This week, a monthly mix CD from when I still made monthly mix CDs. I wrote about the latter part of 2015 in a recent entry and, without giving too much away, I think the musical selections here will be quite different. I turned 22 in January 2015 and was in the middle of my post-Uni unemployment phase. The highlight of the month was a trip to Glasgow to see Die Antwoord and that's about all I remember from this point in history.
This group were my obsession at this time; I found their weirdness so intriguing. I don't choose to listen to them any more and there are a lot of their songs that I would skip past immediately but this is is one of their better songs. It's a traditional rap song for them - Yolandi sings the chorus and Ninja raps the verses, which I still know all the words to. What makes it unusual is their South African accents and language (the title roughly translates to 'fuck you all'). I still think this is quite good.
2. Heathers The Musical - Dead Girl Walking 💜
As I said previously when reviewing Big Fun, Heathers is one of my favourite movies of all time. I was excited when it was turned into a musical, of which this song is the highlight. The lyrics are so funny - this is Veronica Sawyer's big number, performed at the point where she has a fall-out with Heather Chandler and goes to visit the mysterious bad boy JD. It's interesting as it gives Veronica some agency as she enters into this dangerous and doomed relationship; arguably, the only time she's in control and my main problem with the song is how weak and submissive JD sounds which is out of character for him. Barrett Wilbert Weed puts in a hell of a performance as Veronica and helps this to become a perfect singing-in-the-shower showtune. Best lyrics: "Sorry, but I really had to wake you... see, I've decided I must ride you 'til I break you" and "you know the drill, I'm hot and pissed and on the pill"
As I said previously when reviewing Big Fun, Heathers is one of my favourite movies of all time. I was excited when it was turned into a musical, of which this song is the highlight. The lyrics are so funny - this is Veronica Sawyer's big number, performed at the point where she has a fall-out with Heather Chandler and goes to visit the mysterious bad boy JD. It's interesting as it gives Veronica some agency as she enters into this dangerous and doomed relationship; arguably, the only time she's in control and my main problem with the song is how weak and submissive JD sounds which is out of character for him. Barrett Wilbert Weed puts in a hell of a performance as Veronica and helps this to become a perfect singing-in-the-shower showtune. Best lyrics: "Sorry, but I really had to wake you... see, I've decided I must ride you 'til I break you" and "you know the drill, I'm hot and pissed and on the pill"
3. Kids In Glass Houses - Peace 🔵
The Welsh band split up a few months prior to me putting this together and this song comes from their final album. It's a great rock song with a big singalong chorus. They were talented songwriters and Aled Phillips was an outstanding singer. Peace includes one chorus that has gang vocals and handclaps which is really effective, and there's even a cheesy boyband-style key change at the end. It's very uplifting and I still get pleasure from hearing it.
4. Die Antwoord - Cookie Thumper! 🔵
The second track of theirs and this one is a Yolandi solo number. Her high voice and South African/English hybrid dialect is a novelty that worked well for them for about three albums and then got stale but this was probably my favourite song of theirs at this point. The electronic backing track sounds like an alarm going off in a top secret government lab from a movie, and paired with her risqué image and lyrics the whole thing sounds dangerous. The chorus and breakdown are super catchy even though I only understand about half of the lyrics. Objectively this song is tacky and bad taste but I think a little of that is good for you.
The second track of theirs and this one is a Yolandi solo number. Her high voice and South African/English hybrid dialect is a novelty that worked well for them for about three albums and then got stale but this was probably my favourite song of theirs at this point. The electronic backing track sounds like an alarm going off in a top secret government lab from a movie, and paired with her risqué image and lyrics the whole thing sounds dangerous. The chorus and breakdown are super catchy even though I only understand about half of the lyrics. Objectively this song is tacky and bad taste but I think a little of that is good for you.
5. The Prodigy - No Good (Start The Dance) 💜
I had a slight interest in 90s dance music at this point and No Good (Start The Dance) was possibly my favourite of the heavier dance songs. This is The Prodigy before they became a dance/rock crossover group so I didn't know this song at all before. It's really intense with its fast drums and industrial sound palette. The vocal is just the same 2 lines looped throughout and her voice, which is a sped up sample, matches the urgency of the music. The song sounds the way that strobe lights make me feel in a club; the two combined must be an experience. This is probably my favourite tune of theirs, I just love the persistence of it - it doesn't let up at all during its six minutes, to the point where it's almost tiring to listen to all the way through.
I had a slight interest in 90s dance music at this point and No Good (Start The Dance) was possibly my favourite of the heavier dance songs. This is The Prodigy before they became a dance/rock crossover group so I didn't know this song at all before. It's really intense with its fast drums and industrial sound palette. The vocal is just the same 2 lines looped throughout and her voice, which is a sped up sample, matches the urgency of the music. The song sounds the way that strobe lights make me feel in a club; the two combined must be an experience. This is probably my favourite tune of theirs, I just love the persistence of it - it doesn't let up at all during its six minutes, to the point where it's almost tiring to listen to all the way through.
6. Kids In Glass Houses - Drive 🔵
Drive is the other highlight of the final KIGH album. It has a darker atmosphere - this and Peace are like yin and yang. It's just as anthemic as Peace but it's sexier and I can't help but associate it with the film of the same name; my visual is all night-time and neon signs. It's driven by the rhythm which is unrelenting.
Drive is the other highlight of the final KIGH album. It has a darker atmosphere - this and Peace are like yin and yang. It's just as anthemic as Peace but it's sexier and I can't help but associate it with the film of the same name; my visual is all night-time and neon signs. It's driven by the rhythm which is unrelenting.
7. The Shangri-Las - Leader Of The Pack 🎀
A CLASSIC. The iconic Q&A intro, a vocal dripping with teenage dramatic despair, the motorcycle sound effects! It's so well constructed, a whole dramatic story told in a little pop song. The tale of the girl, forced to break up with her misunderstood rebel boyfriend, who is killed when he crashes his bike grieving their relationship, takes place over three short verses and a couple of spoken word intervals and the whole trio play their roles to perfection. From an era where pop songs were seen as disposable and ephemeral, and following the trend for 'tasteless' 'splatter platters', this is actually a work of art.
A CLASSIC. The iconic Q&A intro, a vocal dripping with teenage dramatic despair, the motorcycle sound effects! It's so well constructed, a whole dramatic story told in a little pop song. The tale of the girl, forced to break up with her misunderstood rebel boyfriend, who is killed when he crashes his bike grieving their relationship, takes place over three short verses and a couple of spoken word intervals and the whole trio play their roles to perfection. From an era where pop songs were seen as disposable and ephemeral, and following the trend for 'tasteless' 'splatter platters', this is actually a work of art.
8. 2 Unlimited - Let The Beat Control Your Body 🔵
I referred to The Prodigy as heavier dance music and this is the other kind - the cheesy, poppy Eurodance. They're not that different though; both have the trademark pounding beat and repetitive lyrics, although 2 Unlimited go for verses and choruses rather than the same line on loop. It's helped along, or let down by (depending on your perspective), the Euroness of the vocal. You can tell by the lyrics and his accent in particular that English is not 2 Unlimited's first language. It's a fun, catchy-as-hell dance tune but arguably would be better without his cliché rapped verses.
I referred to The Prodigy as heavier dance music and this is the other kind - the cheesy, poppy Eurodance. They're not that different though; both have the trademark pounding beat and repetitive lyrics, although 2 Unlimited go for verses and choruses rather than the same line on loop. It's helped along, or let down by (depending on your perspective), the Euroness of the vocal. You can tell by the lyrics and his accent in particular that English is not 2 Unlimited's first language. It's a fun, catchy-as-hell dance tune but arguably would be better without his cliché rapped verses.
9. Culture Beat - Anything 🟢
A very atmospheric intro that doesn't sound like a dancefloor filler, before becoming more cheesy rap-verse ESL Eurodance. The mp3 I downloaded for this mix is really quiet which totally ruins the mood. This is no Mr Vain but it's OK with a decent chorus and hook to dance to. My enjoyment is definitely hampered by the audio quality which isn't Culture Beat's fault but after the last song, it lacks punch.
A very atmospheric intro that doesn't sound like a dancefloor filler, before becoming more cheesy rap-verse ESL Eurodance. The mp3 I downloaded for this mix is really quiet which totally ruins the mood. This is no Mr Vain but it's OK with a decent chorus and hook to dance to. My enjoyment is definitely hampered by the audio quality which isn't Culture Beat's fault but after the last song, it lacks punch.
10. Descendents - Suburban Home 💜
It's punk time! I feel like a bit of a poser for only knowing this one song of theirs, knowing how influential they were, but I'm afraid this is the extent of my relationship with them. Suburban Home is a biting, sarcastic bit of satire about settling down to a middle class suburban life. It's very much alt kid 101 stuff, but it's done really well. The icing on the cake is the lobotomised voice with which he states "I want to be stereotyped... I want to be classified" at the start and end.
It's punk time! I feel like a bit of a poser for only knowing this one song of theirs, knowing how influential they were, but I'm afraid this is the extent of my relationship with them. Suburban Home is a biting, sarcastic bit of satire about settling down to a middle class suburban life. It's very much alt kid 101 stuff, but it's done really well. The icing on the cake is the lobotomised voice with which he states "I want to be stereotyped... I want to be classified" at the start and end.
This is the Spanish-language acapella cover of Roy Orbison's Crying that is performed in the theatre scene of Mulholland Drive. The big, empty room echo on the recording just adds to the haunting quality of the song. It's really beautiful and emotive - I don't speak Spanish so Del Rio's intonation is all I have to tell the story of the song and I feel like I understand it completely. I must rewatch Mulholland Drive soon.
12. Dawn Penn - You Don't Love Me 💜
Reggae isn't one of my preferred genres but every now and then I come across a song in that style that I adore, and this is one of them. The version I downloaded is the 1967 original and not the 1994 re-recording that became a chart hit in the UK (which isn't as good). The vocal sounds like it's being beamed in from another time and put on top of the music. I adore her languid delivery in contrast with the staccato guitar part. I don't know anything else about Dawn Penn or the context of this record aside from it being recorded twice but I think it sounds incredible.
Reggae isn't one of my preferred genres but every now and then I come across a song in that style that I adore, and this is one of them. The version I downloaded is the 1967 original and not the 1994 re-recording that became a chart hit in the UK (which isn't as good). The vocal sounds like it's being beamed in from another time and put on top of the music. I adore her languid delivery in contrast with the staccato guitar part. I don't know anything else about Dawn Penn or the context of this record aside from it being recorded twice but I think it sounds incredible.
13. Melanie Martinez - Toxic (Cestladore Remix) 🔵
I'm not a huge fan of Melanie Martinez's "little girl but she's on pills" aesthetic, or even really her cover of Toxic from The Voice, but I find this remix irresistible. It loops the chorus from her jazzy cover of Britney's song over and over with minimal chillwavey backing music. That makes it sounds very of its time but there's something about the way her voice is processed with the stuttering that bewitched me.
I'm not a huge fan of Melanie Martinez's "little girl but she's on pills" aesthetic, or even really her cover of Toxic from The Voice, but I find this remix irresistible. It loops the chorus from her jazzy cover of Britney's song over and over with minimal chillwavey backing music. That makes it sounds very of its time but there's something about the way her voice is processed with the stuttering that bewitched me.
14. Die Antwoord - Wat Pomp 🟡
I think this is early Die Antwoord and it's not a song of theirs that I would still choose to listen to. Yolandi and Ninja both have some decent bars on it, and there's also a third guy who I think is called Jack Sparrow? [Correction, it's Jack Parow, which is basically the same.] Anyway, he isn't bad either. The worst thing is Ninja's comedy Japanese accent but even without it, I don't feel like I need to hear this song again.
I think this is early Die Antwoord and it's not a song of theirs that I would still choose to listen to. Yolandi and Ninja both have some decent bars on it, and there's also a third guy who I think is called Jack Sparrow? [Correction, it's Jack Parow, which is basically the same.] Anyway, he isn't bad either. The worst thing is Ninja's comedy Japanese accent but even without it, I don't feel like I need to hear this song again.
15. Against Me! - True Trans Soul Rebel (Acoustic) 🔵
First off, I need to say that Laura Jane Grace is a legend and I have so much respect for her as a prominent trans person who puts out records like this. There's so much pain in this recording with its references to suicide and the misery associated with coming to terms with the difficulties of making your trans identity public. It's a really beautiful song that sounds like it was cathartic to release. I knew this acoustic version before I found out there was a full band recording, which is also great, but there's something about the rawness of this performance.
First off, I need to say that Laura Jane Grace is a legend and I have so much respect for her as a prominent trans person who puts out records like this. There's so much pain in this recording with its references to suicide and the misery associated with coming to terms with the difficulties of making your trans identity public. It's a really beautiful song that sounds like it was cathartic to release. I knew this acoustic version before I found out there was a full band recording, which is also great, but there's something about the rawness of this performance.
16. Mickey & Sylvia - Love Is Strange 🔵
I hadn't seen Dirty Dancing when I discovered this song so my associations with it have very little to do with Baby and whatever his name is. I like the way that Mickey & Sylvia sound together and the way they drag out some of the words in the verses. The guitar part is just as important as the vocals here and contributes to it being a great little song. Something about the recording sounds really small, like the couple and their guitar player are crammed into the corner of a tiny room to perform. Of course, the Q&A section is the best bit.
I hadn't seen Dirty Dancing when I discovered this song so my associations with it have very little to do with Baby and whatever his name is. I like the way that Mickey & Sylvia sound together and the way they drag out some of the words in the verses. The guitar part is just as important as the vocals here and contributes to it being a great little song. Something about the recording sounds really small, like the couple and their guitar player are crammed into the corner of a tiny room to perform. Of course, the Q&A section is the best bit.
17. Jonathan Richman - I'm Straight 🔵
Jonathan Richman tries to convince us that he's straight (as in, clean, not heterosexual) but he sounds either really sick or totally fucked up in this almost-spoken performance. It plays like the ill-advised neurotic voicemail left late at night on an ex's answering machine, a stream of consciousness ramble of someone who's been up getting high for too many days in a row. The repetition of "I'm straight" and "I'm not stoned" only add to the denial. There's some good bass guitar and trademark gang vocal work from the Modern Lovers too.
20. Mr President - Coco Jamboo 🔵
Something totally different from the last song - we're back to the Eurodance. I don't have this elsewhere in my collection but it's ultra familiar to me, like it unlocks something from my childhood brain. It has massive primary school disco/late 90s birthday party energy. I don't know what the song is about at all, which usually means that the lyrics are not innocent but the adult references are veiled enough to make it acceptable for kids. Alternatively, and this is the answer my internet searching is drawing me to, it's another case where the writers didn't speak great English so just threw something together. It's really catchy, total guilty pleasure music but I would definitely get down to this if it was played at an office party.
Jonathan Richman tries to convince us that he's straight (as in, clean, not heterosexual) but he sounds either really sick or totally fucked up in this almost-spoken performance. It plays like the ill-advised neurotic voicemail left late at night on an ex's answering machine, a stream of consciousness ramble of someone who's been up getting high for too many days in a row. The repetition of "I'm straight" and "I'm not stoned" only add to the denial. There's some good bass guitar and trademark gang vocal work from the Modern Lovers too.
18. Linda Scott - I've Told Every Little Star 🎀
Here's the other stand-out musical number from Mulholland Drive, which I guess I must have watched in January 2015. I was obsessed with this song for a while - it's sugary sweet and romantic and I can't help but smile when it comes on. It's simple, just a cute song about having a crush, but I adore it.
19. Nicole Dollanganger - Creek Blues 🎀
On its surface, this could be another cute love song, given Nicole Dollanganger's high, fragile voice, but anyone who knows her music will know better. This song was my introduction to her and I didn't like it at first but found myself needing to hear it again. She puts a couple of simple chords together with the vocal line about the psychotic boyfriend figure who is present in so many of her lyrics. I love the juxtaposition she plays with - that broken doll voice who sounds so sweet until you realise she's singing about how her boyfriend's hobbies are playing with guns and going into the woods to kill things for fun. She's carved out a creepy-cute niche for herself which I find fascinating.
Something totally different from the last song - we're back to the Eurodance. I don't have this elsewhere in my collection but it's ultra familiar to me, like it unlocks something from my childhood brain. It has massive primary school disco/late 90s birthday party energy. I don't know what the song is about at all, which usually means that the lyrics are not innocent but the adult references are veiled enough to make it acceptable for kids. Alternatively, and this is the answer my internet searching is drawing me to, it's another case where the writers didn't speak great English so just threw something together. It's really catchy, total guilty pleasure music but I would definitely get down to this if it was played at an office party.
21. The Cure - Love Will Tear Us Apart 🟢
One set of spooky post-punk forefathers covering another. The Cure are legendary and this is one of the greatest songs ever written but this cover falls flat. It sounds like they're not committed to it at all, probably recorded for a radio thing where they were asked to perform a cover as it sounds like the sort of portable equivalent of drums that bands whip out for this sort of thing. Nothing that The Cure do is bad but I can't help feeling like this could have been something special if they had put in the effort.
Looking back this is a solid month, probably because I had nothing to do except sit at my laptop watching films and discovering new tunes. The inclusions of Nicole Dollanganger and Melanie Martinez in particular point to this being part of my 8tracks period (a music streaming site that's sadly missed since it relies on copyright-free YouTube videos now instead of user uploads), which is where I found a lot of songs and artists I came to love. There are definitely worse monthly mixes to come.
