Good Weather For Airstrikes

So here it is, the one that got everything started: M3 Volume 1, from way back when life was still simple, when each M3 only carried ten tracks of audio ecstasy and I could still fit secondary graphics on the back cover. For a while, I viewed M3 Volume 1 as my Mona Lisa - that is, a work of mixtape art that I’d never again be able to meet or surpass, though I think I may have at least come close with M3 Volume 5. But back to the matter at hand - M3 Volume 1 has it all. You’ve got classics in “Staring At The Sun” and “New Slang”, the latter a more-obscure live performance featuring heavily-bearded folk god Sam Beam (known to the common folk as Iron & Wine) on backup vocals. However, you’ve also got your rare gems like Ty Cobb’s “When You Smile” (the original version of what became “Smile” after Ty Cobb changed their name to Mad Action), and Iron & Wine’s immaculate “Swans and The Swimming”. The latter is from Beam’s 9-20-02 recordings, a collection of songs he recorded on a 4-track recorder (in September of 2002, hence the title of the recordings) and ultimately used to get signed to Sub Pop. Another incredible song that can be considered somewhat of a rarity is “Couches In Alleys” by Styrofoam, featuring vocals by Ben Gibbard. Gibbard shines on this track, unleashing some of his most impressive lyrics to date. The lyrics are an allusion to Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, hence the “Hey Jack, it’s me” lyric. In interviews Ben has said that On The Road is his favorite book, and “Couches In Alleys” serves as a fine tribute to it. In the song he relates to the listener his attempts to leave his problems behind, just as people leave their old couches in alleys, and just as the couches become “rain-soaked and rotten” so too do his problems, as no matter what he always has to come back to them and face his demons; they won’t just go away. But that’s enough summary for one song, there’s plenty more to love on M3V1.

Granted, the passage of time has stolen some of the freshness from M3 Volume 1. “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead”, “Goodnight Goodnight”, and “Hounds of Love” were all very hot/lesser-known tracks at the time of M3 Volume 1’s “release” (February 2005), but have all since become well-known indie staples. Regardless though, M3 Volume 1 is a lot of fun and definitely has the most stylistic variety of all the M3s (yet still manages to flow seamlessly), and be sure to download it so you can hear for yourself how it all began. Available in it’s entirety via Rapidshare or individually below.

Download: M3 Volume 1 [follow link]
M3 Volume 1:
01. “Staring At The Sun” (EP Version) - TV On The Radio
02. “New Slang” (Live ft. Iron & Wine) - The Shins
03. “When You Smile” - Ty Cobb
04. “Pale Horse” - John Vanderslice
05. “Couches In Alleys” - Styrofoam ft. Ben Gibbard
06. “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” - Stars
07. “Goodnight Goodnight” - Hot Hot Heat
08. “Hounds of Love” - The Futureheads
09. “Counting Down The Hours” - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
10. “Swans and the Swimming” - Iron & Wine

This entry was posted on Monday, April 3rd, 2006 at 9:38 pm and is filed under M3, Compilation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.