Archive for February, 2008
Let Me Enfold You
The britmix c’est fin. 2.5 hours it is too. Themed on more mellow tracks of generally British indie or alternative bands. Although some of the tracks are from fairly mainstream releases their indie origins cannot be faulted ie: Divine Comedy. Wish I could do artwork for it. It’s on audio file split onto two cdr or one mp3 file for the pooter.
Tracks;
Still Life (Suede)
I Don’t Belong Here (Echobelly)
Hiding (Simon Warner)
History Chimes (Echo & The Bunnymen)
Song To The Siren (This Mortal Coil)
Nick Drake (Mogwai)
I Believe In You (Talk Talk)
New Birds (Arab Strap)
All I Want (BabyBird)
This Is A Low (Blur)
Last Ever Pop Song (David Devant & His Spirit Wife)
The Space Race Is Over (Billy Bragg)
Bubbles (Satellite)
Hello Sunshine (Super Furry Animals)
Gold Help Me (Jesus & Mary Chain with Shane McGowan)
Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken (Lloyd Cole & The Commotions)
Best Wishes (Ultrasound)
There Is A Place In Hell For Me And My Friends (Morrissey)
It Wont Be Long (Trashmonk)
Lazarus (Boo Radleys)
You’re Gorgeous 3 (Babybird)
Tishbite (Cocteau Twins)
Nine Million Rainy Days (Jesus & Mary Chain)
You Never Knew Me (Magazine)
My National Pride (Dexy’s Midnight Runners)
Harvest Festival (Xtc)
Drawn To The Deep End (Gene)
This Guy’s In Love (Terry Hall)
Autopsy (Duffy) *the real one not the shreaking bitch!!!
Underwater Love Story (Ultrasound)
Statues (Orchestral Manouevres In The Dark)
Motorcycle Emptyness (Manic Street Preachers)
The Beauty Regime (Divine Comedy)
This Is Hardcore (Pulp)
Still Life (reprise) (Suede)
I’m Boredom’s Latest Son
Oooh, my tracklist in set in the proverbial stone of my hard drive and backed up on cdr and it plays not bad as a compilation. But compilation it is not and it still requires to be mixed in order to provide the consitancy of mellowness required for a crashed out set.
At times tripping, at times soaring but throughout undeniably British in response to the mediochrity of last week’s Britpesh Awards (I feel sick even thinking about it).
So a frustrating period ahead of editing and dodgy mixing on what will be a 160 minute-ish mix. What gets me is I look back at the tracks I selected as a “pool” and can’t believe some of them didn’t make it.
Full tracklisting to follow at a later stage.
Best Wishes
This mix is just so difficult to compile as there are so many brilliant tracks I want to include from individual bands like Ultrasound who were one of the most original and mesmerising enigmas of a band I have ever seen.
How to describe Ultrasound? Well at the time the music press, obsessed with labels as it is/was, coined the phrase indie-opera for the band. Hmmm, doesn’t really do them justice as the band combined indie guitar sound, rousing choral chorus’s with massive a prog soundscape which, all together, created an absolute wall of melody dropping into delicate spacial parts and feedback driven walls of horror of which the Who would have been envious. The debut (for a major but not their first indie) single best Wishes was compared to Blake’s Jerusalem. Check it out and feel the swell in your heart.
Sadly missed.
Nonsuch
While compiling my Britmix I’ve dug out some of what are my favourite albums by some of my favourite bands/acts of all time not least these young fresh-faced laddies as pictured from days of yore – Xtc.
Xtc are one of those bands which hold a special place in ma hert as they are the first band I remember sitting and taping off the John Peel show back in 1977 (I checked the session date). They were just so bizarre and totally wired and would make most of the supposed alternative bands of today (Brit Awards, I scoff at you for your commercial fakery) sound like Take That.
Your Serious Ways
Been trying to grab hold of Scars’ “All About You” a post punk Scottish clasic and manage dot locate it online at last.fm.
Maximum High
I’ve returned to the prospect of a Britmix but to inlcude tracks outwith the original 93/94 period. In fact many will be from the late nineties when some of the supposed Britpop bands were producing their best material having shaken off the smothering cloak of major label contracts
The Spangle
I’ve been listening to the Cocteau Twins’ EPs as featured on the Lullabies To Violaine VOl.1 & 2 cds.
The early stuff brings back a lot of memories and I remember buying the 12″ EPs wondering what other people accross the world would think of the Twins who come from nearby Grangeouth. One of my work colleagues went out with Liz Fraser at school whil another one snogged Aiden Moffat at a house party when they were kids.
Rethink
After starting to trawl through early to mid 90’s British material I am sad to say that there really isn’t that much decent Britpop era material availale that I like. In fact most of the good stuff was recorded by a mere two or three acts or was post-Britpop.
I’ll have to have a rethink this one.
Sick, Sober & Sorry
I’m looking at a mix of British bands that were playing early to mid nineties that later became tagged as the Britpop movement.
Like everything else by the time it got a label it was dead and buried and record companies were signing up anyone remotely British and remotely poppy in an attempt to cash in when the original bands had moved on and were developing often darker less commercial music.
So here’s Martin Rossitor of Gene who will definately feature.
Scots Indie Night Comes Tae Ma Hoose!
I finished my Scottish Play mix. With dead air removed from tracks and blended where appropriate it’s a guid jig man. You may think of better tracks by the artists but these work really well as a set. The tracklist;
Mogwai – Hunted By A Freak (The Government Commisions)
Cocteau Twins – Domino (Treasure)
The Blue Nile – From Rags To Riches (A Walk Across The Rooftops)
Win – Hollywood Baby Two ( Uh, Tears Baby!)
Cosmic Rough Riders – Glastonbury Revisted (Deliverance)
Nectarine No. 9 – Firecracker (It’s Just The Way Things Are Joe, It’s Just The Way Things Are)
Simple Minds – Chelsea Girl (Life In A Day)
Teenage Fanclub – Speed Of Light (Songs From Northern Britain)
Dawn Of The Replicants – Cocaine On the Catwalk ( One Head, Two Arms, Two Legs)
Josef K – The Missionary (Endless Soul)
AC Acoustics – Crush (Understanding Music)
Arab Strap – Don’t Ask Me To dance ( The Last Romance)
Belle & Sebastian – Scooby Driver (Storytelling)
Rezillos – (My Baby Does) Good Sculputures (Can’t Stand The Rezillos)
Paul Haig – The Only Truth (The Warp Of True Fun)
Associates – 18 Carat Love Affair ( Sulk)
Orange Juice – Simply Thrilled Honey (The Glasgow School)
The Skids – Sweet Suburbia (Best Of…)
Ballboy – Where Do the Nights Of Sleep Go When They Do Not Come To Me (A Guide For The Daylight Hours)
Arab Strap – New Birds (Philophobia)
The Jesus & Mary Chain – These Days (Stoned & Dethroned)
