Red Mosquito

Mix 13 Review...

We've got m4a's mixed with mp3's...Grrr.

Track 1 and we are straight into a most familiar artist. I'm a fan, cool song. Nice starter to be honest. Into Track 2 and this is another very recognisable voice. This track's got a bit of the old funky whucka-whucka happening, and that's always happy days with me. Groovy tunes. 2 songs in and I'm a fan.

Track 3 is familiar to me from the get-go. Great song, recently featured in one of the 'decade tourneys'. It got big points from me then and there's no change now. These first 3 tracks could have been put forward by any number of RMers in a mix, and I can't help but begin to speculate who's behind this particular mystery mix. Anyways, still loving it.

OK, if this singer is who I think it is then either this is

Spoiler: show

stip's

mix or it's by someone who wants everyone to think this is a mix by that RMer. Hmmm. How potentially positively devious! Anyways, the song is pleasant enough, fits the flow beautifully. I must say, assuming I'm correct on who's singing (and I'm almost positive that I am), then this is one of my most enjoyable vocal performances of theirs, different. Hoo-Rah.

More of the summer sun-glazed vibe as we move forward. Not sure on this artist, but there's a familiarity to it. I can always find something to enjoy in a tune with a bit of laid back groove. This has it. I'm still on board and I'm tapping my foot.

Change up into Track 6. Bit more abrasive, not necessarily a bad thing, and not that abrasive anyways to be honest. Into Track 7 and we move into middle Americana fare. No surprises, it's a big genre these days. Don't mind a bit of it myself. Not sure who this is here, but got a Bob/Bruce thing going on. Wait up - what's with these lyrics? This is...interesting. Fwiw I'm a first generation Australian, both my parents were Lithuanians. Always interesting to hear the old country in lyrics. Seriously though, you can't swing a cat without hitting at least 3 Lithuanians these days - they're everywhere. Anyways, pleasant song. I'm still on board, sitting back in the dining cart having a quiet beer.

This still has all the hallmarks of a

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stipper mixer

, but maybe just too much, yannow?

Track 8 is a pretty tune, calm and controlled. I like the female vocalist, but I can't tell you who it is. Nice tune. Piano intro to Track 9, and I'm always a fan of the piano. OK, this is a pretty well known fellow. This has to be a piss-take now, surely?? But still, such a good tune, slipping beautifully into the mix. Regardless of who this is, or why this is, well done. I'm out on deck in the sunshine, kicking back with a cold beer, a favourite book and nothing but time. I'm enjoying this mix very much.

Just had a quick cone break - just sat back down. <Hits Play> Bit of an 80's Movie vibe going on here. I've always been partial to post punk and new wave, especially the British variety. The more this goes on the more I enjoy it. This is another great tune. Good stuff mixmaker.

Track 11 is hypnotic and bluesy to start, probably aided by my own personal state, but I digress. This is a great tune, and right in my wheelhouse. Excellent.

And to finish we have...this guy again! OK, not like he doesn't deserve it I guess. 'sfunny 'cause this has got a bit of the old Yakety Sax to it, but in a more tasteful way. Nice finish to a really great mix.

So anyways, regardless of who actually put it together, this is one-way-or-another a

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stip

mix and is quite excellent. The biggest thing that I can't quite get over to make me think that it was actually he that made the mix is the inherent grooviness of the song selections. Cause he ain't that groovy, ya know what I'm sayin'?

Cheers!

The old funky whucka-whucka.

theplatypus wrote:The old funky whucka-whucka.

But you know what I mean, right?

Ha! Just read Brett's review. We were on the same track.

Varis wrote:

theplatypus wrote:The old funky whucka-whucka.

But you know what I mean, right?

Yes, you are referring to a whucka-whucka that is old and funky.

I'm not trying to make a joke with Plat here, I do honestly have an idea as to what's going on here.

Spoiler: show

I've got it. This has to be Lament doing a "Stip Mix".

Well, I'm certainly looking forward to this. I may have time tomorrow

Does Aroma of Man ever engage in the ol' funky whucka whucka?

Just wanted to say that I've listened to this through again (this time both sober and straight!) and I'm still loving it. Great mix.

I still need to give it probably another two listens before my review. There is one song on this one that I'm digging a lot though.

Alright, time to throw down a review before Mix #14 goes up. I'm just gonna spoiler the whole thing...

Spoiler: show

So this mix is bookended by (I assume) Tom Waits. I've never been a fan of his. I used to live with a few really big Tom Waits fans, so I'm pretty used to him, but his music has never done a thing for me. These both sound like songs I've heard before, but it's possible it's just because they sound like what I hear in my head when I hear Tom Waits' name.

Track two is pretty funky and the vocals are a dead give away for Beck (right?). This song sounds really familiar. It's from Sex Laws, isn't it? Is that the one that came out in like 1999 and everyone compared to Prince? Beck is another artist I'm almost always disinterested in, but this is a cool song. I like the production on it. Then again, even though I don't like his albums, they're always well produced.

I dig the Feist song. I definitely need to go back and give her albums closer listens. I feel like I never paid her work enough attention. This track moves along really nicely, and I love the strings in the chorus. It flows really well into the R.E.M. song. I now know this is a track from that new collection of outtakes they released. I really, really love this song. Then again, I kinda love R.E.M. song. But this and the Feist song make for an awesome one-two punch early on. Track five sonically fits with the previous two songs, but quality-wise it's a dip to my ears. It's not bad by any means, but it doesn't clear the bar set by tracks three and four.

Track six really gets things going again. This song grabbed me instantly. I love the feel of this one. Stylistically it's right up my alley. Excellent choice. Unfortunately, track seven just doesn't connect with me at all. Perhaps it's the setting. I was expecting something a lot more propulsive coming off of the previous track, and this song goes in the complete opposite direction. Musically speaking, track nine reminds me of an OK Computer-era outtake, maybe something you'd find on the Airbag EP. I want to like this song more than I actually do, if that makes sense. Maybe I just need to hear it in its natural setting.

Leonard Cohen is a nice follow up. I don't know a lot of his music, but his voice is pretty unmistakable. I really need to explore his catalog a bit. This is a good tune. I really like the female vocal on it. There's a nice hazy quality to it. Track eleven is another one I know. I don't know the actual title, but I know it's Amanda Palmer. I've heard this in quite a few cars/apartments/restaurants over the past few years. She is another artist I generally am not into, but I have always thought the music in this one is pretty cool. Track eleven is definitely James, or at the very least Tim Booth. I've always loved his voice. I don't know this song, but the production sounds pretty recent, so I'm assuming it's from a later James album. I love when he reaches into his higher register and sings "I'll go blind," or whatever it is he's singing at the end.

And then back to Tom Waits. I kinda wish the mix had ended with James/Tim Booth, but I know how popular Tom Waits is around here, so I'm sure I'm in the minority on this one.

Some really good stuff on here. The R.E.M. song, the Feist song, and Track six are the standouts for me. I'd put the James/Tim Booth song just a notch between those three, although I bet there's a chance that over time it'd make it to that next level. The only place the flow lost me on this one was with track seven, but it picks up nicely after that one. And even the two songs by artists I don't care for (Beck and Amanda Palmer) were songs on the high end of their spectrum for me.

Very nice mix. I could easily see this being one of the more popular ones in this thread if more people ever visited/participated.

I'm gonna upload #14 shortly to try to get us back on track with the ten day periods. Mixer #13, you can reveal yourself and post your tracklist whenever you'd like.

As an aside, I've got Mix #15 in my possession already as well, but if someone wants to do Mix #16 just shoot me a PM. It's ok if you've already done one. It'll be slated for around October 17th.

Here we go, Secret Mix #14!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6VItz ... sp=sharing

Let me know if there are any issues with the download.

Mix 13 was mine.

Right off the bat I want to send a special thanks to Varis. After savaging my Weird Al mix it was nice knowing that he enjoyed this mix so much it was more plausible that it was made by someone impersonating my tastes than by me. Easily my favorite piece of feedback I laughed, as lament can confirm.


So Many Graves to Fill

1. Chicago - Tom Waits
2. Mixed Bizness - Beck
3. The Bad in Each Other - Feist
4. Indian Summer - R.E.M.
5. Sunrise - Soulsavers (with Will Oldham on vocals)
6. Sad Lover - Mark Lanegan
7. Toledo - Dan Bern
8. Praying Ground - Soulsavers
9. The Faith - Leonard Cohen
10. Grown Man Cry - Amanda Palmer
11. Got the Shakes - James
12. Corinne Died on the Battlefield - Tom Waits

I had a few goals with this mix. Besides wanting it to flow well and sound good, I wanted to work in most of my favorite artists, and I wanted, where possible, for those songs to be a bit unexpected. There's a loose theme running through the mix that began with The Faith, the song I built around (and the title is a lyric from that song). It is mostly songs about love failing because people fail themselves. or get in their own way, or make everything much harder then it needs to be.

Chicago - One of my favorite songs from TW's most recent record, and one of my favorite openers of his. I wanted to start the mix on a loud, energetic note that had some notes of optimism but hinted at a grind ahead.

Mixed Bizness - I'll be honest. This song is here because I love it and love how it flows from Chicago into The Bad in Each Other. I'm not going to shoehorn it into the story. It's a side of Beck I wish he spent more time with.

The Bad in Each Other - My favorite Feist song.

Indian Summer - I discovered this treasure making my way through that 200 song b-side compilation. I had never heard it before, but it fit on here perfectly, and is a wonderful little song that would have been a nice surprise for any REM fan. I have no idea where it's even from.

Sunrise - This was my first exposure to Bonny Prince Billy. The Soulsavers are a Mark Lanegan project, and he has an amazing cover of You Will Miss Me When I Burn on that record. BPB recorded a cover of Sunrise (a Lanegan song from 1993) with the Soulsavers, and I liked the way it built off of Indian Summer, musically.

Sad Lover - The best song off of Mark Lanegan's new EP. Not the song of his I originally had in the mix, but I wanted a burst of energy halfway through that wouldn't feel too out of place

Toledo--Probably the roughest transition in the mix, and reading the reviews the least successful song. I'm giving up on pushing Dan Bern. But I do love this song, written while trying to fall in love in and with Spain. And the chorus contains one of my favorite lyrics ever "What if all the promises you thought were broken were never really made." That's one of those lines that just stopped me dead in my tracks the first time I heard it. It was one of my earlier Dan Bern concerts, and in a loud club where it was hard to hear. But that one cut through the noise. I think I spent two weeks thinking about it.

Praying Ground - Soulsavers again. Rosa Agostino./Red Ghost is on vocals. It's a cover of a Mark Lanegan song. Hers is much better than the original. I loved it enough to get her album. It was a disappointment.

The Faith - The song I built the mix around. I love the way the song finds the beauty in the solitary struggle and the refusal to stop.

Grown Man Cry - Amanda Palmer can be obnoxious, and has a tendency to write loud clanking abrasive songs that I never want to listen to. But she also writes some amazing stuff, and I love the 80s Cure meets Depeche Mode vibe to this one, and the lyrics and delivery are brilliant. We all know someone like this.

Got the Shakes - post 2000 James is hit or miss, and more miss than hit, but this is a really cool song. It's the first track on a double album called The Morning After/The Night Before. So this is the morning after, and that's exactly what it sounds like. I also like imagining that this character is the subject of Grown Many Cry.

Corrine Died on the Battlefield - This song is on here for three reasons. there's a pretty decent chance a tom waits fan listening to the mix (which in retrospect, since it's just lament, varis, and brett was not likely to happen) wouldn't know it. So like Indian Summer it'll be a bit of a surprise. I love how it segues back into chicago - these are mistakes we'll keep making, but we're lucky that life keeps furnishing us with the chance to make them again and people to make them with. And it fits well with the playfulness of Got the Shakes and kind of celebrates the failures that the album documents.


I'm glad those who listened enjoyed. I felt like I owed you something good, since Weird Al was such torture

That Mark Lanegan song is really good. Is that the one you linked me to a few months ago? I felt like maybe I'd heard it before at first, but then decided I hadn't.

I think so

You've redeemed yourself nicely, stip.

This got its first listen from me today, and I want to give it at least one more before a review but it was a strong mix.

I tuned out a bit during that 20 minute instrumental, though. If everyone could please stop including these I would be grateful.

He could've fit like six live versions of The Fixer in those twenty minutes instead.

Do you think more people would listen to these mixes if people made those types of decisions?