And now for something completely different, a walking sequence I compiled for a friend, made in Melbourne when the days were short for long afternoons spent wandering new cities. I emphasise both walking and sequence – this is not intended as a 'mix' in the conventional sense. All tracks are played at +-0, and most are allowed to play from beginning to end. The idea was to make a compilation in the tradition of mixtapes, but that would play at about the maximum duration of a recording on an audio CD (my friend hasn't made the switch to digital). The medium is (partly) the message. Then, beyond that, the sequence should enfold as the new city (where it's designed to be listened to in) unfolds, with the hope that, on returning, a repeat listen might reveal soft imprints of the remembered landscape. But you can, of course, use it as you like.
The Shortest Day of the Year
Tracklist:
Robert Fripp – Red Two Scorer
Icehouse – Crazy (Midnight mix)
Giorgio Moroder & David Bowie – Cat People (Putting out Fire)
Soft Cell – Seedy Films
Talking Heads – Slippery People (Jellybean mix)
Thomas Dolby – Dissidents
David Bowie – Fashion (12” mix)
Tubeway Army – Praying to the Aliens
ESG – Erase You
Grace Jones – Feel Up
David Byrne – In the Future
The The – Sweet Bird of Truth
...enjoy!
Nice looking mixtape there Pete. Can I just note that 'Infected' by The The is one of my all time favourite albums. Still have my original cassette of it in the car. Matt Johnson is sheer genius at work. Sweet Bird of Truth is a cracker ending.
ReplyDeleteI've got a lot of love for Thomas Dolby, myself.
ReplyDeleteWell, actually, I've got a lot of love for all of the artists on this mix, but particularly Dolby (especially the albums "Golden Age of Wireless" and "The Flat Earth").
I miss homemade mixtapes. I remember my highschool friends and I exchanging them all the time.
ReplyDeleteWith CD-burning technology available to all the process is much easier ... yet, oddly, it's something I don't do anymore. I wonder why. Is it because when I was mucking about with tapes I was a teen/tween, and therefore had more free time and patience? Hmmm.
Anyways, big thanks to Pete for bringing back the spirit of the old-school mixtape!
I miss the unique sound at the start of store-bought tapes. Sometimes throw them on for purely nostalgic reasons. Also miss sitting by the ole tape player listening to radio shows with my hand over the record/pause button combo waiting for a good tune.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the words, Nik.
ReplyDeleteThere's a great piece on mixtapes here:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/tracks-of-the-trade/2006/10/05/1159641457613.html
and I wrote about the physical/digital at length here:
http://www.bbtp.net/thinking-out-loud-physical-vs-digital/
I went to fabric at the weekend and Larry Heard was on in Room 3. I was all excited to see him DJing so I went up to the booth to watch his hands and...he was using CDs.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I was being unreasonable, but I truly felt let down and kinda cheated. Just having those decks lying there dormant...and not even being able to watch him cue things up etc...
Also it didn't help that the first mix was pretty bad. So I went and watched Kate Simko doing a laptop liveset in Room 2 and it was a way more interactive experience, you could SEE her bringing stuff in and out with her controllers...and I felt like I was watching a performance. It was artful.
Larry's not known for being a great dj joe.
ReplyDeleteBut by all accounts he's a lovely chap.
You should check Room 3 this weekend. Should be proper!
ah well unrealistic expectations on my part i guess. i'll try and do my research next time :( i guess i should have been in room 1 with Jus-Ed instead.
ReplyDeletei'm away this weekend - and also i'm not sure i'd be able to hack the birthday crowd. fabric's really losing its appeal for me too after saturday night (i've just posted about it if you want to spend 10 minutes reading me moaning about things beyond my control)
more on topic though - a big thank you for this mix PC. I've heard of and like many of the artists but I've never heard any of the tracks, so I'm looking forward to it immensely.
Thanks for your thanks so far, people.
ReplyDeleteAs for Larry Heard... he's got a bad back. That's why he carries CDs now.
And I disagree with you about his DJing. Check
deephousepage for evidence to the contrary.
He's a DJ who is all about selection and feel, rather than technique.
awesome mix
ReplyDeleteinspired me to create a mix myself
cheers!