Red Mosquito

NotThatGuy, do you use an adblocker? That would usually cancel out even the audio ads like one would find on Spotify or Pandora.

Also, NTG reveal yourself. Have you had a previous account?

Whoever he is, he made a good mix.

This mix is all over the fucking place. At first I hated it, but it’s grown on me. I’m glad I didn’t write a review right away and gave it a chance to grow on me (and also gave it a headphones listen which greatly helped a few songs)

1. Great groove. Classic bar hall blues rock with droning guitar and vocals to match. The bridge lost me a little—Like a bad Pearl Jam bridge—but the song is memorable and makes me want to seek out other music by the group. 3 stars
2. Sounds like D’Angelo let Beyoncé borrow the Vanguard. The vocals are bothering me. Her lyrics and affectations are distracting me from the song. Not believable as the “bad girl” quite frankly. Too bad cuz whoever is swinging the sticks is killing it. 2 stars
3. Oooh. Tool riff? Kidding. Great production and progression tho. Fuck yeah. This is gooooood. 5 stars.
4. Questionable track flow so far. A not-surprisingly catchy t swift pop hop joint. I’ve heard it before. Listen, this girl is talented and obv knows how to write a hook, but I’m getting burned out on this sound. It just blends into all of her recent singles. I don’t think this sound will age well. 2 stars
5. Miley Cyrus...she has such a sexy voice. A quaint, breezy pop ballad... but nothing special. A good poolside track. Production is a little weak. 2 stars.
6. This feels like a song choice by someone who doesn’t like the beastie boys, except that one acoustic song they did that doesn’t sound like the beastie boys. Otherwise it’s an ok song that sounds fantastic. 3 stars
7. I really like his voice. He has range! Cool. A group showcasing two different styles in one song. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. This song has benefited from multiple listens the most. I hated it at first and it’s grown on me a bit. I’m guessing this group has better songs but this showcases their diversity. 3 stars
8. I need a pick me up. Here we go! Mmmayyybe. This mix is certainly eclectic. This is a PJ Harvey imitation. Idk much about Kim Gordon but I’m going to find out more because this is bad ass. 4 stars
9. Ok I’m still struggling with the flow of this mix...I think I’ve listened to a cat power album. Little recollection tho. Would have preferred a song of theirs rather than a cover, but it’s a well done cover nonetheless. Great voice. 3 stars
10. This mix is more chill than thrill, that’s for sure. I’m a fan of early era and 90s Neil young, but havent heard any new stuff. The production here is gorgeous. 3 stars
11. This song still hasn’t made an impression on me after 5 listens. I’m comfortable saying it’s not bad, but I don’t know if it’s good either. 2.5 stars
12. This song choice, and maybe some of the others, make me think my mix maker did some homework on me. Looooove this song. Great track from a great album from a great band. 5 stars
13. Curveball! Nice beat. Like the growl. Ehhhh, hate the trap mock verse fully equipped with glock-cocking sound fx. Rest of the song has a cool groove. Wish they wouldn’t have spoiled it with the early gangsta trap verse. It didn’t fit. Would’ve been a 4 star but that bumped it to a 3 star.
14. A latin jazz, pop hop finale? Perfect. I dont know what they’re saying but I’m all up in these guys feelings. This is good. Might be my favorite new song. 5 stars.

I’m pretty confident my mix artist is VinylGuy. Varied taste and open minded. More chill vibes than I expected but VG is a pretty chill dude it seems. I have many things to walk away with here.

Le Butcherettes, Crystal Fairy, Kim Gordon, and J Balvin & Bad Bunny will all be getting further listens and deeper dives in the near future. The mix will get more spins as well, and maybe some other tracks will find an itch to scratch.

Kaius, you are correct; your mix was made by: VinylGuy

No offence everyone, but man, I’m really, really glad theplatypus made my mix.

I would have tailored something for you dude. Probably not enough for you to enjoy it though

Birds in Hell wrote:No offence everyone, but man, I’m really, really glad theplatypus made my mix.

After your review I saw where I went wrong on your mix. I had you pegged as a big sludge/stoner fan because I remembered you liking Big Business and things of that ilk, so I went largely for loud, heavy, and low-end. But I wish I'd gone with a weirder and more experimental route.

Anyway, something I was very proud of with my mix was the sequencing. A couple of instances of songs starting on the same chord as the previous song ended and other little sonic connections like that.

To my mixmaker: please don't despair, I will have a full review up for you very soon. Coronavirus related cancellations have thrown my life into disarray so I've been very busy.

Brett wrote:NotThatGuy, do you use an adblocker? That would usually cancel out even the audio ads like one would find on Spotify or Pandora.

Nope, no adblocker of any kind, just playing from my phone with the Spotify app. Maybe I'm the chosen one?

theplatypus wrote:

Birds in Hell wrote:No offence everyone, but man, I’m really, really glad theplatypus made my mix.

After your review I saw where I went wrong on your mix. I had you pegged as a big sludge/stoner fan because I remembered you liking Big Business and things of that ilk, so I went largely for loud, heavy, and low-end. But I wish I'd gone with a weirder and more experimental route.

Oh yeah, that scene is not generally my thing.

I did like one Big Business record a few years ago (Mind the Drift) but nothing else they've ever done has hit me like that one. I think it's mainly the melodic choices I enjoy on that record too, not the "loud and heavy" aspects.

Interestingly, and I hadn't realised this before looking it up on Wikipedia just now, that record is the only one they made with that particular line-up, so perhaps that has something to do with it.

So I listened to this and reviewed without then looking up the artist. Also, as some of you know as we exchange mixes privately off of RM, I review my songs based on life experience and what I might be doing while listening to the song based on the mood of the song. I hope this doesn't offend my mix creator. Here we go:

1. - Haha, holy shit, starting off with a bang. I love when a genre uses influences from other genres. This is a dub step-style song that hits hard right out of the gate, with some dancehall (LOVE!) and hip hop samples. No idea who it is but I'll be listening to this again. This is all up in my face and I can't wait for the rest of the mix. This is the kind of song I'll crank up in my car while driving alone at night.

2. - Pretty sure this is Vince Staples. I don't know if I've heard this song before, but I recognize the voice. I like him, he's got an old school/late 90's vibe to him. Solid song.

3. - ooh, I really like this. No idea who it is, but the mellow vibe of the guitar and vocals reminds me a lot of Toro y Moi. I will chill out to this in the future for sure. Can't wait to ponder life to this song.

4. - another chill song. This one is a little more post-rock. This guy's voice sounds familiar. I love his almost-talking style of singing, some heavy Bowie influences here. This is a song I'd listen to while sitting at the beach trying to get my creative juices flowing for a writing project. I really like this song. I can't wait to listen to more of this artist.

5. - the singer on this has an almost young Joe Strummer voice. At first it didn't fit with the slow, easy guitars, but when it got to "easy easy" it fits. I feel like this is an interlude on a more heavy rock album. *edit, this was a nice segway into the next song.

6. - the sweet, sweet voice of Yim Yames! Run Through is this song. And my style of MMJ song.

7. - so one of my favorite sub-genres is "Desert rock" post-rock. This fits it to a tee. The kind of music that I'll listen to while sitting on the front porch of a dusty bungalow with no AC in Needles, CA. A shithole town, but somehow appealing because of music like this playing in my life's background. Nice little instrumental. Thank you for this.

8. - This girl has a nice voice, almost Florence & The Machine. Is it? I don't recognize the song, so I don't think so. I love when the Guiro(?) starts up within the beat. Sitting on a cold rainy day, reading while intermittently pondering life out the window is when I'll listen to this one.

9. - Another smooth rocker with a nice female lead. Almost sounds like an early Sleater-Kinney or Liz Phair. I like the mid-90's style of it. Good working or cruising music.

10. - We're on a run of female vocals here, I love it! Reminds me of early Metric music. Kind of poppy-garage-jam rock. Good filler song for the set, forgettable but not in a bad way. Just kind of nice background music.

11. - Rhianna! Same Ol' Mistakes. I love this song because it has a 70's funk thing going on. I'll jam to this while working, or hanging with my lady chilling at home. She is so talented. Not sure what else to say about this song other than if you haven't listened to it, you are missing out. She is so great. And for as popular as she may be, I feel like she's still underrated.

12. - Haha I guess this is MF Doom based on him saying so in the intro? (this happened on my mix to VG as well) Nice kind of funky Jurassic 5 vibe going on. My style of hip-hop. This is the kind of thing blasting on my earbuds when I'm walking around the city, exploring with no agenda.

13. - Frank Ocean. Nice R&B song with a touch of dub/electronic things going on. Nice closer, Also, in a weird way, this song sums up the whole playlist. A nice collection of styles and crossovers within the song.

Thanks to whoever made this. With the exception of maybe two songs, these will be added to my regular rotation. Based on the styles, and the dedication to researching what I like or the fact that this person knows me, I have it narrowed down to Washing Machine, Higgs, or Kaius. Whoever it is, I'd love to discuss some of these further with you. I know I don't have a long review for each song, but again I love to imagine what I'd be doing while listening to them. Thank you so much for this, it was really enjoyable.

Kaius wrote:This mix is all over the fucking place. At first I hated it, but it’s grown on me. I’m glad I didn’t write a review right away and gave it a chance to grow on me (and also gave it a headphones listen which greatly helped a few songs)

1. Great groove. Classic bar hall blues rock with droning guitar and vocals to match. The bridge lost me a little—Like a bad Pearl Jam bridge—but the song is memorable and makes me want to seek out other music by the group. 3 stars
2. Sounds like D’Angelo let Beyoncé borrow the Vanguard. The vocals are bothering me. Her lyrics and affectations are distracting me from the song. Not believable as the “bad girl” quite frankly. Too bad cuz whoever is swinging the sticks is killing it. 2 stars
3. Oooh. Tool riff? Kidding. Great production and progression tho. Fuck yeah. This is gooooood. 5 stars.
4. Questionable track flow so far. A not-surprisingly catchy t swift pop hop joint. I’ve heard it before. Listen, this girl is talented and obv knows how to write a hook, but I’m getting burned out on this sound. It just blends into all of her recent singles. I don’t think this sound will age well. 2 stars
5. Miley Cyrus...she has such a sexy voice. A quaint, breezy pop ballad... but nothing special. A good poolside track. Production is a little weak. 2 stars.
6. This feels like a song choice by someone who doesn’t like the beastie boys, except that one acoustic song they did that doesn’t sound like the beastie boys. Otherwise it’s an ok song that sounds fantastic. 3 stars
7. I really like his voice. He has range! Cool. A group showcasing two different styles in one song. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. This song has benefited from multiple listens the most. I hated it at first and it’s grown on me a bit. I’m guessing this group has better songs but this showcases their diversity. 3 stars
8. I need a pick me up. Here we go! Mmmayyybe. This mix is certainly eclectic. This is a PJ Harvey imitation. Idk much about Kim Gordon but I’m going to find out more because this is bad ass. 4 stars
9. Ok I’m still struggling with the flow of this mix...I think I’ve listened to a cat power album. Little recollection tho. Would have preferred a song of theirs rather than a cover, but it’s a well done cover nonetheless. Great voice. 3 stars
10. This mix is more chill than thrill, that’s for sure. I’m a fan of early era and 90s Neil young, but havent heard any new stuff. The production here is gorgeous. 3 stars
11. This song still hasn’t made an impression on me after 5 listens. I’m comfortable saying it’s not bad, but I don’t know if it’s good either. 2.5 stars
12. This song choice, and maybe some of the others, make me think my mix maker did some homework on me. Looooove this song. Great track from a great album from a great band. 5 stars
13. Curveball! Nice beat. Like the growl. Ehhhh, hate the trap mock verse fully equipped with glock-cocking sound fx. Rest of the song has a cool groove. Wish they wouldn’t have spoiled it with the early gangsta trap verse. It didn’t fit. Would’ve been a 4 star but that bumped it to a 3 star.
14. A latin jazz, pop hop finale? Perfect. I dont know what they’re saying but I’m all up in these guys feelings. This is good. Might be my favorite new song. 5 stars.

I’m pretty confident my mix artist is VinylGuy. Varied taste and open minded. More chill vibes than I expected but VG is a pretty chill dude it seems. I have many things to walk away with here.

Le Butcherettes, Crystal Fairy, Kim Gordon, and J Balvin & Bad Bunny will all be getting further listens and deeper dives in the near future. The mix will get more spins as well, and maybe some other tracks will find an itch to scratch.

Wow you really got me! Im glad you liked it. I basically put what im listening these days...and yeah, i agree with the flow of the mix, but frankly these days im thinking that FUUUCK THE FLOW.

That would be the name of this Mix.

E.H. Ruddock wrote:Thanks to whoever made this. With the exception of maybe two songs, these will be added to my regular rotation. Based on the styles, and the dedication to researching what I like or the fact that this person knows me, I have it narrowed down to Washing Machine, Higgs, or Kaius. Whoever it is, I'd love to discuss some of these further with you. I know I don't have a long review for each song, but again I love to imagine what I'd be doing while listening to them. Thank you so much for this, it was really enjoyable.

Ruddo, your mix was made by: Kaius

Tracklists of VinylGuy and Kaius's mixes:

VinylGuy - a mix for Kaius
Spotify

01. give/UP - le Butcherettes
02. Don't Hurt Yourself - Beyoncé, Jack White
03. Crystal Fairy - Crystal Fairy
04. End Game - Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Future
05. Slide Away - Miley Cyrus
06. I Don't Know - Beastie Boys
07. Brick by Brick - boom boom kid
08. Murdered Out - Kim Gordon
09. Stay - Cat Power
10. I Do - Neil Young and Crazy Horse
11. Gazing from the Shore - Mark Lanegan
12. Strange Currencies - R.E.M.
13. OUKE - CA7RIEL, Paco Amoroso
14. LA CANCIÓN - J Balvin, Bad Bunny

Kaius - a mix for E.H. Ruddock
Spotify

01. Griztronics - GRiZ, Subtronics
02. Big Fish - Vince Staples
03. Uncle ACE - Blood Orange
04. Song for America - Destroyer
05. Easy Easy - King Krule
06. Run Thru - My Morning Jacket
07. A Swarm - Red Sparowes
08. There is a Lightness to My Bones - Teeth & Tongue
09. Calendar Days - Dick Diver
10. Hesperus - Twin River
11. Same Ol' Mistakes - Rihanna
12. Rapp Snitch Knishes - MF DOOM
13. Pyramids - Frank Ocean

So glad you liked it Ruddo. I think our taste in music has a lot of crossover. I had no problem finding songs I thought you’d like. I also had mental notes (from our time boarding together) that you like old school hip hop, female vocalists, instrumental post-rock, and dancehall/dubstep/rave club (idk what genre to call the first track). I actually cut several songs to get it close to 60 minutes AND get it to flow well. I personally love when the end of one song meshes well with the start of another, including the last track into the first.

Anyway, these are songs I already loved and they organically came together to form your mix. I put my heart into it, so your review was fun to read. I’ll get you a track list later.

Oh! And I thought I’d read recently that you disliked Jim James. This was my best attempt to get you to likes song by him (or MMJ).

Track #1 i like this one, kind of spoken word sounding vocals but pretty quitet in the mix so this one is mainly instrumental feeling. Im terrible at describing music but i have enjoyed this one from first listen.

Track #2 instrumental. Starts out with what could be an r&b backing track, then adds some keyboard that kinda feels like you are at a restaurant with live piano. Its a cool mixture but really threw me on the first few listens.
*update, im having trouble getting this song out of my head now, im liking it more each time through.

Track #3 kinda reminds me of sigur ros, not sure of the language of the vocals but they are kind of acting as another instrument in the song.

Track #4 sounds like it could have been in the score to interstellar if that makes sense. Also instrumental, though i feel like this is all computers so is that still considered instrumental? Again terrible at describing music. This one also really threw me, but i felt so miserable when starting to listen to this mix that everything threw me at least a little

Track #5 im still trying to decide on this one, this one does have vocals that are right out front, its kinda going for an out of tune feel with the music i think. I dont hate it or anything but so far its not a favorite. It might grow on me though

Track #6 reminds me a little of Beach house, and i like beach house, very soft vocals so another one that feels close to instramental

Track #7 Bass solo

Track #8 very sonic youthy, pretty sure its not them, this is another one that ive liked from the first listen. There are vocals on this one but very difficult to make out, might be another language, this one is so good with headphones

Track #9 kinda sounds like people tuning instruments all at the same time, doesnt do anything for me on its own but works pretty well as an interlude between track #8 and track #10

Track #10 i didn'treally care for this one at first but im really starting to like it, especially with headphones, not sure if this is 2 vocalists or a layered type of vocals but i really like the way they work together. The drums on this seem pretty sumple but they really make the song for me

Track #11 this one is another instrumental , id call it like a guitar doodle jam that builds. Not sure if its one that ill listen to outside of this mix, but im about 5 times through now and pretty much everything is getting better each time.

Track #12 this one is the most straight forward song on the mix, id say it could be an alt rock song from the 90s, it was pretty easy for me to like on first listen because its much closer to what i usually listen to, but also kinda makes it seem like it is out of place on this mix. I really like it though.

Track #13 reminds me a lot of sufjan stevens who i like a lot but following the previous song really threw me at first, but i feel like while track #12 feels like its out of place in this mix, the run of #11, #12 & #13 really do work well together. This one is also instrumental with lots of stuff going on, and it surprisingly doesnt seem anywhere near 7 minutes long, though it is.

Track #14 this one so far doesnt do much for me, very mellow song, lots of stuff going on with the music but its all just background to the vocals.

Track #15 i feel like im going to know who this is, but i dont know the song, i like it though. Id call it kind of a simple song but there is so much going on with headphones.

Track #16 this one is a fun track, id say its synthesizer/keyboard stuff, and i cant put my finger on it but i keep feeling like im hearing the melody from an 80s pop love song but cant place it i definitely enjoy this one.

Track #17 this one makes sense as an ending to the mix, and i feel like it could also have been part of the score for interstellar but this one has some soft guitar added in. Very mellow and has a cool fuzzy kinda solo happening late that is also really soft. This is another one that i think headphones are a must.

This mix was a real challenge for me, im not sure how it would have been if i hadn't been feeling so bad the first time through but i know a lot of this is outside of my normal musical tastes, which i feel especially now are very simple but ive really enjoyed working through this. Thanks so much to my mix maker, and sorry for the delay in the review.

As for who the mix maker is, i think we are down to just 3, either brett, higgs or WM, if i was to guess it would be WM just because of the sonic youth sounding song but im really not sure.

Doc, your mix was made by: Brett

Birds in Hell wrote:Doc, your mix was made by: Brett

Awesome. Thanks to brett, and thanks to you BiH for running this for us

Thanks for the review Dr. V. Here's your track list:

1. Ganger - Cats, Dogs and Babies Jaws
2. Kiefer - Sunny
3. Saltland - Unholy
4. Le Révélateur - View Model
5. The Silt - Out Like a Light
6. My Bloody Valentine - If I Am
7. Rob Clutton - Cloak
8. Fly Pan Am - Vos reves revers
9. Nightjars - The Mary Independent
10. Elfin Saddle - Running Sheep
11. The Dwarfs of East Agouza - Clean Shahin
12. Duster - Reed to Hillsborough
13. Muskox - Foot Locker
14. Eric Chenaux - Arms, Legs and Moonlight
15. Sandro Perri - Love & Light
16. Sleepless Beach Music - Curious Flesh
17. Golden Melody Awards - Untitled

Outside of our common ground of Pearl Jam and Sigur Rós, I wasn't really sure what kind of music you listened to. Looking through some of your post history I did pick up on a few artists but I wasn't very familiar with what they sounded like and didn't have time to research.

I mostly extrapolated that you liked some of the same alternative and indie rock stuff as many of us on the board, so I figured that Ganger, MBV, and Duster would be safe bets. I had also briefly considered loading up the mix with some more post-rock stuff, but I didn't know how much your were already familiar with, so I ended up using a variety of stuff I'm into without getting too weird.

As for your comments on vocals, the Saltland track is in English, Fly Pan Am is French, and Elfin Saddle does have two vocalists. Sleepless Beach Music is definitely some keyboard or synth stuff. It's a British guy who made something like 20 albums of stuff like this between 2012 and 2016. I randomly heard a track on the local college radio around here a few years ago and have been slowly checking out his stuff since.

I'm glad you got some enjoyment out of the mix even though it wasn't in your usual zone of listening.