Guest Mix: Psych Oh!

Check out this solid mix of psychedelic rock from guest DJ Guruvondooom:

I'm decidedly against wrestling with the existential dilemmas of what constitutes psych in all it's various manifestations publicly so let's call this a collage in fuzz and reverb arranged in two parts; sex and drugs. I focused on the years 1965-1968 with a few exceptions. The La De Das track was recorded in '66 as part of a concept album based on Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince ... they couldn't get anyone to put it out until '69. It's presented without the intended narration for your listening pleasure. Also from '69 there's a track from Skip Spence's essential Oar for the psych folk enthusiast, a track from Pisces' great Numero Group re-issue and the bruising grinder Meshkalina from Peru. The drugs section of the mix climaxes and closes around the theme of psych casualties; Malcolm Mooney, Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett and I'll include Robert Wyatt's legs. I won't count "Spider" Sabich in this group but the fact that Claudine Longet shot and killed a man did make her an appropriate palate cleanser besides Jealous Guy being one of the great Lennon tunes. There's a good back story (and catalog) to the majority of the acts included that with a little searching will reward the curious listener.

Enjoy!
Psych Oh! Mix.


P.S. I realized there's nothing here from 1967. Maybe '67 deserves a mix of it's own but it wasn't a conscious decision.

P.P.S Yes, Kanye sampled that track.

P.P.P.S. It's no coincidence that the Beach Boys Smile Sessions and both of The Olivia Tremor Control's albums were re-issued this year.

Eye Candy

tribute to drive from tom haugomat & bruno mangyoku on Vimeo.

This is all kinds of awesome. It's a super sweet animated tribute to the movie, "Drive." Beautiful animation.

Rats live on no evil star - Tree in the Green from lallali on Vimeo.

Really like the imagery on this video...I am a comic nerd after all. Not feeling the song as much though.


The animation in this propaganda film is pretty awesome. It seems like a really strange message though. We will win the war because we have enough spaghetti to knit the earth a sweater, and our citizens are so fat their asses could black out Berlin? Who even figures out these figures? Please calculate how many bowls of oatmeal it would take to build a gigantic shoe that would stretch from here to Bermuda.



I don't really know why this exists. It doesn't sound far off from what they play on the radio though. Stanley is a big baller and auto tunes the shit out of this song.


Mac Lethal has apparently been blowing up the internet with his freestyle over the, Chris Brown song, "Look At Me Now." I first saw Mac Lethal when he was competing in Scribble Jam battles in the early 2000's. He took the title in 2002 and was signed to Rhymesayers in 2004. He has been on his grind for a long ass time so it's nice to see him getting some recognition. The last song of his making one of my mixes was his feature on the Cunninlynguists song, "Broken Van," which I'll also post below...love that sample.



Really feeling this track by Alexander Fairchild. Look for it on a Indie mix in the near future.

Hip Hop Mix 11

"Audrey, I swear every time I come over here it's all Raekwon, all day...I knew there was a reason I liked you.

Audrey and I have been testing out the new hip hop mix.  I try and tell her there is more to hip hop than just crack rap, but if they aren't talking about moving o's she just rolls her eyes and does that dismissive wanking motion.  Reaaaal classy Audrey, maybe you could do with some more culture!!!

Well despite Audrey's protestation there is a mixture of both crack rap and conscience rap on the mix.  I know some of it is too preachy and kumbaya for some people. *whispers Audrey*  But how can we appreciate the sweet without the sour?  How can we appreciate spandex without lunges.  Grab the download here or hit the jump for a preview.  Lots of videos and pictures so enter at your own risk.

Christmas Mix

I used to hate Christmas music, but the older I get, the more I like it (ergo the sappier I get, I guess). I did one last year that was all over the place in terms of style, era, etc., so this year I'm taking a more conservative approach. Although there are a few songs you probably have never heard (e.g. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, "Ain't No Chimneys in the Projects"), the bulk of them are either total classics (e.g. Bing Crosby's "White Christmas") or more obscure versions of traditional tunes (e.g. Mayer Hawthorne's "Christmas Time is Here").

My primary goal was to make it playable for the whole family, but not totally predictable/cheesy. The last song, "A Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues, is perhaps the only exception insofar as it's a bit R-rated (look out for the f-bomb that rhymes with 'maggot') and bleak, but it's that special brand of tragicomedy that the Irish do so well (in fact, this song is the #1 song played on the radio in Ireland at Christmas time, f-bomb included), and I find its bleak realism strangely uplifting.

Enjoy!

Christmas Mix 2011

Holiday Booty

Isn't holly poisonous?  I know it's spiky.  Figgy pudding sounds horrible

That title should up the page views huh? It's holiday time, I can tell because my co-worker is playing Christmas music non-stop, yeaahhh!!! What the fuck is figgy pudding and why would you come to my doorstep and demand some?  Just because you sing your demands doesn't make them any less demanding.  Let me try, and see if you like it.  "Now bring me your youngest daughter and a bottle of beeeer."  *Runs at the sound of sirens*  This music must stop.  I'm warning you lady subjecting me to this nonsense is like poking a bear in a cage, I am liable to...ask you to please refrain from such activity post haste. Maybe more like poking a very civilized well mannered bear in a cage, but a bear no less!! *adjusts monocle*  Either way, y'all gon make me lose my mind. How many of you muttered "up in here, up in here" to yourself? How many of you are now growling and speeding through the Arizona desert with suspended licenses?

The main reason for this post was because of the amazing online store that Boingboing featured the other day. Das Programm only features products designed by Dieter Rams, who is pretty much a god when it comes to design. His record player is my profile pic on this blog and I have pined for his stuff for years.  His work is displayed in the New York Museum of Modern Art and is also currently on exhibit at the SFMOMA.  So he is kind of a big deal.  I have no idea how these guys are able to stock an online store with his stuff, since they are literally museum pieces.  But I can tell you that I go and look at the SK5 almost every day and hope that someone else buys it so that I can stop obsessing and thinking that I may be able to obtain it.  Gaaah, can't stop drooling.

Dieter Rams, Braun SK5 (Snow White's Coffin) $1022.32

Braun RT 20 $1179.60

Braun G 11 $940.00

Braun Atelier 3 $940.00-$1570

Braun AB 22 Black and White $125

Braun ABW 30 $235-$393

Perhaps some more reasonable options for your loved ones after the jump...although if you really loved them you would get them the items above. Just saying.  *Clears space for record player*

Foxtail Brigade

Picture by Riki Feldman 

I saw Laura Weinbach & Anton Patzner playing a couple months back. They were on 4th street in Berkeley which is a cesspool of rich home furnishing stores and yuppies, so I fit right in. Laura was enchanting. She is one of those street performers that makes you stop and watch. Such a pretty voice, with Anton's accompaniment on violin it's really great stuff to pause and observe. They are both in a band called, The Foxtail brigade and can be found playing all over the bay area. Check out their bandcamp here or their website here. They have a show coming up on December 2nd at the Regency Lodge. I believe they are opening for Jane Birkin. More info can be found here. Nice, more in-depth article on them by Rasputin's located here.  Check them out in action below.

A song off of the album, "Reverie."

Eye Candy

Action Bronson and Statik Selectah. That beat is smoove. "You get slapped upside the mouth by this Zangief look a like." Ha!


Damn, Police Academy dude represent. This video is crazy. How is Michael Winslow not more popular over here? I don't think I could even come close to beginning to make an electric guitar noise.

Jay-Z & Adele - Won't Go (Wishing) [Urban Noize Remix] by UrbanNoize
Here is a pretty nice mashup of Adele and Jay-z by Urban Noize. It's a mix of “He Won’t Go” from Adele and “Wishing on a star" by Jay. Well done.

Here is another mashup, actually I think it may be an official remix. Either way it's from two things I would have never expected to see together. The Cults and Freddie (Gangsta) Gibbs get down on the, "Bad Things remix." I enjoy both of these things separately it's strange to see them together, but it works, Check it out below.
Hypetrak Premiere: Cults featuring Freddie Gibbs - Bad Things (Remix) by Hypetrak


Sophie Madeleine "Oil & Gold" - Live at the Loft from Indaba Music on Vimeo.
Sophie Madeleine performing, "Oil & Gold." Her voice always soothes me.


I have no idea where this was shot but the settings are beautiful. The last Zelda game I played was on snes, I remember you could throw chickens. So I am not up on the current state of the franchise, I do remember this music though. Well done prancing elf girl, I think you just earned your nerd badge.


Untitled from Sophia Mcinerney on Vimeo.
Great video from the Sandwitches. Not sure if we have featured them before or if they are somewhere lost in the queue. Great badn though, if they haven't shown up yet they will.


Creepy animated instrumental video from Timber Timbre. They are featured on Indie Mix 11. They are the last track, "Creep On Creepin On." That's like the motto for my life man!!!