For the first time in two months I am getting this mix out during the actual month I am representing and not the last day of. Summer’s are crazy here at Trinity University. We host all kinds of events that basically turns our beautiful higher education university into a glorified hotel. This adds an entirely new dynamic to the job. But no matter what I have going on, I always have my trusty headphones on making sure I am picking the right tracks for the next months mix. So this month we have some fun stuff. This is an energized listen with very few slow songs. New stuff from Jack White’s Raconteurs, Coldplay delivers another epic album, Emmure with some real heavy dirty stuff, Brooklyn’s own Santogold and Lita Ford. That’s right, the Lita that wondered what would happen if she closed her eyes forever.
Make no mistake this mix is fun, fast and exciting. A great album to throw on for working out, cooking in the kitchen or just drinking a glass of wine on the back porch. Enjoy!
I'm sitting on the roof of my house
With a shotgun and a six pack of beer
The newscaster say's "the enemy is among us!"
As bombs explode on the 30 bus
Kill that middle class indecision
Now is not the time for liberal thought
-Bloc Party (Hunting For Witches)
COMPLETE ALBUM LISTING http://treyminator.com/albumindex.htm
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Track #1
Mates of State
Re-Arrange Us
“Get Better”
This group is a husband\wife team from Kansas. They were in different bands until an three month long email exchange brought them together as a marriage and a band. They now have two daughters and four albums. There newest album continues their brand of music that includes interesting instruments and whimsical male\female harmonies. If you enjoy a good duet, this album is full of them.
Featured Lyrics : “Forget your politics for a while, Let the color schemes arrive.”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kdoYK9jOltQ – A official video for the song
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Track #2
The Raconteurs
Consolers of the Lonely
“Salute Your Solution”
Holy crap when did the Raconteurs get so good? I mean granted they do have Jack White in their fold. But their first album had a couple of good songs and the rest seemed like filler. The White Stripes put out another solid album and somewhere between that release and this album they got some fire on their pants. Suddenly each song on this new album is a firecracker of crunchy guitars and quirky lyrics. Whatever the change was, it worked and I am liking it. So if you did pick up their first album (with the single “Steady As She Goes” and didn’t have a good feeling about it then maybe try this one. It is quite different and you might be surprised.
Featured Lyrics : “I find myself just looking worthy of my best intentions, Ignoring any kinda pause I might receive at all, And all the others seem to find myself a satisfaction, I find a ridicule that isn't cool for me at all.”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7lL1CW140FQ – Official video for the song
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Track #3
The Teenagers
Reality Check
“Streets of Paris”
This French band is a fun little band. They made their name off a song that was all about Scarlett Johansson. The band comes off as a dirty grimy band with clever lyrics about Facebook and dating. But underneath it all is a very slick and smart outfit that crafts beautiful songs with sweeping choruses. In this song you are instantly transported to the Streets of Paris where you can run around all night hanging out in coffee shops and harassing street vendors. The band takes an interesting approach to the lyrics where one front man almost narrates the songs while other singers belt out the choruses.
Featured Lyrics : “We have no shame 'cause we're alone, We're teenagers, we don't care, No one's around, so it seems, No one's around no so it seems.”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JshkoBVFy3Y&feature=related – Official video for the song “Scarlett Johansson”
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Track #4
Elton John
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
“Roy Rogers”
Elton John invokes the wrong images for most people. The casual dropping of his name invokes images of the Lion King, pianos and Princess Diana as a Candle In the Wind. But in actuality he was pretty influential in the 1970’s when it came to rock that was original and rebellious. Take the album “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” for instance. A double album of some of his greatest hits is a classic album in every sense of the word. Flowing string arrangements, Elton’s classic piano work and the eloquent lyrics of Bernie Taupin. There isn’t a bad song on here. On this track we have him lamenting the days of his youth spent carefree watching Roy Roger save the day.
Featured Lyrics – “Oh the great sequin cowboy who sings of the plains, Of roundups and rustlers and home on the range, Turn on the t.v., shut out the lights, Roy Rogers is riding tonight.”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ObVwcVcYpqM&feature=related – Live video for the song from March, 2008
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Track #5
N.E.R.D.
Seeing Sounds
“You Know What”
I have always been a fan of this band. They combine live instrumentation with hip\hop (much like the Roots). Then you add Pharrell Williams falsetto and you got a great band. Of course the band is the child of The Neptunes. That alone should cause you to pick up their albums. With this new album they decided to create a type of sonic landscape that is visible if you close your eyes. While that may be a neat idea, for me it does seem lacking in that department. But that is only because they have slightly changed their formula from their original mission with the first two albums. With this album the live elements of the music take more of a backseat and the more electronic elements seem to take over. Which doesn’t make for a bad album, it just forces you to readjust the way you look at the band. Which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. With this song they combine their catchy harmonies with a excellent guitar crafted beat.
Featured Lyrics : “And so the tension slowly build, you got them slanted eye, ya kills, all systems go, then you kiss my cheek, my knees get weak, my heart just skipped a beat, so I just froze.”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=arZMBKbqs4k – Official video for the song “Everyone Nose (All The Girls Standing In The Line For The Bathroom)”.
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Track #6
Coldplay
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
“Lost”
Coldplay is one of those bands that seem to just turn every song they touch into gold. That says a lot coming from me because I am not a die-hard fan. But I can recognize when what they are trying to do is actually working. They create epic tracks full of lush melodies that seem to creep up on you, take you on a trip and then drop you back off again at the end of the song. For the fourth album they have recreated the look and feel of the French Revolution. Songs about triumphing over evil, romantic interludes and finding a cause carry this album from start to finish. There are lots of stand-out tracks including the ITunes commissioned “Viva la Vida”. But this track really gets me because of the gothic organ and hand claps. It kind of moves the song into a stompable number that creates a sense of hope.
Featured Lyrics : “You might be a big fish, In a little pond, Doesn't mean you've won, 'Cause along may come, A bigger one, And you'll be lost.”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IakDItZ7f7Q&feature=related – Official video for the lead single off the album “Violet Hill”
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Track #7
Foals
Antidotes
“Big Big Love (Fig. 2)”
This band is out of Oxford, England. Their debut album came out last month. Originally it was produced by TV On the Radio’s, Dave Sitek. But after they didn’t like the final mix they did it themselves. The result is a 11 track album that mixes the sounds of Vampire Weekend with Radiohead for a sound that is quite its own. They are getting quite a following at European Festivals this summer. This particular track has a flow to it that is quite nice. Starting out with a typical guitar work and slowly evolving into a one sentence chant that really gets you jumping.
Featured Lyrics : “see how the skulls we build, see how these towers we fill, crash down fury red, the cracks in our hearts and heads”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PGrZkUQ6_r8 – Official video for lead single off the album “Balloons”. I love the raven!
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Track #8
The Futureheads
This Is Not the World
“The Beginning of the Twist”
I have been a fan of The Futureheads since their first album. With the third album from the English band has them following the same tried and true mission of providing quick dittys full of catchy lyrics and choppy guitars. This track has a great sing-a-long quality to it. The song is fast and you will be singing to yourself for hours afterwards, “I can feel it!” They are a little bit punk, tiny bit pop and a whole lot Futureheads!
Featured Lyrics : “If memory serves, Then why am I still waiting for it to return?, My head feels like it’s just about to slip, This morning is just a blur, Today lingers on like a bad year”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7eOGf0mnYg – The official video for the song
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Track #9
Lita Ford
Lita
“Kiss Me Deadly”
Welcome back to 1988 when Lita ruled the radio. This was the year she had 4 billboard hits and made sure everyone knew she was for real. Starting out as the guitarist for The Runaways, with fellow “chick” rockers Joan Jett (The Blackhearts) and Micki Steele (The Bangles) among others, she quickly made a name for herself. In this track she laments on how life can deal you some pretty crappy cards. But as long as you have someone you love to dance with, that is all you need. This song has been covered numerous times. Most know her more for her hit single with Ozzy Osbourne, “Close My Eyes Forever” (a song she doesn’t particularly like anymore). But this song seems to connect on so many levels that you can’t help but want to….. well, Dance!
Featured Lyrics : “But I know what I like, I know I like dancin' with you, And I know what you like, I know you like dancin' with me.”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6sa-4A7RrP8 – Official video for the song
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Track #10
Emmure
The Respect Issue
“Chicago’s Finest”
Ok this is going to scare some people. If you follow my ONCE mixes on a regular basis you know that I am sucker for hard stuff. I am able to sneak it in every once in a while. Well this is one of those times. This band hails from Connecticut. Not the place you would expect an outfit of this type to come from. This band is harsh! The music they create is beautiful but at the same time incredibly intense. This song is an excellent example. Such beautiful mournful lyrics that show a real remorse for decisions made and the music illustrates the pain felt by those decisions. But at the same time they are moving on and recognizing that mistakes give way to opportunity.
Featured Lyrics : “There's a million things that I could say, If you're down for listening, I never thought I'd feel so alone, I never thought I'd want to come back home, But I chose my path 9 years ago”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KRmJJe7p-k0 – Great live video for the song
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Track #11
Santogold
Santogold
“I’m a Lady (ft. Trouble Andrew)”
This singer out of Brooklyn is quite a catch musically. Her album includes dance, electronic, rock and trance. Every song on the track is like a new artist all together. Her album is perfect for those A.D.D. souls out there who don’t want 12 tracks of the same type of music. Deep down she is a songwriter at heart having written for people like Lily Allen. While she might remind you of M.I.A. (who I featured back in February), she quickly jumps out of the trance\electronic boat to establish her own wake. This is one of those great summer albums. This track includes a really cool verse from Trouble Andrew. It perfectly augments the song to establish the feel that the song is going for.
Featured Lyrics – “Now won't you run and tell your boyfriend, Tell him don't hold his breath for me, I've got some money I was saving, Got some hearts that I'll be breaking.”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y9JI0GXkARQ - The official video for the first single off the album, “L.E.S. Artistes”
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Track #12
Patti Smith
Horses
“Free Money”
Patti Smith is one of those artists that everyone should have a little of in their collection. Her music is so personal and beautiful. A child of New Jersey she began her career during the great Jersey years of Springsteen and The Misfits. While commercial success of the album was modest, it peaked at #47 on the Billboard 200 in 1975, its impact has been far greater. Horses frequently appears on lists of the greatest rock albums. This song was all about what is was to be raised without money and what you could do for yourself and others if you could have it.
Featured Lyrics : “Every night before I rest my head, See those dollar bills go swirling round my bed. I know they’re stolen, but I don’t feel bad. I take that money, buy you things you never had.”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iPVMYDrbrCo – Awesome live version of the song from 1976
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Track #13
Everclear
Song from an American Movie, Vol. 1 : Learning How To Smile
“Unemployed Boyfriend”
Everclear and I go way back. All the way to my first apartment. All the way back to that small club with 50 people in it. All the way back to the pinball machines that they played and we laughed at. All the way back to those two cans of food that it cost me to see and talk to one of my favorite bands. The year was 1995 and this little band from Portland had a song on the radio, Heroine Girl. The music was painful and personal and emoted angst for the lonely and misunderstood. For a few years it was all about looking forward to their next album. This song dropped in 2000 and was a shiny stand-out on an already great album. The song starts with a classic voicemail from a girl who is excited about a guy she had just met at the unemployment office. Enter lead singer Art Alexakis to explain how his unique approach might have won him the girl of his dreams. For feel good music that makes you think things are always going to get better, you can’t beat Everclear.
Featured Lyrics : “"I'm not a woman, I'm not a man/I am something that you'll never understand, I'm not human, I am a dove/I'm your conscience, I am love"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qAh5esiyQ8I – Official video for their first video “Heroin Girl”
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Track #14
Lil’ Mama
VYP (Voice of the Young People)
“L.I.F.E.”
This female MC from Brooklyn is taking over big time. She had a huge hit this year with “Lip Gloss”. She has been featured on several different remixes for various artists. But until she dropped her album in April no one was sure if she get put together a solid album. Turns out she can! The biggest song for me is her autobiographical look at her mother and the relationship that they had. It has a kicking sample that keeps the track moving along. The video features her playing a foster child, a teenage mother and an abusive teenage boyfriend. She has been praised for showing intelligent diversity. If you have been looking for another Lauryn Hill or Jean Grae look no further!
Featured Lyrics : “L - is for the liars that have surrounded me, I - insecurities my head down in these streets, F - my future there isn't 1, E - Eternal hope
This is my life.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r23cm7bL9E – Official video for the song “Shut Up and Let Me Go”
“To me, making a tape is like writing a letter — there's a lot of erasing and rethinking and starting again. A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do. You've got to kick off with a corker, to hold the attention (I started with "Got to Get You Off My Mind", but then realized that she might not get any further than track one, side one if I delivered what she wanted straightaway, so I buried it in the middle of side two), and then you've got to up it a notch, or cool it a notch, and you can't have white music and black music together, unless the white music sounds like black music, and you can't have two tracks by the same artist side by side, unless you've done the whole thing in pairs and...oh, there are loads of rules.”
-Nick Hornsby
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
ONCE July 2008 Mixtape
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