Apr 12, 2008

Now Hear This


This has been mailed.

Highlight below to reveal the track list.

1. Vittorio E. -- Spoon
2. Girlfriend in a Coma -- The Smiths
3. Hold On -- Tom Waits
4. Into the Fire -- Thirteen Senses
5. Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie -- Joanna Newsom
6. Dead Souls -- Joy Division
7. Fly -- Nick Drake
8. Who Am I Supposed To Be? -- John Lennon
9. Out To Get You -- James
10. No Name #3 -- Elliot Smith
11. All Readymade-- Timesbold
12. The Celibate Life -- The Shins
13. Coyotes -- Don Edwards
14. Play With Fire -- The Rolling Stones
15. Ar nAthair - The Lords Prayer -- Liam O Maonlai
16. Love Vigilantes -- New Order
17. Leif Erickson -- Interpol
18. Toy Soldiers -- Martika
19. Cherry Red -- The Groundhogs
20. Here -- Pavement

5 comments:

Grifter said...

'well your old hometown's so far away...but inside your head there's a record that's playing a song called hold on, hold on..."

this looks like a good mix loaded with heavy swingers.

rice said...

james has a new cd out!

Grifter said...

holy shit.

1988-ish.. I remember sitting on the bunk bed with "My First Sony", listening to Kiss 96 FM...Martika was the hottest one on Kids Incorporated, and here she was on the radio. Wow. I just got slapped in the face with a fistfull of neon. This mix is nostalgia-laden.

James Best said...

I've come to the Smiths and Joy Division late in my life and it's a hard swim to find all the songs you've been missing all these years.

With no music mentor to steer my choices, I've had to forge my own way and missed much.

Thanks for those two gems.

And "Who Am I Supposed to Be?" I actually have been singing that song out loud in my apartment for a straight week now.

Grifter said...

Hound. I don't know if you are dead or alive, but I am commenting on your mix regardless.

I will do it like this....

1. Vittorio E. -- Spoon
Never can go wrong with these guys. A good opener. It makes the mix sound...promising? Is that ridiculous to say? the song reminds me of morning, for some reason.

2. Girlfriend in a Coma -- The Smiths
A standard, in my opinion. everything Johnny Marr has touched has become gold.

3. Hold On -- Tom Waits
Nothing to say here. One of my favorite songs of all time.

4. Into the Fire -- Thirteen Senses
New to me.

5. Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie -- Joanna Newsom

6. Dead Souls -- Joy Division
This song has been covered so many times since (probably most notable by NIN) but this has a special feeling of gloom that no one else can replicate. There is a heavy Manchester sound thread running through this mix, eh?

7. Fly -- Nick Drake
yep.

8. Who Am I Supposed To Be? -- John Lennon
yep.

9. Out To Get You -- James
"Laid" is just such a good album. They could have stopped after "Laid." They didn't need a Greatest Hits album. they already had "Laid." "Laid."

"Laid."

10. No Name #3 -- Elliot Smith
yep. incredible.

11. All Readymade-- Timesbold
I am warming up to this track. At first it wasn't my cup o', but I caught myself humming it yesterday. that is a good sign.

12. The Celibate Life -- The Shins
IMHO, they shoud have quit after "Oh, Inverted World." As much as I bag on them now, this song and its album are timepieces for me.

13. Coyotes -- Don Edwards
I like this song, and can't shake the image of the alaskan bush pilot singing this as he flies away from the grizzly maze.

14. Play With Fire -- The Rolling Stones
yep. I have listened to this probably 80 times. Ominous.

15. Ar nAthair - The Lords Prayer -- Liam O Maonlai
I have been surprised by how much I enjoy this song. I sing along, and look like a complete ass doing it.

16. Love Vigilantes -- New Order
yep. Manchester, back again. Again, a standard.

17. Leif Erickson -- Interpol
This song has always seemed haunted. I think it is sublime where the drums finally come in, and the bass picks up, and the vocals say "I'll bring you when my lifeboat sails through the night..." It gives me goosebumps. Then the simple guitar solo after the second "you come here to me..." is destructive.

18. Toy Soldiers -- Martika
I think I have been vocal enough about this song, my new favorite guilty pleasure.

19. Cherry Red -- The Groundhogs
Okay...i try to consider myself as having a fair understanding of British blues...but I guess I have some glaring gaps in my arsenal, because this song kicked my ass, and this artist is new to me. This was, undoubtedly, my favorite song on this whole track. It really makes me want to pull doors from hinges and throw them through windows. What a rocker...I am indebted to you for this discovery, and I am going to dig deeper.

20. Here -- Pavement
yep.

So many classics and what I would call overall "good" songs on here. This was a mix that could play from start to finish without interuption, and it has gotten untold amounts of play in the past month.

Now, show up alive someday and we can talk more about it.