Wednesday 27 July 2011

Q#78 - June to July 2011


Please note the zip file has a password: Q78

Download link - http://www.mediafire.com/?vv28ofslxs4c2w3


Q’s Compilations – Vol 78 – June to July 2011.

Hello! It is summer, isn’t it? Having a mad time still preparing for my visa to move to the US (interview on the 4th, which is the last stage before point of entry), just put our house on the market for rental and then we have the simple task of finding somewhere to live in New York… I’ve also started more general blog at http://someothersuckersparade.blogspot.com/ so please check it out if you have some time.

Anyway, this may be the last compilation I put together before the move, depends what happens. I’m running a bit late with it so the notes may be rushed, so let’s crack on with the music…

01) Fred Schneider – Whip: Produced by Steve Albini, Just Fred… is his second solo album and was released in 1996 and is full of all the abrasive and edgy guitar rock you would associate with Albini, perhaps not from the B-52s frontman himself. It’s a wonderful record though and if this doesn’t get your blood pumping them I’m not sure what will. “Your gravity keeps pulling me near, And then 40 lashes, 40 lashes from your eyes”

02) The Sorry Kisses – Sunstorms: I heard this song on 6music recently and thought it was a great slab of sugar-coated indie rock, I’m just a sucker for this kind of sound. This is from the recently released Keep Smiling album, their third album to date. “Spit in the face of those who deny, the world is bigger than you or I“

03) Beastie Boys - Say It: The Beasties finally released Hot Sauce Committee, following Adam Yauch’s cancer diagnosis in 2009 it’s great to see things moving along for the group. The album ticks all the Beastie boxes and should be a joy for any fan, not sure it will make any new ones but then you’ll know if you like them by now! “you could keep em out of service and your a complainer, you bust your ass jones like you slipped on a banana”

04) The Damned – Ignite: No particular reason but I just fancied putting this song on a mix but there’s never a bad time to throw on a Damned tune. From the Strawberries album. “My heart is beat beat beating ,like a drum, The night is in my veins we’re gonna,have some fun tonight“

05) Okkervil River - The Valley: It’s been three years since The Stand Ins and six years since their best effort Black Sheep Boy (though not to forget 2007’s The Stage Names), I Am Very Far is the band’s best effort since Black Sheep Boy in my opinion, some have said it sounds a lot like Arcade Fire but to be honest I see it as a natural progression of their own. Besides, Okkervil River have always written better songs anyway. “I hear a breeze that wheezes through the tips of the pines, where there's laughter and screaming to the rafters in the night.”

06) Meat Puppets – Orange: Lollipop is perhaps a sideways step rather than a progression from 2009’s Sewn Together which had a bit more of a confident swagger to it. The songs are a bit more sterile though this could be down to the slightly lighter tone in production, regardless of that it’s still a worthy addition to the Pups cannon. “Well, got a history. Well, got a force field. Well, want a future. Well, got a mystery.”

07) The Posies - The Glitter Prize: Released in 2010, Blood Candy comes 5 years since previous album Every Kind of Light (though that was 7 years after Success so they are becoming more prolific!) and is a much more dynamic album though it does not reach the heights of their best work like Frosting on the Beater. “it’s starting to snow, And I wanna know when it covers the ground, So send me a message, show me a sign, Radiate in time to the shimmering sound”

08) Bob Dylan - Lonesome Day Blues: Bob recently hit his 70th birthday so I asked on Facebook what song I should put on my next mix (from what I had) and this song had the most votes. I don’t normally listen to Love and Theft, admittedly, I usually grab for Time out of Mind if I’m in the mood for more modern (comparatively…) Bob (Lovesick could be my favourite Dylan song). This is one of his more bluesy numbers, a genre I don’t tend to care for in general but it’s nice to throw in the odd curveball once in a while. “Leaves are rustlin’ in the wood—things are fallin’ off the shelf, You gonna need my help, sweetheart, You can’t make love all by yourself”

09) The Maytals - Night and Day: And here’s another curveball for you all, I’ve always said that reggae can suffer from the same problems as blues, in that if you listen to too much at once they can start to sound a bit samey. But I think it’s easier to scratch under the surface of reggae and unearth some real gems and my main source for such diversion is the Soul Jazz 100-500% Dynamite series. The Maytals influence cannot be exaggerated, of course.

10) The Impressions - My Deceiving Heart: My birthday was on the 13th of June and one gift I received was This is My Country / The Young Mods Forgotten Story two-albums-on-one-cd package, I’m a big fan of Curtis Mayfield but didn’t really know all that much by The Impressions. Both records are incredible, this song is from Young Mods… and is just about as good as it gets.

11) Ann Peebles - Trouble, Heartaches & Sadness: Ann has been an amazing discovery for me over the last year and in particularly the album Straight from the Heart, I’m amazed this song hasn’t turned up in a Tarantino movie. “old man trouble Stop knockin’ at my door, You used to be a good friend of mine, Let me tell you hang around me no more”

12) PJ Harvey - All and Everyone: Let England Shake is yet another fine release from Polly and is another left-turn in terms of style, while some of the album retains the more ethereal vibe of White Chalk the overall sound and execution is vastly different. She still remains the best live singer I’ve seen. “Death was in the ancient fortress, shelled by a million bullets from gunners, waiting in the copses with hearts that threatened to pop their boxes, as we advanced into the sun death was all and everyone.”

13) Slowdive – Rutti: I’d wanted to put this song on a compilation for years but kept having to drop it for either time constraints or just vibe, this time I was not deterred, however. Pygmalion was released in 1995 and turned out to be the final Slowdive album. I love the slow build up and all the dreamy sounds.

14) Henryk Gorecki - Sostenuto Tranquillo Ma Cantabile: A recent online discussion on classical music led me to Symphony No 3, which absolutely blew me away. I’d heard some of it without realising it since it’s used as background music for a documentary I watched about Auschwitz (just some light entertainment a while back…) but it was the first movement which really had a profound effect on this listener. It’s a slow build up and I realise it might not tickle many taste buds for those that download this but give it a go.

As usual I hope there’s something for everyone on here, please do give me feedback as I so rarely hear anything.
Peace and Love, see you on the other side
Until Next Time
Q