Live Till You Die

2nd mix this week and it's an older one that I pulled out of the archives (read : my car).

Tons of great music here, some stuff that has been on a Weekend tape before and some that hasn't.


Live Till You Die
1. Stars - "Ageless Beauty"
2. Bran Van 3000 - "Rainshine"
3. Bloc Party - "Helicopter"
4. The Notwist - "Pick Up The Phone"
5. Me First and The Gimme Gimmes - "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?"
6. Rilo Kiley - "Wires and Waves"
7. Mike Doughty - "The Only Answer"
8. The Mountain Goats - "Dilaudid"
9. Metric - "The Twist"
10. Bear vs. Shark - "Entrace Of The Elected"
11. Head Automatica - "Beating Heart Baby"
12. The Strokes - "You Talk Way Too Much"
13. Kings of Leon - "King of The Rodeo"
14. Jimmy Eat World - "Call It In The Air"
15. Moby - "Raining Again"
16. Morphine - "So Many Ways"
17. Nick Cave (feat. PJ Harvey) - "Henry Lee"
18. Hot Hot Heat - "Dirty Mouth"
19. Violent Femmes - "Prove My Love"
20. Superdrag - "Drag Me Closer To You"
21. Cursive - "Bloody Murder"
22. The Get-Up Kids - "No Love"
23. Queens Of The Stone Age - "In The Fade"

So yeah.

DOWNLOAD HERE.

Stars are Canadian, which in indie-rock terms means they sing pretty, well-orchestrated, epic songs about life and its many facets. Their album Set Yourself On Fire and the follow-up, In Our Bedroom After The War, are beautiful, heartbreaking albums.

Hip-hop/funk collective Bran Van 3000 had a medium sized hit with their album Glee, but their second record, Discosis didn't fare so well. It's a shame, because they craft these strange little gems (like the pop song with Jamaican scat "Rainshine") that are scattered throughout their records.

Bloc Party came out swinging with their debut Silent Alarms. Part of the new-new-wave coming out of the UK this past couple of years, they manage to sold old-school and new at the same time. The hypnotic guitar line of "Helicopter" alone is worth the cost of admission.

Neon Golden, the album from The Notwist, is full of glitchy pop anthems like "Pick Up The Phone" - proving Radiohead don't have the patent on this type of technical, paranoid music.

Some songs sound way better done at a double-fast pace with gritty punk vocals. Thank the Gods we have bands like Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. In this case, it's Mariah Carey getting the MFATGG treatment with the song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" off the Gimmies album Take A Break.

Young Jenny Lewis didn't quite know what she started when the first Rilo Kiley album, Takeoffs and Landings, came out. "Waves and Wires" is a fine introduction to the RK style, all alt-country twiddling and lyrical barbs with hints of rock straining at the corners.

I have to confess a deep love for Mike Doughty. His first post-Soul Coughing album, Skittish, remains in heavy rotation around my house. Maybe it's the haphazard production, the jerky guitar or the trademark M Doughty lyrics - all of which are present in "The Only Answer".

Singer-songwriter John Darnelle, who goes under the name The Mountain Goats, shows up here doing his best "Eleanor Rigby" impression on "Dilaudad" from the album The Sunset Tree. That record is the brutal exhumation of all his feelings about growing up with an abusive stepfather and it remains one of Darnelle's finest moments.

Emily Haines, lead singer of Metric, is also Canadian. But don't let that scare you. Her songs tend towards the funky, punky edge of pop. This song, "The Twist" comes from the first Metric album Grow Up And Blow Away, a melancholy collection of dark pop songs.

Another band who were vying for the new Fugazi crown was Bear vs. Shark. But they tempered that righteous post-punk anger with deft songwriting, indie-flavored instrumentation and a flexible singer. The last album before their breakup in 2005 was Terrorhawk, which includes the bass-driven "Entrance of The Elected".

Glassjaw were "the next Deftones." But then they broke up. Daryl Palumbo, lead singer, took his demos to the legendary Dan The Automator. Shortly thereafter, they emerged with the tracks that would eventually become the Head Automatica album Decadence. "Beating Heart Baby" is a fine example of the punk-tinged pop songs that came out of that pairing.

The Strokes ruled the indie world for about 2 years after the release of Room On Fire. Enjoy one of the finest tracks from Room, "You Talk Way Too Much" with its Television-via-Rick-Ocasek vibe.

I've talked extensively here about how awesome Kings of Leon are. You will just have to either take my word for it, or pick up a copy of Aha Shake Heartbreak, which contains "King of the Rodeo"

One of the earliest tapes I can remember making featured this propulsive Jimmy Eat World song, from the now classic Static Prevails album. I'm revisting "Call It In The Air" and it remains the ultimate emo prototype : math-rock guitars, strained vocals (with some overlapping sections and gang vocals) and deep lyrics.

The phrase "Moby ROCKS" gets a giggle of out some people. These are the same folks, mind you, who passed on M's 90s rock/metal album Animal Rights. When Hotel came out, I was enamoured with the stomping pop of "Raining Again". With some further listens, it still stands out among an album full of soon-to-be-classics.

I haven't seen AKACOD yet, but the surviving members of Morphine got together for a new take on Mark Sandman's "low rock" groove. Included on this tape is "So Many Ways" a perfect example of the sound and one of the groovier tracks on their final album The Night.

Who wants a downbeat ballad about Henry Lee Lucas, notorious American serial killer*? I do! From the brooding album Murder Ballads, here is "Henry Lee" by Aussie Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, featuring Brit PJ Harvey on the chorus.

Canadian rock band Hot Hot Heat put out one of the more exciting releases of 2005 with their 4th album Elevator. Their Elvis Costello-meets-XTC routine is polished thoroughly on tracks like "Dirty Mouth." (on a side note : what is it with Canadian bands on this tape?)

Travel back in time with me : early 90s, Slash records, someone listening to the acoustic punk of the Violent Femmes' self-titled debut says "Oh hell yeah!" "Prove My Love" was no doubt playing at that exact moment.

The last and most excellent of the Superdrag albums, Last Call for Vitriol, stands out as a gritty rock-n-roll spectacle, buttressed by John Davis' sandpaper vocals and gutterpunk guitars. The standout track "Drag Me Closer To You" shuffles along on its own boozy energy. Delicious.

As the first song on the second half of the madhouse opera that was The Ugly Organ, "Bloody Murder", by Omaha, NE's own Cursive, is a moving grueling stomp of a song - greatly enhanced no doubt by the crushing digital beats, violin stabs and cello accents.

Another mixtape classic, "No Love" by The Get-Up Kids is also proto-emo : whining teenage vocals, amateurish guitar playing and dynamic song arrangements. The album 4 Minute Mile is pretty much all like this.

Are songs about coming down from drugs supposed to sound this chill? Queens of the Stone Age know a thing or two about psychotropics (their first song on the album R is simply a list of their favorite drugs). "Into The Fade" is the stunningly mellow coda to an album full of punishing rock workouts. Until the chorus hits and the guitars go into overdrive. Stick around after the song fades out for a little treat.

I paid $10mil to talk to Xenu and all I got was this stupid CD

Sorry for the delay. This week, you'll be getting 2 mixes, just to make up for my "extended vacation"

The first, "I paid $10 mil to talk to Xenu..." takes a look at new fascinations and some new songs by old favorites.

Let's go!


I paid $10mil to talk to Xenu and all I got was this stupid CD



1. Tripl3fastaction - Revved Up
2. Saves The Day - Can't Stay The Same
3. Cursive - Hymns For The Heathen
4. Arctic Monkeys - The View From The Afternoon
5. Bonde do Roll - Tieta
6. The Most Serene Republic - Battle Hymn of the Republic
7. Hamell on Trial - Don't Kill
8. Tegan and Sara - Knife Going In
9. Mark Ronson - Stop Me
10. Happy Mondays - Kinky Afro
11. The Hives - Try It Again
12. Salt - Obsession
13. Cobra Starship - My Moves Are White (White Hot)
14. State and Madison - Circumstance
15. Say Anything - We Killed It
16. Piebald - Get Old or Die Trying
17. Sleater-Kinney - Modern Girl
18. The Mars Volta - Aberinkula
19. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Over and Over Again (Lost and Found)
20. Fischerspooner - We Need A War
21. Kenna - Sun Red Sky Blue
22. Electric Six - Down at McDonnelzz
23. Pavement - Date With Ikea
24. PJ Harvey - The Devil


DOWNLOAD HERE

The title came from a blog someone posted about Tom Cruise's Scientology video (I think it was RStevens, brains behind dieselsweeties...)

Some tracks on this mix come from the 90s and my old-school mixtapes - the first one is a prime example. Tripl3fastaction's album Broadcaster was a tapedeck staple in my high school tapes, the song "Revved Up" in particular with its rockin' dual-vocal chorus.

My friend Ken gave me a copy of Saves The Day's Through Being Cool back in our undergrad days and we've been listening to their emo-tastic pop-punk ever since. They keep getting stranger and stranger : on their latest album Under The Boards, they still bring the drama but they augment it with clearer hooks, tastier songs built around skilled players and far superior songwriting. 2nd best track on the album? "Can't Stay The Same"

The album Happy Hollow gets a fair amount of rotation at my house, with its Wizard of Oz allegories and vicious Fugazi-style polemics. Cursive used to sound like the second coming of Fugazi, but now they sound like their own thing, and we're all the better for it. Adding horns and stripping away the scream-o makes for tasty tracks like "Hymns For The Heathen"

I tend to avoid the hype machine, so when it spewed its guts over Brits The Arctic Monkeys, I said, "whateva." Then friend from the UK sent me a mix with them on it. I changed my mind immediately the moment I heard the hook to "The View From The Afternoon", which is the first song on Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not. Cheeky bastards.

Brazilian bizarr-o music to move your booty to. Not exactly pop, not exactly electro, Bonde o Role have topped many critics' "Best of 2007" lists. Add me to that number. With Lasers is straight-up awesome. Want proof? Check out "Tieta"

The Most Serene Republic often live up to their name, but sometimes they bring the cling-clang noise. "Battle Hymn Of The Republic" comes from their newest record Population.

Ani DiFranco's labelmate Hamell on Trial makes concise little punk epics on his acoustic guitar. Yes, it's about as awesome as it sounds. The album Tough Love is full of songs like "Don't Kill" - a direct communique with Yahweh himself, asking "what part of 'thou shalt not kill don't ya understand?'"

Tegan and Sara released a new album, The Con, and are coming to St. Louis this spring. To celebrate, I added "Knife Going In" to this mix. If you don't know how awesome these two ladies are, you will soon.

Another critical darling that I approached with caution, Mark Ronson's album Version changed my concept of what a cover album could be (but, frankly, so did Cat Power's Covers Album and the recent Jukebox). Ronson's version of The Smiths "Stop Me (If You Think You've Heard This One Before", here called simply "Stop Me" replaces the sad-sack Morrissey act with a more Motown feel. Genius.

My friend and bandmate Ken keeps telling me about the Manchester scene in the 90s and that I would LOVE the Happy Mondays. For once, he was right. "Kinky Afro" is from their second album Pills N Thrills N Bellyaches and is more awesome than anything from the 90s has the right to be.

ALERT : The Hives are (one of) the BEST BAND(s) on the planet! The Black and White Album shows Howlin' Pete and company doing what they do best - laying down garage rock - as well as expanding outwards and trying new things, like the schoolgirl chanting of the chorus of "Try It Again"

Another 90s mixtape staple, Salt were always getting my friends confused. "Is this Veruca Salt?" "No, it's Salt"... and repeat. But their album Auscultate got fairly little radio play and they kinda fizzled out. Sad really, because songs like "Obsession" were truly rockin'.

Some people didn't care for Cobra Starship's second album Viva La Cobra! But if you've got a sense of humor, the desire to rock and the willingness to put up with some goofiness, you'll love it and songs like "My Moves Are White (White Hot That Is)".

My band The Orbz played with State and Madison and they were some really friendly awesome Chicagoans. Their record, Consider This A Confession, is really only an EP, but it's still great.


Say Anything just put out Max Bemis' senior thesis on Emo 499 : In Defense Of The Genre. It's backed up with singularly great songwriting and killer hooks. Study up, haters, songs like "We Killed It" are far and away better than most emo out there.

Piebald are just a bunch of goofy dudes writing goofy songs. While this may remind too many people of Presidents of the United States of America, it really works on albums like Accidental Gentlemen and songs like "Get Old or Die Trying." Plus, I really loved POTUSA...

Sleater-Kinney's swan song, the beautiful and angelic The Woods was the best way to go out as a band. "Modern Girl" is a genius track on an album full of genius tracks.


Most people don't think The Mars Volta are really mix tape material : their songs are too interconnected and 'out-there' to fit in. Usually I'd agree, but "Aberinkula" off the new album The Bedlam in Goliath is just too good not to include.

My friend Joe talked me into finally listening to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and I was really impressed. The self-titled debut is packed with songs like "Over and Over Again (Lost and Found)" full of glockenspiel and warbly vocals.

Electroclash survivors Fischerspooner managed to escape intact from a rapildy imploding genre. Then they got Susan Sontag to write "We Need A War" for their second album Odyssey. Yes, the deceased author wrote a pop tune about war...

Kenna was supposed to be the "next big thing"... then his label delayed his first album, which may have cost him dearly. That's all behind him as he tries to be a hit again with the record Make Sure They See My Face, bringing with him bombastic tracks like "Sun Red Sky Blue". He's got a style that ranges between Bjork and modern rock, so give the guy a listen.

I thought joke bands were supposed to die off at some point. I guess Dick Valentine's Electric Six aren't a joke... Their 4th album in 4 years, I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Being The Master, is 1.) a really long title and 2.) pretty universally awesome.

Hooray for 90s indie rock! Pavement, being standard-bearers of the genre, are a current obsession - their album Brighten The Corners in particular. "Date with Ikea" is surprisingly current despite its age.

Lastly, I leave you with a spooky gem. PJ Harvey's new album White Chalk sounds like it was recorded 100 years ago in a haunted schoolhouse. All piano and spooky vibes, songs like "The Devil" bring palpable chills.