The events of last night, from my perspective, were pretty horrifying. Maybe soul-crushing would be a more-apt description. Either way, I think it makes for a good story.
I was invited to a record listening party at a friend’s house. He happens to be an insanely knowledgeable, Grammy-nominated music scholar. I spent all week trying to figure out what two songs I could bring to the party that would impress this guy and his friends. I considered bringing the weirdest, wackiest private/vanity records in my collection. But I didn’t want to come off like a snob. I thought about bringing two songs I simply love. But I didn’t want to bring songs everyone had heard before. After hours of contemplation I decided on my choices: Chorchazade’s “Half A Crown” (it has a good story to go along with it, and odds are no one would know it) and New Trolls’ “Night On The Bare Mountain” (it’s silly and could potentially deflect attention away from me in the event that no one liked Chorchazade).
The room was filled with distinguished guests. There was a guy who worked for Sub Pop, a guy who worked for Warner Brothers, a guy who works for another really successful indie label, and a bunch of other respected, professional people. And then there was me. I waited as long as I could, until somebody reminded me that I hadn’t played anything yet. Lucky for me — I thought — a few minutes before me someone had dropped a Steve Albini reference. So, I began my story about how I learned of Chorchazade and how I tracked down a copy of the album. My heart was palpitating, I was stuttering and sweating, I had no idea what I was saying. I had trouble breathing. Somehow I completed my story. And when I looked up from the spot on the floor I had been focusing on the first thing I heard was someone saying, “That reminds me of the time Steve Albini chided me for name dropping!” and everyone laughed. And my heart sank. My ego deflated, we listened to the song. Some people liked it. When it came time to introduce my next song, I couldn’t muster an ounce of excitement. I simply introduced it as an Italian prog cover of a classical composition. People seemed to get a kick out of it.
Of course, as if I couldn’t feel any lower, the next guy up chose to begin his turn by playing a homemade cut: Â the entire Mamas And The Papas recorded history truncated to all the times they ever sang “Yeah!” with a couple “No’s” peppered throughout. It was hilarious. I felt like an ass.
At least Nicci provided me with some sweet arm candy.
And now, your sunday mix tape!
RULES for uninitiated noobs: I give birth to a weekly Mix Tape to be deposited on your iPods or Zunes or Kingklangs or whatever the industry is currently pushing on you. Sometimes there will be themes that link all the songs together, other times I’ll just throw songs at a wall (not literally) and see what sticks.No theme tonight. Although I’ve included tracks from some great, strong new albums (Mugstar, Titan, James Blackshaw), some Emeralds-related shit (Mark McGuire, Sam Goldberg) and the greatest X-rated novelty tune I’ve ever heard, “Stickball.” The goal of this endeavor, as always, is to pique your interest in these artists so you’ll support the artists and buy their albums.
01. Pulp – My Lighthouse – (buy from Amazon.com)
02. Titan – Sweet Dreams – (buy from Amazon.com)
03. The Chocolate Watchband – I’m Not Like Everybody Else – (buy from Amazon.com)
04. ESG – My Love For You – (buy from Amazon.com)
05. Harry Nilsson – Me And My Arrow – (buy from Amazon.com)
06. Melvins – Leeech – (buy from Amazon.com)
07. James Blackshaw – All Is Falling Part 1 – (buy from Amazon.com)
08. Sam Goldberg – Eternal Underdog – (Gneiss Things, 2008)
09. P. Vert – Stickball – (Chuck-A-Moon, 1970s) (Thanks, Lisa!)
10. Lou Reed & John Cale – Style It Takes – (buy from Amazon.com)
11. Buzzcocks – Fast Cars – (buy from Amazon.com)
12. Jackie DeShannon – Only Love Can Break Your Heart – (buy from Amazon.com)
13. Mark McGuire – Front Porch Breeze – (Vin Du Select Qualitite, 2009)
14. Mugstar – Beyond The Sun – (buy from Amazon.com)
15. Ben Frost – Last Exit To Brooklyn – (buy MP3s from Amazon.com)
