Well, What Do You Know, I'm Posting My Mixmania! Songlist and It's About Damn Time...

Listening to: Etta James, At Last

No energy to be coy anymore. Someone got my mix today and out of fairness, I need to post the songlist of my mix, commentary included. And you know me, I'm going to go on and on about this...

Here tis'... Goddess bless the pour soul who got a bit of my twisted sense of what defines "music":

1. Toots & the Maytalls - Funky Kingston
   I think I was 17-years old when I got the first edition of The Rolling Stone Record Guide and I dog-eared the damn thing. My goal was to eventually purchase all the "five-star" albums and the album this cut comes off of was among those must-buys. The title cut begins with stomping church piano and builds with Toots Hibbert's Otis-influenced church-y vocals, grabs you by the throat from the start and refuses to let go. Is it gospel? Is it reggae? Who cares, it KICKS ASS.



2. Dawn Penn - No, No, No (You Don't Love Me)
   I'd already fallen in love with this haunting dance-hall one-hit wonder when I heard it in the background of the opening scene of an episode of Homicide: Life on the Streets, affirming for me that the show was not only the best cop show ever but also had the best soundtrack ever. Never having watched The O.C. or any of those other cooler-than-thou shows, I may be talking out my ass but I bet none of those shows put anything as rockin' as Dawn Penn on their soundtracks.



3. Asian Dub Foundation - Return of Django
   I'm a huge fan of Talvin Singh (one of the many revolving members of ADF) and the Indo-electronica movement even though this cut is atypical, part dance-hall ska, part New Orleans 2nd-line shuffle, part Kama Sutra soundtrack. Actually, I think it was on the soundtrack for some lousy Leo DiCapprio movie but this song's too good to hold that against it.



4. M.I.A. - Gulang
   THE BIG CUT from my favorite album of 2005 (so far), M.I.A. is beyond description. I think my neighbors would have been pissed at the over-and-over-and-over place this song had in my rotation last year except it's so damned addictive.



5. Missy Elliot - Get Ur Freak On
   I have my issues with rap/hip-hop but this song puts all my reservations aside. Believe me, I'm old enough to have been there when Grandmaster Flash and Run D.M.C. were rockin' the world and I was one of the few white freaks who was excited by the musical/socio-political potential of rap; alas, I'm still waiting. Fortunately, every once in awhile a cut like this comes along to renew my faith.



6. Cornershop - When the Light Appears Boy
   Yes, I love drugged-out music and yes, I heard the spiel on this cut the first time I got massively dosed. I wouldn't recommend acid as a tool for spiritual growth but it's certainly a great way to get a glimpse of what awaits.



7. Daft Punk - Da Funk
   I've heard the video for this song is wack (I've never seen it) but I picture some dude twisting animal balloons in the "Star Wars" disco. If you're sitting still when this cut plays, someone needs to take your pulse - you're dead.



8. !!! - Hammerhead
   I'm told you pronounce the band's name "tchk-tchk-tchk" which makes sense because they make a kind of 70's porno soundtrack on Nitrous noise. Ever smoke a joint after drinking too much and got serious room-spins? This is not what you want playing when that happens.



9. Jon Wayne - But I've Got Texas
   Why would I follow a neo-disco electronica/hip-hop groove up with underground lo-fi punk country? Because I'm sick that way. But not nearly as sick as this song.



10. Tom Waits - Goin' Out West
    Off of Waits' most brutally primitive (and best, IMHO) album, Bone Machine, this was playing during the scene in Fight Club when Brad Pitt and Ed Norton first hook up and decide to go back into the bar to start a fight. This cut perfectly captures that kind of shitwit machismo and naked aggression.



11. Rolling Stones - I Just Want to See His Face
    This is an odd little gem from on of my "desert island" disks (Exile on Main Street) that stands out because it's like an echo of a party coming through the door to another dimension. And a nice follow up to the Tom Waits cut.



12. The Breeders - Mad Lucas
    After the Pixies broke up, everyone seemed to focus on Frank Black and forget that Kim Deal was making better music. Probably because everyone wanted more Pixies and weren't listening for stuff that was different, new, and exciting. Which is kind of counter to the attraction of the Pixies. Strangely enough, a cut like this is what I think the Pixies would have become had they stayed together and kept evolving.



13. Dukes of Stratosphere - What in the World?
    This is actually XTC attempting to find themselves a spot on the essential "Nuggets" compilations. Which is just fine by me because it's XTC with their hearts firmly diplayed on their puffy sleeves.



14. John Lennon - How Do You Sleep?
    Everyone talks about Imagine (the album) as a pretty, new age poem of peace, forgetting this angry "fuck you" to Paul. Yeah, "Imagine" is a gorgeous song but when I was 11-years old and bought this album (one of the first I ever purchased with newspaper route money), this cut got played the most. Lennon people love it, McCartney people hate it, obviously, on more than one level.



15. Mr. Bungle - Merry Go Bye Bye
    I haven't heard what Mike Patton is doing since he outgrew Faith No More and formed Mr. Bungle but I'd love to know if he's been institutionalized. Another sick cut.



16. Pennywise - Stand By Me
    It looks worse here on the blog than it sounds on disk, trust me. Why Pennywise isn't as big (or bigger) than Green Day is beyond me but I quit thinking life was fair a long time ago.



17. The Libertines - Horror Show
    They aren't the best of the neo-garage band bands (I'll give that honor to The Hives - The White Stripes transcend that categorization, OK?) but they're as wildly out of control as The Vines without the Nirvana affectation. I think you have to get as drunk as they are to really appreciate them, which could be dangerous.



18. Tex Williams - Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette
    A little novelty of Texas Swing tacked on (but oddly not incongruent) because this disk has most likely given the listener a jones for a butt.



19. Jimmy Luxury & The Tony Roma Orchestra - Cha Cha Cha
    Remember when swing dancing was huge for a about five minutes in the 90's (a fad I admit I never understood)? This song (off the Go soundtrack) came out of that silliness and is actually worth repeated listening. Also, you need a martini to go with that cigarette (the holdover from the whole swing thing that I've welcomed).



20. Harry Belefonte - Men Smart, Women Smarter
    Every tenth mixed CD should end with a bit of calypso and every mixed CD should end with a universal truth. Nuff' said.

I've surfed around and seen almost everyone else's mixes and I'm humbled; mine is hardly up to the quality of the other mixes I've seen out there. Furthermore, I'll give a nod to Sterfish for out hip-hopping me and Lauren for out-weirding me. However, I'll give myself credit for making a wildly entertaining mix and hope my recipient enjoys the ride.

Our next mixmania! begins June 1 and this time, with a theme! I'm looking forward to doing this again!