the Arctic Monkeys), so well done with that. Part of me thought that what I perceived to be tracks sixteen and seventeen were actually one song, but I figured I'd err on the side of caution. But yeah, I think a lot of people are gonna like this mix.

[LetMeSleep]

I weirdly almost guessed it was you at first when you made a comment about yours being a single track, but then I thought "eh, I'm sure a lot of them are, and I don't even really have an idea of how many people were in the exchange." Sleep Forever is a pretty awesome song. I will have to check out theredsunband. I know the name (they're Aussies, right?), but don't think I'd ever heard anything by them before this. I will also have to check out some other stuff from Maps, Electrelane and Mum. Actually, the female vocalists make up pretty much all of the stuff I liked (apart from Maps and the Arctic Monkeys), so well done with that. Part of me thought that what I perceived to be tracks sixteen and seventeen were actually one song, but I figured I'd err on the side of caution. But yeah, I think a lot of people are gonna like this mix.

I can dropbox some albums for you if you'd like. Maps are great.I haven't heard anything else from theredsunband since Peapod which I guess was 2005.

And I'm so glad you like that Arctic Monkeys track. For some reason I thought you'd dismissed them but whenever I heard that track I thought you'd dig it.