::REVIEWS:: 2013 Secret Mixtape project

[Alex]

Here's my mix:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2bq741esl81fd5s/DiFMOWlWxF

i didn't give you permission to share that yet

Let's see how many people review it before you do

i had a busier weekend than i expected; i'll get to it this weekend instead

[William Bloke]

Here's my mix:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/2bq741esl81fd5s/DiFMOWlWxF

OK, so I'm giving this a listen. I do seem to recall you posting a track listing earlier on in this thread when you realised that your mix partner was a useless fuck, but I'll try and not revist it. The one thing I do remember though is your choice for the final song because it stuck out like dogs balls when I read it, but no matter. Anyways...

Track 1 - It's got that stoned, hazy guitar thing going on here. I like the vocal and the message (I'm feeling a tad bummed today, so this works for me really well about now). Yeah, cool tune - I'm interested in who this is.

Track 2 - Straight away starts out with a crisply picked acoustic, which is a nice transition from the first song. Girly singer singing about...an etch-a-sketch! Oh - here comes the rest of the band. This has got a nice build going on, enjoying it. I've got it - that's the chick from Sleater Kinney singing. Cool, cool.

Track 3 - This is a bit different again, we've gone off-continent. My initial thought is one of the Toureg-type Northern African bands that were all the rage a couple of years ago, but this seems more South American. I like the repetitive groove and especially when the horns come in. Those guitars are def. S.American. This is smooth and relaxed. Three tracks in and this is great.

Track 4 - The starting notes have me thinking straight away of Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know and for a second I thought it was going to be a cover of that. Thankfully it's not, but we have another female vocalist over bongos, xylophone (or whatever), some organ, (is that a recorder in there?), other odds and sods. Again it's a relaxed tune, a sense of restraint about it. No idea who, but this is nice enough.

Track 5 - A change of direction, an industrial starting drone, there's some rhythm building. Heavily layered male vocals now, gruff but with (again) a sense of restraint. The music here is pretty straightforward and doesn't wander too far, the vocals do most of the heavy lifting. Suddenly there's an asian chick in the mix wailing a bit. OK. And the songs then done before it really went anywhere. That's OK though.

Track 6 - Here we have a slow, slightly ominous, build. A bit "dark, rainy night" theatrical. Then we kick those techno beats! Cue flat male vocal. This one's a bit 'Musey' for me, but not at their particular level of bombast. The change-up is nice - a patch of calm in an otherwise choppy sea. This one's not my particular cup of tea at first listen, but I have to say that I can hear enough hooks in it that I can imagine it growing on me with future listens.

Track 7 - We start with 2 dudes chatting, apparently about the very recording we are listening to - production notes and instructions perhaps. The "ohm" thing going on is nice. The vocal is soft and lilting. This is a pleasant, relaxing tune. I can see it on one of those "Chill" mixes you see about the place. I wouldn't skip it if it came on when I was kicking back with a beer on my deck. Nice.

Track 8 - Keeping with the down-tempo vibe here, a few electronic blips and blops into a loose groove and a whispered female vocal. There's a repeated rising vocal melody throughout which is kinda interesting and gives the song a focus as the beats continue to go through various, mostly subtle, changes. Listening to this and the previous track back-to-back I'm reminded of Ku De Tah Radio from Bali that I listen to quite often late at night. Generally chilled out with a slow groove. And that works just fine by me.

Track 9 - Jah, man! Bit of Reggae - I should go and find the 'erb. Reggae with classical strings though...interesting. Actually, the only thing really reggae about it is the vocal and accent, the music isn't specifically definable to a genre (although there are melodies that remind me of a Bob Marley track, no idea which specific one, and that to could simply be because of the reggae voice). It's hard not to feel the reggae-ness when he's singing about "The truth of a rasta-man" and dropping the occasional "Jah". This was OK, I'm not sold on reggae in general and this didn't really go anywhere in particular for me.

Track 10 - I recognise this track - this is a cover of Parting Ways. I remember it being discussed when you posted your track list earlier, it's from the PJ Cover competition from a few years back. It's cool and haunted, nice. I'd love to be so talented. I've always loved that "though he's too big a man to say" line. This is a nice interpretation.

Track 11 - Cool change-up! This is a great start to this track, I love the "Wacky Races" feel it's got going on. The music (in particular the bass line) reminds me of watching the Adams Family and Munsters after school back in the day. Fun song. Nothing wrong with some disposable bubble gum pop.

Track 12 - Ed Ved and Jeanne Tripplehorn doing Shatterred. Okey-dokes. I'm guessing that you received the 10C single at the same time as you were making the mix.

Well, thanks for the listen! I enjoyed the mix generally, some stuff in particularly (esp. the opening track - I'll go back and look at the track listing to chase some more of that up) and thought that as a whole mix it all flowed pretty well. It was generally subdued from a musical perspective, with not too much in the way of 'over-the-top' going on, and having a re-read through my post I see I keep coming back to the word 'restrained', which I think is about right. The musical performances generally were all restrained which I guess is a factor of the vibe you were going for with the mix, although I'd say that the last 2 songs were perhaps a step away towards more theatrical territory.

Anyways, cheers again. I enjoyed it. It really wasn't that hard to give it a listen and write up a few words about it. And I've still got my whole busy weekend in front of me to.

[Alex]

seger is my hero

[E.H. Ruddock]

Thanks for the review. The last song was just put in there because the mix was for Alex. Not really meant to be part of the regular mix, I hate that song.

[Alex]

rough draft of a review is stored on my laptop right now, awaiting first edit

[bodysnatcher]

sorry i missed this, would have been fun to participate

[super nintendo chalmers]

Well, once Wordsworth up there finally gets his review in, maybe we can do another round of these.

[stip]

i would participate again. I had another mix concept I didn't use.

[William Bloke]

Yeah, I have some songs laying about that could use a home.

[stip]

platy, did you manage to listen to all of them?

[dsb1218]

For some masochistic reason I'd like to do this again, too.

[Heathen]

i would participate again. I had another mix concept I didn't use.

"Same 10 artists, different songs"

[stip]

I'm thinking of working some pearl jam into the next one.

[Alex]

my review is coming this weekend

[Kaius]

Alex

[Alex]

super nintendo chalmers

[bodysnatcher]

was there a theme for this contest? or just whatever you wanted?

[William Bloke]

was there a theme for this contest? or just whatever you wanted?

You could do it as you liked. Put together a mixtape for your mix partner how and as you liked. Some went with a theme, some with just a bunch of songs. It was fun.

[Lament]

Yeah, I'd be up to do this again.

[Alex]

me too