Q#116 - October to November 2017

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Q's Compilations

Vol #116 – October to November 2017

Greetings to the final mix of the year… seems weird to type but here we are. It has been a topsy turvy year but I would not change the highs for anything.

01) Pinkwash - No Real Witness: I went to Princeton recently for hopefully the final time (work-related) and finally managed to time it for a visit to Princeton Record Exchange. Managed a reasonably-restrained $100 supermarket-sweep style run which included Pinkwash’s Collective Sigh album for a bargain $10 on vinyl. This tune opens the record and the pace doesn’t really let up from there.

02) Against Me! - Dead Rats: Took a friend to see Against Me! for their birthday recently at Brooklyn Steel. The only other time I had seen the band was at a surprise show at Saint Vitus and it was a bit of a hardcore-fans-only shitshow (from my perspective of never having heard a note of the band by that point). Anyway, fast forward a few years and I enjoyed this show a lot. This is from the Shape Shift With Me record from September 2016.

03) Bleached – Flipside: One of the opening bands for the Against Me! show was Bleached, who I hadn’t seen since my birthday in 2013, the band have gone a little more in a pop-rock, cleaner direction since then and, if anything, all the better for it. “I’m a basket case with a warm embrace”

04) Worriers - Future Me: Worriers just released their third record, Survival Pop, and it’s another dose of melodic pop-punk to follow-up the Laura Jane Grace-produced second album Imaginary Life (hey, that’s three Against Me things in a row). “When I leave you’ll never notice it. But I relive those years like phantom limbs”

05) Hazel English - Never Going Home: A bit of a change of pace here, Hazel English is an Oakland-based Aussie who makes the kind of treble-heavy, gorgeous synth and guitar music that was all the rage a few years ago but you don’t hear so much anymore. That might not be quite true, it’s just that Glasslands hasn’t existed for four years and that’s where I’d hear this kind of music the most. “Falling in, Inch by inch, I'm not resisting, And I'm addicted tonight”

06) Tim Darcy - Still Waking Up: Tim Darcy is the frontman of the magnificent Montreal band, Ought (who just signed to Merge Records), his debut album, Saturday Night, was released in February via Jagjaguwar. This is one of the more immediate tracks and has somewhat of a lullaby quality to it, I picked it up at Princeton Record Exchange and it’s different enough from Ought to justify the solo release. “Waking up alone, Was always a hard day's night, Oh-Ohh, Cause my head is full of popular songs, Old ones I never sang along to, Along to, Isn't it funny how that happens?”

07) Lee Ranaldo – Circular: Lee Ranaldo is my favourite member of Sonic Youth, and he continues to release interesting and challenging music that simply isn’t harking back to former glories (having said that, I do like Thurston Moore’s solo stuff too!). Electric Trim is Lee’s latest solo record and was released via Mute in September.

08) Josh Ritter - Thunderbolt's Goodnight: I bought a Josh Ritter album (Historical Conquests) when it came out probably ten years ago and liked it but never kept it in rotation and probably didn’t give him another thought until this year. I saw him live last month and he put on a good show, his lyrics really came to the fore. This tune in particular resonated pretty strongly and comes from his latest record, Gathering, which was released in September this year. “I see your face, In the window, I see your face in the reflections of the moon, I feel my own, Ancients shadows disappear when I am near to you, So take this heart, Take this feeling, take my dark and reeling mind, From these poor words, Find a meaning far deeper than these clumsy lines, And all my life, Before I met you, when I was trying hard in love, I thought the sun, Was going down, but the sun was comin' up”

09) Bill MacKay & Ryley Walker - Stretching My Dollar In Piano: I decided to get out of town for a few days so headed to Asheville. As always when I decide to go somewhere I scour for shows to attend and noticed that Bill MacKay and Ryley Walker were doing a show, I’d never heard of the former but admire Ryley’s work. Turns out the two of them have released two records together of instrumental acoustic music and thankfully it was exactly what I was in the mood for (earnest singer-songwriter lyrics would not have been welcome on yet another solo holiday).

10) A. Savage - Indian Style: Parquet Courts’ Andrew Savage just released his debut solo record, Thawing Dawn, and it’s a more melodic, often sombre offering than anything they’ve released. In one of those lost-in-translation moments between US and UK vernacular, I didn’t know that “indian style” meant sitting cross-legged until I heard this song.

11) The Beatles - Here, There and Everywhere: I saw Paul McCartney recently at Barclays Centre and he put on another excellent show, I was a little hesitant to see him again after the spectacular show I saw in 2010, but it was more than worthwhile. It got me thinking about underrated Beatles tunes and this might even be my second favourite song by them (after Here Comes the Sun). “Here, making each day of the year, Changing my life with the wave of her hand, Nobody can deny that there's something there, There, running my hands through her hair, Both of us thinking how good it can be”

12) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Cheated Hearts: I’ve almost certainly used this song at some point, probably a decade ago so I’m not going to be feel too precious about repeats… anyway, the band played at Kings Theatre a few weeks ago and being the only venue I’ve ever been able to walk to, it was rude not to go. They played a blinder (graciously ignoring their only dud of a record, 2013’s Mosquito, almost entirely) and this has possibly my favourite YYYs song.

13) The Rubinoos - I Want to Be Your Boyfriend: One of the great powerpop songs, I’ve had this in my head a lot for the last couple of months so figured the best way to deal with it was to throw it on the mix. The Berkeley, California quartet played a couple of shows in New York in the summer and I’m pretty bummed I had to miss them. “Late at night when I, when I can't sleep, Picture in my mind, I see you and me, I, I'm telling you what I wanna be, You, you're saying you're in love with me, And oh, it feels so good in a dream, That I know in life it's just got to be, I wanna tell you...”

14) The Final Solution – Brotherman: Brotherman was to be a blaxploitation pic in the mid 70s and Final Solution were all set to do the soundtrack, but unfortunately the film was cancelled even before a single roll of film was shot. Thirty years later, the Numero Group did their thing and pulled the record together and it stands up wonderfully on its own.

15) Jackie Shane - Any Other Way: Another obscure treasure unearthed by Numero, Jackie Shane briefly made some waves in Toronto in the 60s. Born in Nashville in 1940 when being black and transgender alone would have been difficult, Shane identified as a woman in a man’s body by the time she was 13 and emigrated to Canada in 1959. This cover of the William Bell classic was her biggest success, reaching number 2 on the charts in Toronto, but since the early 70s she has been very much a mysterious recluse.

16) Betty Harris - Hook, Line & Sinker: Another Princeton purchase was Soul Jazz records 2-LP set The Lost Queen of New Orleans Soul, I already had one greatest hits package of hers on CD but couldn’t help myself. Both Mean Man and There’s a Break in the Road are two of my favourite songs of all time and this song just jumped out at me when it hadn’t distinguished itself before.

17) The Mountain Goats – Shelved: Despite not being hugely into the band’s latest effort, Goths, in comparison to other records, The Mountain Goats might be my second-most listened to act of the year and I caught them for the first time in a couple of years recently at Brooklyn Steel. This track is probably my favourite from the new record. The Peter Hook-esque bassline in the second half of the song is a pure delight.

18) The Afghan Whigs - Arabian Nights: Afghan Whigs are one of my favourite bands but their latest release, In Spades, was released in May and mostly passed me by. The record is pretty good but sometimes missing a band on tour when they’re supporting their latest efforts means I barely get round to listening to the album itself.

19) Super Static Fever - Areness For Fun: Here’s yet another Numero re-issue of a band that could scarcely have been more obscure. Existing for a couple of years and only playing a handful of shows, unfinished tapes from two recording sessions were mixed by Steve Albini.

20) L.A. Witch - Baby in Blue Jeans: Five years after the band released their demos and after a handful of single releases, the Los Angeles trio finally released a debut full length (self-titled) via Suicide Squeeze. If you like your rock from the reverb-drenched desert, then this should tickle your fancy.

21) Grizzly Bear - Sky Took Hold: Yet another band I like who released a record I’ve been a little underwhelmed by, Grizzly Bear released Painted Ruins, their first effort in five years. This tune is an absolute delight, however, and I probably owe the record a few more passes.

And there you go. I have to admit, this was somewhat hastily put together and I’ve written these notes on a pretty reclusive thanksgiving weekend

As always, Peace and Love. Hope everyone had a good 2017 and here’s to a better 2018 for all - Q

Please note that the zip file has a password: QCOMPS.BLOGSPOT

Download mix from: https://www.mediafire.com/file/rqz2rf2iuwrp585/Q116.zip

Q#85 - August - September 2012

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Q’s Compilations

Volume #85 – August – September 2012

Hello! This compilation has a theme to it, and a rather self-indulgent one. It has been a fantastic summer here mainly for one reason, the sheer volume of spectacular free concerts that are hosted in this fair city, this mix features bands that I have seen over the course of the year so far and not had to pay a penny. The mix still manages to omit an impressive roster of artists who I managed to see and many others who I did not (Funkadelic!).

01) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than the Stars: I’ve feature Pains… on a few mixes over the years, but have so far not featured any tracks from their EP, Higher Than the Stars (this of course, being the title track). The band played Central Park Summer Stage on a sweltering day that also featured Cloud Nothings, The War on Drugs and Guided By Voices. “This time you should have stopped. But where’s the fun?”

02) Frankie Rose – Night Swim: I’d heard a few songs over the last few months, but probably nothing that stuck in my head, but Frankie played a rather spellbinding set at Prospect Park opening for Little Dragon. Rose has an impressive CV, having been part of early versions of Crystal Stilts, Dum Dum Girls and Vivian Girls. Her second solo album, Interstellar was released this year.

03) Diiv – Doused: Another band on the excellent Captured Tracks record label, I caught Diiv last month at Hudson River Rocks, their debut album, Oshin, is well worth an investment and I featured a track on the last mix as well. “Act like it stops and starts, a gesture here and there, for me is one thing, but I felt every time you blew it”

04) Roomrunner – Aesthetic: I used Roomrunner on the last mix, having been impressed with their set at Hudson River Rocks, playing with John Maus and Dan Deacon (for whom Roomrunner mainman Denny Bowen also drums).

05) Bob Mould – The Descent: Silver Age has just been released and coincides rather swimmingly with the 20^th anniversary of Sugar’s Copper Blue album, which Bob played in full at an immense show in Williamsburg Park. I reviewed the gig here: http://someothersuckersparade.blogspot.com/2012/09/bob-mould-williamsburg-park-7th-of.html and the new album is a corker. “I started out so starry-eyed, full of hope and wonder.”

06) Cloud Nothings – Wasted Days: To be honest I wasn’t completely won over by Cloud Nothings, who opened the day at the Central Park CBGB festival, whose set was marred a little by being a bit too samey. However, drummer Jason Gerycz was a joy to watch with his animal-like drumming and facial expressions. This song didn’t seem to click that much live but I think I have more patience with the recorded version, the wigout section here works.

07) Mission of Burma - Semi-Pseudo-Sort-Of Plan: Opening for Wild Flag at Prospect Park (which seemed to confuse a lot of people who thought it should have been the other way around), it seemed like most of the crowd weren’t really there to see them, but they put on a spirited performance and it was great to see them. No Academy Fight Song in the set though! This track is taken from their latest album, Unsound, released this year.

08) Guided By Voices – Game of Pricks: I’m using GBV for the third time in a row, of course, but I couldn’t put this type of theme together without including them again! Seeing them play this song (a rare classic in a set dominated by newer material) was a special moment. “I've entered the game of pricks, With knives in the back of me, can't call you or on you no more,
When they're attacking me”

09) Eternal Summers – You Kill: Suffering a somewhat nasty hangover, I thankfully managed to get to Eternal Summers free show at Fulton Stall Market. which perked me up! Unfortunately they sold their last copy of new album, Correct Behaviour (on which this song appears) as I got to the front of the queue, but they played a cracking set, well worth checking out. “It’s a piece, of a plot, of a story we are not”

10) Lee Ranaldo – Lost (Plane T Nice): I was fortunate enough to get to see Ranaldo’s record release show for Between the Times and the Tides, playing as an acoustic trio (drummer Steve Shelley was gigging elsewhere) at Other Music. It’s a fine record and Lee was a pleasure to meet afterwards. “When every single dream requires revision”

11) Kurt Vile – The Creature: In a case of “should have been the headliner”, Kurt Vile opened for Dawes (who we endured for a couple of songs then decided to leave) at Central Park. This song features on the EP So Outta Reach which was included on the deluxe edition of Smoke Ring for My Halo. “She said I'm a creature of habits, Oh, she's so cute with her claims, Ain't got time for asking questions, So I just nod and move on, And that's all right for me, So far, So good for me”

12) Veronica Falls – Starry Eyes (demo): Another sweltering evening was spent at South Street Seaport. I featured My Heart Beats on Q#83. This track was a b-side to Found Love In a Graveyard. A lovely song to throw away as a b-side. “Starry Eyes what can I say, Starry Eyes, what can I do for your attention, Starry Eyes Starry Eyes forever shall be mine”

13) Rain Machine – Smiling Black Faces: A gloriously sunny day was had at Union Pool (the heat made bearable by numerous $5 margaritas), which also included an improvised set by Thurston Moore on the 9^th of June. Rain Machine is of course, Kyp Malone’s side-project from TV on the Radio, they played some new songs which sound promising, and I got to meet Kyp afterwards and babble like an embarrassed fanboi.

14) Barry Adamson – Straight til Sunrise: Adamson played a set at Other Music back in February, launching his latest album, I Will Set You Free, it was a nice set albeit a bit karaoke (he mostly just sang while the instrumental versions of the songs played over the speakers), but the album is good. This track is from the previous record, Back to the Cat. “In my head was every word that was said, Reverberating with consonants baiting me, I wish I had done what I said I would”

15) Grimes – Vanessa: Grimes appears to be this year’s hipster sensation, in truth I find the record a little lacking (and some of the fans at the show we were at reaching unknown levels of douchebag-dom), however, some of the tunes are pretty interesting and this one gets under your skin after a few plays. Grimes played at Hudson River Rocks. “hey hey wanna play well baby i can go go, and every other day you're running off the phone, no. Well baby I would call you if I didn't know you but I'm waiting for it”

16) John Maus – Bennington: John Maus played the Hudson River Rocks on the 12^th of July. My wife has become slightly obsessed with Mr Maus, and I think probably needs some professional help about it. Bennington appears on Maus’ latest release, a collection of demos, rather obviously called Collection of Rarities and Previously Unreleased Material. Live, Maus is a bit of an enigma, what should amount to little more than a glorified karaoke performance is oddly rather engaging. “Time and time again, I'll see her in my dreams, Time and time again,
Time and time again”

17) Dan Deacon – Lots: Deacon headlined the show on the 12^th of July at Hudson River Rocks and put on a storming performance. Audience participation is a big thing with Deacon (at which point, I made sure I drifted off to the side!), dividing the audience into dance-offs and scattering them into random directions, interspersed with random humour and heartfelt gripes at society. He’s also backed by two drummers who perform incredibly well. “Feel like we've been here before, Without a choice and insecure, Of where we'd be without this net around,
Yet we've always hated it”

18) Little Dragon – Blinking Pigs: Swedish electro-pop band Little Dragon provided a bouncey evening on the 10^th of August at Prospect Park, probably not something I would pay for, but since we live close by it was a fun thing to do, the crowd were really into it and made for a great atmosphere. “Was a distant moan, and a smell of home, Haunting me, from the clouds above, oh the memory of, you”

19) TV On the Radio – Keep Your Heart: Just to put the icing on the cake, I got to see TVotR for free this year as well, heaven! They headlined the Afropunk festival at Commodore Park on the 26^th of August, they played a great set (which also benefitted from a good sound, something that hampered the previous two times I’d seen them). “Outside ecstatic love, what did we think we'd find? Over that broken road,out past the land mines.”

Like I said, it has been a great summer here and I have truly been spoiled!

Until next time

Peace and love - Q 

Q#83 - April - May 2012

Please note that the zip file has a password: Q83
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Q’s Compilations

Volume #83 – April – May 2012

The last couple of months have been beyond hectic. Came to the end of our sublet in Ditmas Park, we liked the area and are comfortable here so decided to stick around! We now have our own proper lease on an apartment in the same area (about a block from where we were), we did move from a furnished apartment to an unfurnished one so have had to do all the fun stuff of picking out new furniture... If that process hasn’t been stressful enough the company I work for is also moving to a new office and I’ve been tasked with most of the move. I’ll manage a few seconds for a sigh at some point when this is done. As a result, I’ve really thrown this together very quickly, but there is a lot of new music on here so hopefully it sounds fresh.

For your pleasure (hopefully), on this mix…

01) La Sera - Love That's Gone: La Sera is the side-project of Vivian Girls’ bassist Katie Goodman (swoon…), who manages the rare feat of having a side-project that is even better than her “main” band. The band just released their second record, Sees the Light, and we managed to catch their only NYC show a few days ago. Both records are fantastic and I would highly recommend them, chockfull of hooks and a good variety of songs. They were also great live. “I love my life without you, You can't say a thing, I feel that I should tell you, Can't do anything”

02) Lee Ranaldo - Off the Wall: The often overlooked Sonic Youth legend has just released a lovely solo record, Between the Times and Tides, and we were lucky to be present at the record release party at Other Music, where Lee’s band played an acoustic set and signed copies of the record either. Lee seems like one of the nicest people you could meet and seemed genuinely interested in anyone who talked to him. “Explosions in the city, explosions deep in me,
Someone in the crowd has me falling at her feet, These days are so uncommon flashing lights and siren’s calls, These days I’m trying hard to keep from falling off the wall”

03) The Men - Open Your Heart: I heard about this album in Other Music and tracked down a few free promo MP3s, of which this is one (from Urban Outfitters Music Mondays that Carrie gets). I’ll probably grab the album at some point as I like what I’ve heard. The beginning of the song sounds a bit like Ever Fallen In Love… by The Buzzcocks.

04) Guided By Voices - We Won't Apologise for the Human Race: It’s great to see GBV back and making music, and while Let’s Go Eat the Factory isn’t the best album they have ever released, it’s a worthy addition to the GBV canon. And to just make matters even better, they are headlining a free show in Central Park this summer, which also includes other fine bands, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and The War on Drugs. Just need to make sure we turn up early enough to get in!

05) Violens - Every Melting Degree: The band have upped their game with 2^nd album, True, a more nuanced and melody-driven record than their promising debut. Carrie won tickets to their record release show at La Poisson Rouge, it was a late show however and the band didn’t come on until midnight!

06) Veronica Falls - My Heart Beats: A recommendation from a friend, they’re playing a free show over here this summer. The band have just the one album to date (self-titled) released last year, this is a fun head nodder.

07) Lotus Plaza – Strangers: Lockett Pundt is the guitarist in Deerhunter and has released 2 albums as Lotus Plaza, 2009’s The Floodlight Collective and 2012’s Spooky Action at a Distance (on which this track appears), it’s not much of a departure from his day job, it has to be said, but that’s not a bad thing.

08) Afghan Whigs - Blame, etc: I’m very excited to have tickets to see Afghan Whigs in October (although annoyingly just after I bought tickets they announced a show for the end of this month at the Bowery Ballroom which was also cheaper!). I’ve seen Gutter Twins a couple of times I think it’ll be quite special to see Dulli and co cranking out songs like this, which is on my favourite record, Black Love. “my skin catches fire at the mention of your name”

09) The Magnetic Fields - Your Girlfriend's Face: Stephin Merritt and company return to their synth-based roots with Love at the Bottom of the Sea, which may seem a regression of sorts but just sounds like another fine Magnetic Fields album! This song is the highlight of the record for me, with Merritt’s dark humour to the fore in the lyrics. “So I've taken a contract out on y'all, For make me feel infinitely small, In the evenings I devise your death, Being buried alive on crystal meth”

10) Light Asylum - A Certain Person: I heard this song on youtube months ago after the LCD Soundsystem facebook page recommended it, their self-titled debut has just been released and it’s a fine synth-pop record, which seems to be the in thing these days.

11) Carina Round - Set Fire: Tigermending is Carina’s first full length album since 2007’s Slow Motion Addict, and is another fine collection of songs. As with a lot of independent artists these days, she depends on pre-orders and kickstarter donations, so please do check her out if you like the material - http://carinaround.com/ “when you find the truth cut it out with a razor blade, when you distribute choose your voice like a hand grenade”

12) BLK JKS – Mololtladi: I’ve been a fan of these guys for a few years without buying the album (just never got round to it), but picked it up for $2 in Other Music finally. I first heard of them because they were on TV On the Radio’s top friends on myspace! The band are from Johannesburg, South Africa, and there is a healthy African influence as you can imagine, with a bit of rock and even some proggy moments thrown in for good measure.

13) Sun Kil Moon - King Fish: Kozelek has just released his latest Sun Kil Moon record, Among the Leaves, which for the most part comes across as a slightly low-key and often humourous affair (in his finger-picked acoustic style of his recent output). I must admit to doing a bit of a disservice to the record by using this track, which is the only electric “band”-like track on the album, but I like it, so there.

14) Exlovers - Moth Eaten Memories: Whilst renewing Carrie’s subscription to the Big Takeover magazine, editor Jack Rabid emailed me about Exlovers, who he had seen in Oxford on a recent holiday to the UK. He also sent me his review, which was glowing, this track shows great promise and I’ll have to find the album to see how it stacks up.

15) Life Size Maps - Weird Luck: These guys were the support band for La Sera and they had a good zip and energy to them, whilst obviously hugely influenced by My Bloody Valentine! They were handing out free EPs so it was rude not to take one. They sounded better live, and they played better songs that aren’t on the EP, but they’ve certainly got potential.

16) An Horse - Airport Death: Another support band! This time it was the Nada Surf concert at Webster Hall (they were utterly fabulous as always, and the addition of former GBV guitarist Doug Gillard has given them an extra dimension), a 2-piece from Australia, you could certainly hear why they were supporting a band like Nada Surf. Their style got a bit samey over the course of a set and the same is true for the album, but they work well for a compilation track or two.

17) Darker My Love - Dear Author: Yet another band I found as a result of the La Sera concert, Katie’s band includes members of Darker My Love, so I did some digging and found a couple of free MP3s, they sound up my street and I’ll have to find out more. Anyone know much about them?

18) MV & EE - Too Far to See: This was another tune from one of the urban outfitters music Monday, I liked the vibe and the guitar solo reminded me a bit of Maggot Brain (though not as good) so I thought I’d throw it on. I don’t really know anything about the band.

19) Amiina – Sicsak: A recommendation on BCB, Icelandic band, and when you hear this you won’t be surprised to know that they have recorded parts for Sigur Ros albums. It felt like a nice way to close the compilation.

So there you go, another deadline just hit in time, hopefully I’ll have a bit more time to spare for the next one. The next few months should be interesting, once our office move is done, the summer arriving (hopefully not causing me to completely melt) and a wealth of free concerts with some great bands, you just don’t get that kind of thing back home. Oh yeah, it’s my 7^th wedding anniversary on the 28^th and I’m also turning 30 on the 13^th of June…

Until next time

Peace and love

Q