Okay folks, here it is, mix number 1. Being my first upload it is entitled The Jump-Off. Since it's the beginning of this whole thing I've decided to make the mix entirely of the first song on various albums. It's a pretty big file, I know, I apologize, but that means you get a good amount of music, so that's pretty cool. I doubt all of the mixes that follow will be quite so large, but since this is new and I'm pretty excited about it I decided to go all out. So I'm going to write a few very short notes,for these tracks, which is also something I'm not sure I'll always do, but I think it adds a little something to the whole experience so I'll try to do it when I can. I'll try not to sound too pretentious. Also, since I'm new at this whole thing it'll make sure you get the tracks in the order I intended in case the files get all mixed up in transit.
Song - Artist
1. Best Ever Death Metal Band - The Mountain Goats
- The Mountain Goats at their lo-fi best. John Darnielle's story telling ability really shines on the album this is from,
All Hail West Texas, and this song is one of my favorite instances of it. Darnielle turns a vicious metal chant, "Hail Satan", into an unexpectedly catchy coda that you just can't help but sing along to.
2. Desert Skies - Beachwood Sparks
- Yeah, their sound is heavily rooted in the 60's, but not in a rehashed pseudo-nostalgic way. Country-tinged indie rock that's got a warm and soulful feel.
3. The Plan - Built to Spill
- From their phenomenal 1999 album,
Keep it Like A Secret, The Plan packs a big sound into the 3 and 1/2 minutes. That guitar solo squawks and tears. Damn.
4. Suntoucher - Groove Armada
- These guys are pretty popular on the dance scene, from what I gather. Jeru the Damager drops a guest spot over a triumphant beat to great effect.
5. Creation of Music - Primitive
- I don't actually know much about these guys and I doubt information is all that easy to find. This is the first track of the fantastic compilation
Carolina Funk, a collection of rare funk songs from North and South Carolina gathered by a curator in Chapel Hill. It roars open then settles into a bouncing groove. Mhmm, that's some good funk.
6. Beautiful Morning - Little Brother
- Probably the best rap outfit from North Carolina. Little Brother hails from Chapel Hill and populates their songs with beats sampling heavily from R&B and Soul tunes and rock solid rhymes.
7. My World Is... - Blu & Exile
- One of the most promising newcomers on the hip hop scene, Blu charges out of the gate with this bombastic track and makes damn sure you remember his name.
8. Luv N' Haight - Sly & the Family Stone
- Am I even worthy to be talking about Sly?
There's a Riot Going On is undoubtedly one of the most important funk/soul records of all time. This track sets the mood for the album with hard, driving funk that digs into your body.
9. Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen
- The problem with talking about Springsteen at this point is that he's become bigger than himself. Like David Bowie, he's really more of a rock icon than a man. Nonethelless, his debut album
Born to Run is still as powerful as ever, and "Thunder Road" exemplifies that. The music swells up huge, the lyrics tell stories of blue-collar hardship and kids wanting to escape the stagnation of middle America. He's too emotional to be considered cool, but if that bothers you then you're probably too jaded.
10. La Femme d'Argent - Air
- This is probably my favorite piece of electronic music. The first song off of electronic duo Air's
Moon Safari sets the mood for the album perfectly. I can't help but feel relaxed when I hear this.
11. The Scenic Route - Panacea
- These guys spit interesting lyrics over beats that are both smooth and lush. I won't ruin it by talking too much, just sit back and enjoy the scenery.
12. The Vowels Pt. 2 - Why?
- The song churns forward on the steady beat of hand claps as Loni Wolf sing-raps some damn fine words. The chorus catches you off guard at first, still drenched in Loni's decidedly dark tone but strangely catchy.
13. Rough House Blues - Buck 65
- Sounding like some sort of hip hop Tom Waits, Buck 65 growls his way through this song in a style that really is his own.
14. Iron Maiden - Ghostface Killah (feat. Raekwon and Cappadonna)
- From the undeniably badass opening sample to the dark and soulful beat, Ghost starts off his first solo album with something that's distinctly Wu-Tang but unlike anything that the Wu had done before.
15. Lyguistics - Cunninlynguists
- In a world were Southern hip hop is defined by unoriginal dance beats and idiot chanting that can hardly be considered rapping, the Cunninlynguists provide a stark contrast of interesting beats and intelligent lyrics. Gotta love those strings.
16. Stoney Street - Amon Tobin
- A blend of jazz and electronica that really works well. I don't have a whole lot to say on this, it's just a damn good song.
17. My Little Red Book - Love
- Love are criminally under-appreciated in the world of music. This song from their 1966 self titled debut scored them a minor hit. You wouldn't guess it from hearing it but this a cover of a Burt Bacharach song. Arthur Lee put some fire under it's ass and turned it into a driving, infectious pop song.
18. Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town - Talking Heads
- The first song on their first album, and don't it just make you feel good? They would go on to create some of the most interesting, innovative music of the century, but they started here, simple but splendid.
20. Oh Shit - The Pharcyde
- When they first appeared on the rap scene in the early 90's no one sounded like the Pharcyde, and that fact has endured to today. With beats and voices like no one elses, the Pharcyde created an album too good for them to follow up. This song is basically a string of some rather unfortunate stories told by these hyped up west coasters, you know, the kind of thing that'll make you go "Oh shit!"
21. Doomsday - MF Doom
- After KMD (Doom's first group) fell apart in the 90's Zev Love X dropped off the map, only to reemerge as the mysterious masked villain, with a name and mask based off the infamous comic book legend Dr. Doom. First song on his first solo album and Doom
murdered it. Over a dreamy, jazzy beat Doom unloads a verbal salvo that goes non-stop for almost the entire 5 minute track which can only be described as unfuckwithable.
22. Slow Education - Silver Jews
- Originally confused as a Pavement sidevproject, David Berman's Silver Jews quickly made it known that they were far more than that. Never quite able to decide if he's a poet or musician Berman's lyrics are unquestionably his own, writing with a voice that manages to distinguish itself in the glut of modern indie music.. The Jews' fourth album
Bright Flight was more focused on what Berman was singing than those that preceded it. He always knew how to start an album on the right foot.
23. Home - Brian Eno & David Byrne
- Byrne (of Talking Heads fame) and Eno (he did way too much stuff to list) first collaborated in 1981 on the seminal
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. It was a record that basically kicked off this whole sampling thing being done in music today, and they did it completely analog. However, the 2007 album this song comes from,
Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, is a far cry from their first collaboration. There's nothing groundbreakingly innovative here, only warm, inviting pop songs that wrap you up in their charm.
24. Il Buono, Il Cattivo, Il Brutto - Ennio Morricone
- Even if
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly wasn't an utterly classic film, it would've been worth it just for the music. Ennio Morricone crafted a soundtrack that sounds entirely unique to this day, using whistles, gunfire, yodeling chants, thundering drums, swelling crescendos and mournful ballads. The main theme has become ingrained in the culture, especially when a duel is afoot.
25. Ol' 55 - Tom Waits
- Tom Waits if my favorite musician and I could've included any number of songs here, but I decided to pick one that would hopefully be more accessible to more people, as Waits can be a little jarring in some of his later incarnations. This is from his first album,
Closing Time, when Waits was more singer/songwriter than growling demon. Just enjoy the song, because there's nothing I can really add to it.
26. Maggot Brain - Funkadelic
- George Clinton is one of the unquestionable grand masters of funk. He's a mastermind, a band leader, and a pioneer. For the first track on the tremendous and varied
Maggot Brain, Clinton pulled back his extensive band and sent guitarist Eddie Hazel into the booth alone telling him to "play like your mama just died." The result is a stunningly emotional solo (my favorite guitar solo of all time) that spans over 10 minutes recorded in one take.
Daaaamn, that was more work than I thought! Well, I hope it will help you enjoy this compilation just a little bit more. So, download, listen, and if you liked it perhaps you could leave a comment, as I really did put some time into this thing.
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