Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Thursday, July 02, 2009
ONCE June 2009 Mixtape
The mix this month is dedicated to the people of Iran and their continued pursuit of justice. It is not getting any easier for their fight. More people are dying. But this time around they have a friend on their side. The internet! It is allowing them to express themselves and let the world know what is really going on. Unlike North Korea, Iran let the internet in many years ago. The internet introduces accountability into a society that is not used to that. This may be their final undoing as they are unable to suppress the negative reports of their crackdown. Once you are able to hold a country accountable for their actions, it becomes harder for the iron fist to remain closed. The world is hanging on every Youtube video and twitter picture that slips out of the ancient borders of Persia.
There have been lots of hope (the most people demonstrating since the failed 1991 uprising) and even more heartbreak (innocent people shot dead in the street). The album cover for this month’s mix reflects their struggle in hopes that more people will tune into this historic event. The cover is an iconic image of the massive demonstrations in Tehran. The monument is called the Azadi Tower. Built in 1971 to commemorate the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire. Once an empire of artistic and social freedom, the country has now for over 30 years been under the oppressive rule of the religious clerics. The people of Iran hope to bring back the spirit of Persia. Please help spread the word by emailing websites like http://www.flickr.com/photos/arasmus/sets/72157619696163385/ to everyone!
With that being said, it seems hard to jump into trivial matters such as a music mix. But I am reminded of the importance of music when I came across a grainy cell phone picture of a protester in Iran who was hurdling rocks at the police while wearing a bandana to hide his face and an Ipod earbud in his ear. Before the Taliban fell in Afghanistan, music was outlawed. But still illegal bars and clubs played western and traditional music in secret. Music is often the first “freedom” someone experiences in a closed society. And then there was Acrassicauda, a metal band based in Baghdad. For a few months, before they fled the country fearing for their lives, they were the outlet of kids around the city. They would come to their secret shows to hear this band scream protest songs and see a group of people express themselves and their opinions in ways they had not been able to before. The band only was around for a few months, but they helped the disenfranchised youth of the city learn that they too had a voice that could be used to exact change. That voice helped shape the national rhetoric of freedoms that they enjoy to this day.
So music may just be music. And it may seem very distant from the events that shape our world. But the core of music is change. Expressing opinions and ideas that hopefully change someone else’s opinions and ideas. Music can relax you as you sit on your back porch feeling the evening breeze on your face, or it can give you inspired energy when you are working out or cleaning the house. So too can it be used as a tool for change.
This month I have sort of a somber mix with moments of punctuated excitement. So as always put on your headphones and enjoy the feelings that the music inspires in you! Oh also you will notice that I am finally making the move to the official ONCE email account. I need to stop using my work account.
What makes a nation's pillars high
And its foundations strong?
What makes it might to defy
The foes that round it throng?
It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand
Go down in battle shock;
Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,
Not on abiding rock.
Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor's sake
Stand fast and suffer long.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson “A Nation’s Strength”
DOWNLOAD - http://www.4shared.com/file/114286745/b2e102c6/oncejune2009.html
COMPLETE ALBUM LISTING http://treyminator.com/albumindex.htm
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Track #1
The Mars Volta
Octahedron
“Since We’ve Been Wrong”
This snake charmer opens Octahedron, the fifth studio album from The Mars Volta. The song tells of heartbreak over the loss of trust with a lover. It is such a departure from other Volta songs because it is a subdued track full of ambience and full bodied vocals. But it doesn’t end with that song, the rest of the album is just as full of life, and heartbreak, as the first track. They call this their first acoustic album. But it is far from acoustic. It is full of loud drums and the characteristic winding solos of guitarist of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. But what this album lacks is the reckless abandon that their other albums had. This one is far more focused. Gone are the exhaustive narratives that weaved themselves through their past efforts. In its place is a heart that was broken and trying to heal. That gives the entire album a more organic affair that makes for a great listen!
Featured Lyrics : “More One day a rain will come and wash away, dead earth that held us was no island, I have become ingrown inside this skin, I'll find a way out through those eyelids.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z16-LoZRFVo – Official video for 2007’s “The Widow” from Frances the Mute
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Track #2
Anjulie
Anjulie
“Boom”
This Canadian songwriter is set to take the pop world by storm once this song takes hold of the Billboard charts. Her family was originally from Guyana the former French colony in Africa. This added influence of culture has allowed her to write some songs that truly stand out on their own. Her debut album just dropped this month. The first single off the album is also its lead track. A fiery James Bondish song about taking back a lover after you have sworn them off for good. The music is light pop with obvious African tinges that pop up from time to time. But mostly her vocals and lyrics are what prop up the songs.
Featured Lyrics : “Save up all the days, A routine malaise, Just like yesterday, I told you I would stay, Would you always, Maybe sometimes, Make it easy, Take your time.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fCERn_1hgg – Official Video (Like a happy Tim Burton movie)
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Track #3
Prince
Prince
“Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?”
There is a reason Prince is famous. He seriously was innovative went he first came out. He still rocks, it is just his albums that have been sub-par lately. He still shreds the guitar like always. But back in 1979 he was fresh with ideas and really cool songs. His second album was self titled and took everything he learned on the first album and made it that much better. Once again he played almost all the instruments on the album. It has some great numbers like the funky ode to his love interest, “I Wanna Be Your Lover” which went on to become his first successful single. For his second single off the album he chose this delicious track. The organ slide creates the bluesy chorus and gives the song its unique flavor. The album also had some awesome ballads like “When We’re Dancing Close and Slow” and “With You”. If you are looking for something unlike anything you have heard before and or since, check out this album. It makes you want to make a date with your lady, pull out the bear rug, light the fireplace and enjoy each other in the candle light. That means it is good!
Featured Lyrics : “I play the fool when we're 2gether, But I cry when we're apart, yeah, I couldn't do U no better, Don't break what's left of my broken heart, baby.”
http://www.imeem.com/paisleypark/video/3lSYXqqQ/prince-prince-why-you-wanna-treat-me-so-bad-video-music/ – Official video (Killer hair, 80’s retro styles and the scarves hanging from the microphone. Oh yeah!)
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Track #4
Manchester Orchestra
Means Everything To Nothing
“I Can Feel a Hot One”
Meet my new favorite band. And no they aren’t an orchestra. If you like Kings of Leon at all but find them to be just a tad bit pretentious, then Manchester is for you. The vocals are delivered in a shaky self conscious almost reverent manner. This Georgia five piece out of Atlanta released their first album two years ago, but most have never heard it until they found their brand new album that was released last month. This new album has a very humid sticky dirty feel to it. You can imagine yourself in a hot southern church with no A/C and flies buzzing your ears. The preacher is frontman Andy Hull who came from a Christian family. From the first song he implores you to understand the plight of a “son of a preacher”. Other songs like “Shake It Out” make you want to bang the tambourine against your leg and scream through the refrains. Each song seems to hold something that is more pure and honest than most anything out there right now. I can also attest to the fact that the album is great for running to. Even the slow songs have a pop and jump to them. “I Can Feel a Hot One” is a heartbreaking song about a car crash and losing someone close, but gaining something so much more. The excruciating details of the accident scene and the heartbreak that follows makes this song heavier and darker than most on the album. But it turns out to be one of the strongest performing song on the entire album.
Featured Lyrics – “The blood was dry, it was sober, The feeling of audible cracks, And I could tell it was over, From the curtains that hung from your neck.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2bozFnR6Lo – Live video from the SPIN Magazine acoustic set
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Track #5
Passion Pit
Manners
“Eyes As Candles”
Back in October an exciting tracked, “Sleepyhead”, was slipped to the masses with little or no fan fare. The band was unknown. I included it on that months mix because it was phenomenal. I even admitted in the review that I did not know a lot about the band. Well almost a year has passed now and things have changed. They are just as good as their first single suggested. We have been teased with the excellent Chunk of Change EP (a album made for a girlfriend, but was so well received it got a wide release). But finally this past month we saw the debut of their first full length album released. Every song on the album makes you want to dance and move hypnotically to lead singer Michael Angelako’s tenor vocals. The albums opener “Make Light” is a bass bluncy number that perfectly gives you an example of the rest of the albums lyrical and musical content. That is quickly followed up by “Little Secrets” which is one of the album stand outs. Also are 80’s sounding tracks like “The Reeling” which ride its wave on a spastic keyboard tickler. Even on slower songs like “Let Your Love Grow Tall” and “Seaweed Song” the massive wave of music hits you and transports you to a different place. This has definitely made its way into one of my favorite albums of the year.
Featured Lyrics : “Me, I cried out "God", You dared me in the dark, I felt a hush fall quietly from my spark, so now I hide in piles of princely orange peels, It feels the way you told me how it'd always feel.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVstHPhaJ6M – Official video for the song “The Reeling” (the paper machete video complete with Ah-Ha references)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPpbUy-Z6o8 – Live “Sleepyhead”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fEQfDdxia8 – Live “Smile Upon Me”
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Track #6
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
Outer South
“Slowly (Oh So Slowly)”
Conor Oberst AKA Bright Eyes has been featured in the ONCE Monthly a few times, most recently back in January. He had just released his 4th self titled solo album. Come May he released his 5th, but this time gave credit to his backing back “The Mystic Valley Band”. Their contributions were bigger with this album as far as the song writing goes with some even singing and writing the songs. But the album has a great alt-country feel. If I could play a guitar, I would learn these songs for the next get around the old campfire time! His warbling voice has strengthened over the years and his songwriting more focused. All of which has contributed to a more cohesive sound that has found its niche. The arrangements are lush and the sounds beautifully mastered. It is a more happy Conor we find these days. Now if we can just get another Bright Eyes album!
Featured Lyrics : “Dementia, you better treat me good, The human race isn't, it?s like a childhood, I never learned what I understood, Oh, dementia, you better treat me good.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYiyoHouAHA – Live video of them performing the song “Nicorette” from Conan.
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Track #7
Method Man & Redman
Blackout! 2
“A-Yo (ft. Saukrates)”
This classic Wu-Tang collab is back for their first album in 7 years. Method Man and Redman have teamed up again to remind us what is important in life. If you know these two, then you already know the answer to that one. The classic hip-hop is present with songs like “I’m Dope N*gga” and “How Bout Dat”. But also some experimenting with mainstream is present as well with the swagger swinging “Mrs. International” featuring the legend Erick Sermon. They use mostly obscure beat makers making the album very original sounding. It doesn’t feature tired beats. And they haven’t lost their flow skills after all these years either, they dip and slip through the verses like they never left the game. Dare I say it is better than the last Wu-Tang album that features these two.
Featured Lyrics : “"Who these corner store rappers slinging cracks in my hall? Mama's in the kitchen cooking cat, rat and dog, Me, I want a little something, y'all could have it all, I tryna walk before I crawl and move this package in my draws, That's why I push the pedal to the muh'f*ckin floor, With ten per cent method, only plug something poor, and still I keep it funky like four plus one more.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVok2RaekX4 – Official video (hanging out on the block and rappin in the alley)
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Track #8
Dirty Projectors
Bitte Orca
“Two Doves"
Ok welcome to one of the best albums of 2009, hands down! It is hard to pick a single to preview because every song is great. That is once you figure out what direction this band is headed. Their music is as eclectic as you can get. They feature female and male vocals that create gorgeous harmonies some of the time, and wall crashing sound splashes other times. I have chosen “Two Doves” because if you were to just jump into this album, this song is a good introduction. Just get ready to be totally lost in a beautiful Alice in Wonderland type dream. You don’t know where they are headed, but you cant wait to find out. Some of the songs are so bizarre they are catchy as hell. “Stillness Is the Move” is like a beautiful concoction of equal parts harmony and equal parts unrestrained noise that rides off of a slightly Indian sounding hook. Some songs like “The Bride” show off Dave Longstreth’s vocals and an almost Led Zeppelin blues work. But most the songs work off a beautifully repetitive guitar lick that builds into a storm of lovely harmonies. This is an amazing album all through.
Featured Lyrics : “Your hair is like an eagle, Your two eyes are like two doves, But our bed is like a failure, All day up in the family, At the waning of the light, To the chamber that conceived me, Call on me, call on me, call on me.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QurIvmJiF2Y – Live from The Malkin Bowl in Canada (love that quilt background)
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Track #9
Elemeno P
Elemeno P
"Baby, Come On"
This New Zealand 4-piece has made a name for itself by playing all the big European festivals. They are a unique band whose members are actors, business owners, reality TV stars and spokesman for charity causes. In their downtime they craft very catchy tunes. I recently found about them when I was passed a mixtape in which they were included (thanks Dena!). They are still new artists outside of their native New Zealand. Lets hope the fever catches on and we get to see more of these guys.
Featured Lyrics – “Here's a little story that should be told, With a whole lotta heart and a little bit of soul, Well we're all stuck in dead end jobs, But the party's out the back, So Baby come on!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsltOJS4ejs - The official video for the song (this video makes me want to learn to dance!)
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Track #10
Radiohead
The Bends (Collector’s Edition)
“How Can I Be Sure?”
The Bends is by and far a classic album. Anyone who hasn’t taken the time to get to know that record clearly doesn’t like music! But what was a perfect record just got even better almost 15 years later with the release of the Collectors Edition. It comes with all the b-sides and rare tracks that didn’t make the album. Once of those b-sides is “How Can I Be Sure”. It was the b-said to their runaway hit “High and Dry”. This song is everything Radiohead was at that point in their career. It shows off the awesome writing ability of Thom Yorke as well as some sweet harmonies supplied by Dianne Swann formerly of The Julie Dolphin. Other stand out tracks is “Maquiladora” a poppy number that includes some awesome guitar work. “Lewis (mistreated)” is another classic Radiohead from the Pablo\Bends era. The collectors edition really shows that they could have easily made The Bends a double album and had double the hits. Of course hardcore Radiohead fans would already have these tracks, but for the casual fan it is nice to have them all in one place. Just for the record they have also released Pablo Honey and OK Computer in special collector’s edition sets. Later albums are coming in a few months. If you even slightly like Radiohead, get these albums, it is worth it.
Featured Lyrics : “If you walk out the door, Will I see you again? If so much of me lies in your eyes, I am hungry again, I am drunk again, With all the money I owe to my friends.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwSIdKYZ2t0 – Official video for “High and Dry” (espionage and spying all in a café and complete with car bombs)
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Track #11
Eels
Hombre Lobo
“Fresh Blood ”
Mark Everett has been making music under the moniker the “Eels” for almost 14 years now. On his seventh studio album he makes yet another great record. From his gentle vocals that come across dripping with pain to his snarls of nerd like energy, he delivers in each and every song. Like most of his albums, his strength lies in the slow songs. But that doesn’t keep the rest of the album down. The album opener “Prizefighter” has a decidedly lo-fi sound. But quickly picks up pace as he explains why he doesn’t ever go away. You could imagine it being played in a barn somewhere in the backwoods of Tennesee. But it is quickly followed up by a very slick, high end production of the ballad “That Look You Gave That Guy”. Another stand out track is “Tremendous Dynamite” which invokes the spirit of the Doors. The chorus yelp on “Fresh Blood” is absolutely delicious. Just when you think it is a folk song, it turns into a electronic affair with electronic drums and all the blips and bleeps to go along with it. As always you cannot go wrong with the Eels.
Featured Lyrics : “It's true I understand too well, This pass of touch and go, Still search your home for secrets, That I find out on my own, Come on just give me something, Or let me be and left alone
Hide my face in the crowd, Just keep me movin yeah movin' on.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOapjBTqLLs – Official video for “Fresh Blood” (I wish I could grow a beard like his. He is like a werewolf with a cane.)
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Track #12
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
"Everything With You”
This indie band out of New York has a great sound. Almost a throwback to the retro wave of the 80’s where Morrissey and The Smiths ruled the radio waves. They incorporate a really great low budget sound with very catchy songs. It is like a shoegazer album but with more melody and romance. One of my favorites is “Come Saturday” with a chorus that is alive with the oooooo’s. Another great track is the happy and bouncy “This Love is F*cking Right”. The band is brand spankin’ new so they are just started to get some foothold in the industry and the blogosphere. Look for more of these guys real soon. The album is a tight ten track, 30 minute blast of retro wave. Take special note of the bass lines, they are worthy of Flea!
Featured Lyrics : “Start off sometimes, now its our time, Are you with me? Are you with me? Strange teenager, waiting for death at 19, Are you with me? Are you with me?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLVrTruj_Aw - The official video for the song (summer love in Super 8mm)
“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 y side, unless you've done the whole thing in pairs and...oh, there are loads of rules.”
-Nick Hornsby
NOTE
**All mp3's contained in this mix are posted for a short time and are for promotional purposes only. This is music I love and think you will too, so if you hear something you like, please support the artists. Buy their albums and go see them in concert. If you represent an artist featured on this mix and would like your songs removed, please contact me via email.**
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