Woooo, it’s Earth Day now, finally I can celebrate the earth without being judged. (In actuality, this is just a post to make sure that there won’t be two M3 Minis posted in a row without there being a post in between, but yeah, Evro’s Earth Day mix = teh hotness).
Ahh, the inaugural M3 Mini, and what a great way to start things off: by semi-encouraging the use of habit-forming illegal drugs! For those in the know (apparently 4/20 isn’t an international celebration, as 20/04 doesn’t exactly have the same ring), April 20th is a day of putting everything on hold (except my mandatory poetry class at 3:30, fuck) and just kicking back and relaxing. So if that’s your thing, light up, sit back, pop this special mini edition of M3 in your stereo and let it take you places. Some people like to get high,put on the chillest songs they can find, and sway back and forth with their eyes closed. But this isn’t your hippie parents mixtape, I go for something else. When my cannabinoid receptors are on overdrive, I prefer more interactive music; songs with layered textures and a lot going on to keep me completely enraptured, with particularly mind-blowing moments that incapacitate you and prevent any speech other thatn “…whoa” or “…that was ridiculous”.
Below is my 4/20 music mix, and even if elevated states of consciousness aren’t your thing, it’s still a great mix to pop in the CD player and cruise to on a spring or summer day. And remember, as with any M3 mix, all of the songs come with an automatic [highly recommended] seal of approval. Enjoy (preferably, more than you’ve ever enjoyed anything else).
Download: M3 Mini: 4/20 Edition [follow link]
1. “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” - Postal Service
A few of my friends and I are of the thought that this just might be the best high song ever. Whether it’s the swirling strings sample, the soaring vocals, or just the way everything comes together in a holy union of musical euphoria, this song is high perfection.
2. “Mushaboom” (Postal Service Remix) - Feist
I once made a high mix that was just this remix and “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” alternating on repeat for an hour, and - needless to say - it was awesome. Just wait until Ben Gibbard’s backing vocals stutter and get chopped up whil Jimmy Tamborello gets all glitch-pop on your ass and then try to tell me your mind isn’t flooded with pleasure.
3. “Eple” - Royksopp
I know I just dubbed “District” the best high song ever, but I’m gonna have to go ahead and give that title to Royksopp’s “Eple” as well (it’s 4/20, I don’t have to make sense). This euphoric wonderland is just what it sounds like to experience an elevated state of consciousness, and it’s as simple as that.
4. “Do The Whirlwind” - Architecture in Helsinki
This is exactly what I’m talking about when I say “songs with layered textures” that “have a lot going on”. There’s so much going on here (whirrs, buzzes, swirls, etc.) that you shouldn’t even bother trying to focus on one thing; jsut let the song overwhelm you and take you to that happy place that AiH songs never fail to access.
5. “Smile Around The Face” - Four Tet
This one’s got it all: swirls-a-plenty, a nice, pounding percussion section, and those soaring-ass synths. If you can find a song that better embodies the verb “to soar”, be sure to let me know.
6. “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” - Her Space Holiday
This is just a great song regardless of your state of consciousness. The central strings sample here is just too catchy for anyone to ignore, but the deal is sealed when those heavy, crushing guitars come in for the kill at the chorus.
7. “Rough Gem” - Islands
You’d be extremely hard-pressed to find a more fun and whimsical three-and-a-half minutes in music than this. Thus, it’s a high mix essential, as is the vast majority of The Unicorn’s/Island’s library.
8. “Goods (All In Your Head)” - Mates of State
Really, the only thing that matters here is the moment when the “bah-bah-bah-bahs” explode into a “wa-oh-oh!” (at the 0:22 mark to be exact) and the song bursts into a explosion of euphoria. However, that’s one of my favorite moments in any song, so it makes it on the mix on the strength of that alone.
9. “King Without A Crown” - Matisyahu
Honestly, what’s a stoner mix without a little reggae? Matisyahu, with his 100% kosher flow and synthesized reggae beats is the perfect call here, and “King Without A Crown” is easily one of the best songs of 2006 so far.
10. “Cherry” - Ratatat
The introverted and often overlooked younger brother of Ratatat’s party anthem “Seventeen Years”, the former excels where the latter is inappropriate. That is, when you’re getting your drink on at the fly honey warehouse, you better be rocking out to “Seventeen Years”, but the fist-pumping glory of that masterpiece just has no place in the musky haze of a habitual marijuana smoker’s den. “Cherry” is the perfect song to close out the mix, slowly building up to a glorious climax before fading out into oblivion, just like your brain cells.
BONUS!!!
Below are a couple songs that didn’t really fit into the mix, but are epic and perfect for elevated states nonetheless.
MP3: “9 To 5 & Eple” - 2 Many DJs
Perhaps 2 Many DJs’ finest accomplishment yet, this mash-up (best mash up ever?) is spliced from their Radio Soulwax Pt. 2 compilation, and is the most memorable moment on that excellent mix. The Dewaele brothers mix Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5″ with Royksopp’s immaculate “Eple”, and “Eple” lurks at the back of the mix until it burtsts into the spotlight at the same time Parton’’s verses hits their climax, resulting in a moment of sheer mind-melting bliss.
MP3: “Tracy” (Kid Loco Mix) - Mogwai
My favorite Mogwai song is actually this remix, and it is the epitome of the chill high song. It plods along, with nothing more than a simple guitar riff and a basic percussion section, repeating over and over again, accented only by the occasional twanging echo, and is absolutely perfect in its simplicity. Listening to this I can’t help but think of Pete and Pete on Nickelodeon in the mid-90s, just sitting on the front porch of their house watching the days go by, and I like to share this with whoever I’m listening to it with at the time, but usually they just nod and smile, obviously not seeing with the same bloodshot clarity as I am. This song really speaks to the diversity of Mogwai, as one second they’re rocking you to smithereens and the next they’re chilling with Pete and Pete on the front porch waiting for Mr. Swirly to make his daily rounds.
MP3: “What Else Is There?” (Trentemoller Remix) - Royksopp
The mighty Trentemoller will absolutely (trente)maul your senses here on this one. Seriously, this remix is so pounding and agressive it’s ridiculous, but it’s just incredible all the way throughout. By my count there are at least seven different sections in this remix, but the highlight is definitely in the second half when Karen Dreijers vocals are isolated, transposed over an acoustic guitar and chopped up, before the strobes, synths, and percussion coming roaring back in out of nowhere for the final kill.
So there you have it folks, the best high mix I could possibly muster. As Gary Lightbody might say “Light up, as if you had a choice”, and with a mix like this, trust me, you really don’t have a choice (NOTE: You do have a choice and you should make the right one, Good Weather For Airstrikes does not condone illegal drug use, they just dabble in it from time to time).
ALSO, in a special cross-promotional extravaganza event, I’m posting an equally mind-blowing music video mix, the first ever Videoteque Videomix, over on Videoteque, which is viewable in all its ipod-compatible glory here, and as I’m sure some of you know, the only thing better than listening to music high is watching music videos high (too many commas!). Be sure to check it out, and I wish everyone a happy holiday.
UPDATE: Another bonus mp3 has been added at the bottom of this post.
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So I’ve received plenty of emails from people requesting the new Snow Patrol album, mp3s from which I had to remove do to the displeasure of the IFFL (I think that’s the acronym), which is essentially the British RIAA. However, to the best of my knowledge (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong), live material - unless being recorded or filmed for a live album or DVD - is uncopyrighted and free for distribution. Many bands (Sigur Ros, The Arcade Fire and Thrice to name a few) actually encourage their fans to seek bootlegs of their live shows on the internet and often point bootleg-seekers in the direction of where they can find such live material (and no, I don’t listen to Thrice). That being said, I’m not exactly sure what the policy is as far as radio sessions are concerned, but I think it’s safe for me to post these nonetheless.
Though the spectacular “Set Fire To The Third Bar” isn’t present on either of these sessions, the three other best tracks from the album - “Hands Open”, lead single “You’re All I Have”, and “Chasing Cars” - are all here, including a special acoustic recording of “Chasing Cars” that can be found on the BBC Broadcasting House session. The recording is flawless, and was originally recorded in FLAC format before I converted it to mp3, and the live versions of these songs feature some nice synthesized flourishes not found on record. The interviews are enjoyable to listen to and informative, and Gary Lightbody and company really come off as entertaining and witty guys, so I’ve made each full session available for download via Rapidshare for those who want as much Snow Patrol as they can get their hands on. The interviews discuss everything from SP’s recent gigs with U2 to the recording process for the new album to the band’s original name (Polarbear), and I enjoyed them even though I’m not quite a die hard Snow Patrol, so there’s a good chance you will to. Download the individual songs below or grab the entire session via Rapidshare.
NOTE: These were originally formatted as FLAC torrents downloaded from Dime a Dozen, a torrent site devoted exclusively to high-quality live downloads. So, for those audiophile types who want the FLAC files as opposed to the mp3s, go here for the Maida Vale session and here for the BBC Broadcasting House session (registration is required, but it’s free and worth the time).
Download: http://rapidshare.de/files/18363109/Snow-Patrol-Maida-Vale-Session.zip.html [follow link]
Download: http://rapidshare.de/files/18363549/Snow-Patrol-BBC-Broadcasting-House.zip.html [follow link]
Snow Patrol: Live @ Maida Vale Studios (4.12.06):
1. Interview Pt. 1
2. Hands Open
3. Interview Pt. 2
4. You’re All I Have
5. Interview Pt. 3
6. Chasing Cars
7. Outro
Snow Patrol: Live @ BBC Broadcasting House (4.15.06):
1. Interview Pt. 1
2. Interview Pt. 2
3. Chasing Cars (Acoustic)
4. Interview Pt. 3
I’m a poor-ass college student, so if anyone has a problem with these please notify me before taking legal action.
ALSO, as a super-special bonus, I’ve got two excellent Snow Patrol session covers for you. The first is a live recording of lead singer Gary Lightbody’s cover of Bright Eye’s “You Will. You? Will. You? Will. You? Will.”, the original of which is one of my favorite songs of all time. The recording is taken from Snow Patrol’s appearance on the BBC two years ago, and while the recording is good (with the exception of some mildly scratchy parts), Lightbody’s rendition gets a bit sloppy at times, but it’s a great listen nonetheless. I also have for you another live session cover, this time of Gary Lightbody covering Damien Rice’s “Blower’s Daughter”. Like before, nothing spectacular, but still a great listen for Snow Patrol fans.
Bonus MP3s:
“You Will. You? Will…” - Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol)
“The Blower’s Daughter” - Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol)
The White Rose Movement are the closest thing I’ve heard yet to “the next Bloc Party”, and for that reason alone I obviously like them a lot. White Rose Movement’s brand of danceable, electronic synth-rock is highly reminiscent of Bloc Party at times, but WRM’s take the danceability further, dripping their arrangements in synths and production floursihes. The two bands also share my favorite producer, Paul Epworth (be sure to download his incredible Phones remixes here), who once again turns in a near-flawless production job on WRM’s debut album, Kick, which was released in the US today after dropping in the UK yesterday (buy it on iTunes here).
It’s actually quite surprising that WRM aren’t better known. Though their debut album wasn’t released until today, single “Love Is A Number” was released to much critical acclaim last year, even garnering the #42 spot on Pitchfork’s Top 50 Singles of 2005 list (as well as the #33 spot on my Top 65 Songs of ‘05 list). “Love Is A Number” opens innocently enough, drawing you in with a glitchy synthesized guitar riff before suddenly unloading a barrage of synth-laden percussion on the listener 12 seconds in. The driving rhythm section remains throughout, keeping the party rocking until the song reaches its pinnacle, the addictive (though somewhat unintelligible) chorus on which lead singer Finn Vine rocks the best dance-rock falsetto since Kele Okereke belted out those “ooh, ooh-oohs” on “Banquet” last year.
Follow up singles “Alsatian” and “Girls In The Back” (the latter being their first US release) also do a great job of keeping the party moving, and producer Paul Epworth offers up a great remix of “Alsatian” under his “Phones” pseudonym (as he is wont to do for bands he produces). All of these are available for download below, which you should be sure to hit up, as I can easily see White Rose Movement blowing up with epic proportions of hype on the strength of “Love Is A Number” alone.
MP3s:
“Love Is A Number” - White Rose Movement [highly recommended]
“Alsatian” - White Rose Movement
“Girls In The Back” - White Rose Movement
“Alsatian” (Phones’ Gone To The Dogs Remix) - White Rose Movement
For more of Phones’ excellent remixes, check out my post from two months ago here, and I’ll also be posting a compilation of all ten of Phones’ remixes, the closest thing I can find to his complete remixography, in the coming week or so.
John Vanderslice is a great guy. He always responds to fan emails, actually listens to the mixes and CDs given to him by fans on tour, and even let his fans name his backing band on (John Vanderslice & Photographs) on his last tour, making him one of the most accessible and interactive stars in indie rock. On top of all this, he does a great job of keeping his fans happy, releasing an excellent video and remix for “Exodus Damage”, a new single/EP for “Trance Manual”, and launching a full-fledged North American tour this spring, all hot on the heels of his last album, Pixel Revolt, which was released last fall.
NEW “EXODUS DAMAGE” REMIX
Remix artist Alias has composed a wonderful new remix for Vanderslice’s “Exodus Damage”, which strips away much of the rhythm section of the original in favor of atmospheric synths and Vanderslice’s hushed vocals. The remix really hits its stride at the 1:20 mark when the reverberating guitar strum breaks the muted tone of the songs opening bars and Vanderslice’s vocals are brought out of the dreamy haze and brought to the front of the mix. Fuzzy, swirling, and beautiful, Alias’s remix is one of the best of the year so far, and the kind folks at Barsuk are offering it as a free download, so be sure to grab it below.
MP3: “Exodus Damage” (Alias Remix) - John Vanderslice
“EXODUS DAMAGE” VIDEO
While not a new video, Brent Chesanek’s 2005 clip for “Exodus Damage” was one of the best and most compelling videos of last years, so much so that it garnered the #34 spot on my Top 65 Music Videos of 2005 list and warrants mention again here. Chesanek’s stirring clip has a great washed-out, retro feel to the cinematography, and all the still shots of America possess a subtle potency that for some reason really resonates with the viewer. The 9/11 theme of the song is reflected beautifully in the video, but I can’t figure out if the kid’s a terrorist and he’s plotting things to blow up or if he’s trying to solve a mystery or what exactly. I just really love the look of this clip, and I think it represents the song perfectly. Download it below in .mov format, or head over to Videoteque and download the video in iPod-compatible .m4v format here. Also, according to JV, Chesanek “just completed a mind-blowing video for ‘Trance Manual’”, which he’ll post “as soon as I can”, so everyone can go ahead and get excited for that as well.
Video: “Exodus Damage” - John Vanderslice [highly recommended]
NORTH AMERICAN SPRING TOUR
[click picture to enlarge image and see full tour dates]
Vanderslice has also recently launched a full-fledged North American tour, and fortunately for my fellow UVA cohorts and I, V-Slice and tour-mates Page France will be rolling through Charlottesville on May 1st. While I’m not quite as in love with Page France as the rest of the blogsophere, I’m definitely thoroughly excited to see them, and you can download three of my favorite songs, including the impeccable “Chariot”, by them below. Also, Vanderslice released a fully downloadable live set from his show at San Francisco’s The Independent last year, and my three favorite tracks from that are available for download below as well (or feel free to download the entire set as a .zip file here).
MP3s:
“Chariot” - Page, France [highly recommended]
“Spine” - Page France
“We Remain As Two” - Page France
How much does vocalist Michael Nau sound like Ben Gibbard on “We Remain As Two”? It’s ridiculous, really.
MP3s: (Live at The Independent, 11.05.05)
“Trance Manual” (Live) - John Vanderslice
“Exodus Damage” (Live) - John Vanderslice
“Pale Horse” (Live) - John Vanderslice
NEW RELEASES!
The past month has seen two new releases from Mr. Vanderslice, the iTunes-exclusive Trance Manual EP and Suddenly It All Went Dark, a live album featuring only Vanderslice, his acoustic guitar, and his voice, recorded to a 2-track in a chicken coop in California. In actuality, the Trance Manual EP is really only the album version of “Trance Manual”, accompanied by four 2-track recordings from Suddenly It All Went Dark, so feel free to grab those four tracks below as a Suddenly It All Went Dark sampler of sorts.
MP3s:
“Angela” (Live to 2-track) - John Vanderslice
“Dead Slate Pacific” (Live to 2-track) - John Vanderslice
“Farewell Transmission” (Live to 2-track) - John Vanderslice
“Trance Manual” (Live to 2-track) - John Vanderslice
Finally, being the stand-up guy that he is, Vanderslice has a huge archive of free mp3s culled from all of the releases in his lengthy discography available for download directly from his website. Thus, I’ve taken the liberty of selecting my favorites and linking to them for download below, so feel free to grab them with a guilt-free conscience.
MP3s: [free downloads from JohnVanderslice.com]
“Trance Manual” - John Vanderslice
“Exodus Damage” - John Vanderslice [highly recommended]
“Pale Horse” - John Vanderslice [highly recommended]
“They Won’t Let Me Run” - John Vanderslice
“Me and My 424″ - John Vanderslice
“Time Travel Is Lonely” - John Vanderslice
Too much John Vanderslice? Never.
One would be hard-pressed to find a more perfect song for the first days of springtime than the Electric Light Orchestra’s “Mr. Blue Sky”. Originally released in January of 1978, the song reached the #6 spot on the UK charts on the strength of it’s whimsical vocals, happy-go-lucky arrangement and addictive chorus. “Mr. Blue Sky” remains a springtime essential nearly thirty years after it’s original release, and it’s time to break it out again now that the fairer months are upon us again.
Another band that’s been a staple on all of my springtime mixes are The Decemberists, whose whimsical brand of indie-pop is perfectly evocative of the warmer seasons. Thus, it’s fitting that throughout their 2005 US tours they would occassionally perform a cover of the ELO classic in the encore of their performances, which sounded amazing when I caught them live at their DC show last October. After the show, I raved about how good “Mr. Blue Sky” sounded and posted a crappy live recording of the song that merely hints at the greatness of the cover. However, thanks to the wonder that is archive.org, I was able to find two more recordings of the song, both of which are much better than the live recording I originally posted. For a while I had no greater wish than to hear a studio recording of The Decemberist’s version of “Mr. Blue Sky”, but this near-flawless recording will have to do. You can download the mp3 of both the original version and The Decemberist’s cover below, or go here to download the entire performance, recorded at The Metro in Chicago on October 19th of last year, in flawless FLAC format.
MP3s:
“Mr. Blue Sky” - ELO [highly recommended]
“Mr. Blue Sky” - The Decemeberists [highly recommended]
Jimmy LaValle is one of the most talented and musically diversified individuals currently gracing this planet with his presence. A member of no less than five bands, all of which are virtually indistinguishable from one another, the classically trained pianist has no shortage of outlets for his unrivaled creativity. One would be hard-pressed to find two bands more different than The Locust and The Album Leaf, yet LaValle is a member of both. He is also a member of Tristeza, Black Heart Procession, and GoGoGo Airheart, though I am personally of the opinion that The Album Leaf is LaValle’s greatest accomplishment to date.
The Album Leaf is the moniker LaValle records under when creating music as a solo artist, and his solo side is very electronics-driven and unmeasurably chill (indeed, “Twentytwofourteen”, one of the tracks from his latest full-length, In A Safe Place, found its way on to All Things Go’s Sleep Mix, which I highly recommend you check out). The Album Leaf’s debut, An Orchestrated Rise To Fall, was released in 1999, though I feel LaValle did not truly hit his stride as a solo artist until the 2001 release of his sophomore LP, One Day I’ll Be On Time.
A San Diego native, LaValle found the inspiration for his latest full-length, In A Safe Place, in Mosfellsbaer, on the western coast of Iceland. On Sigur Ros’s first tour of the United States, the band and LaValle were introduced and became friends; several tours later LaValle began performing with Sigur Ros at their shows. After years of invitations, LaValle gave in and made the trek to Iceland, which he described as, “crazy rolling countryside with horses and ponds … very surreal.” LaValle believes that the music he makes is perfect for the setting Iceland provides, and I imagine that if I were ever lucky enough to go to Iceland (it’s one of my life goals) that I would wholeheartedly agree. In A Safe Place was recorded entirely in the converted swimming pool studio Sigur Ros used to record ( ) with the help of Sigur Ros, members of Sigur Ros opener mainstays Amiina, and ex-Mum cellist Gyda Valtysdottir, and stands as LaValle’s finest work to date. Sigur Ros lead singer Jonsi Birgisson lends his haunting tenor to “Over The Pond”, and “The Outer Banks” and “Eastern Glow” are, though drastically different from each other, possibly The Album Leaf’s two finest tracks. LaValle himself was even convinced to sing on “Eastern Glow”, and the resulting vocal track is quite touching. The song made an appearance on one of the Music From The OC mixes (I believe Volume 2, but don’t quote me), resulting in LaValle’s biggest break yet, and though his gorgeous and intricate songs are hardly mass-marketable, the pure beauty of them have an undeniable appeal (LaValle would get another break when “Twentytwofourteen” became a recurring musical theme in the final episodes of The OC’s second season).
Recorded before In A Safe Place but released afterwards is the Seal Beach EP, which serves as a perfect bridge from the more ambient sounds of One Day I’ll Be On Time to the more beat-driven and vaguely more pop-oriented songs that make up In A Safe Place. Standout track “Brennivin” is available for download below. The bonus edition of the Seal Beach EP also included five live recordings, two of which saw LaValle performing two of the standout tracks from One Day I’ll Be On Time, “Wet The Day” and “The MP”, in a concert setting; those two tracks are also downloadable at the bottom of the post.
Derek posted The Album Leaf’s only music video to date (though one for “Twentytwofourteen” is in the works), for “On Your Way”, over on Videoteque, so you should all head over there when you’re done grabbing all the tracks here. He’s made an mp3 and an iPod-compatible m4v available for download, which are definitely worth checking out.
Finally, The Album Leaf made a split 7″ for Better Looking Records in 2001 with none other than indie/emo poster boy Conor Oberst. Of course, the Bright Eyes/Album Leaf collaboration track, “Hungry For A Holiday”, is also available for download as well.
MP3s (from One Day I’ll Be On Time):
The Album Leaf, The Audio Pool
The Album Leaf, Vermillion
MP3s (from In A Safe Place):
The Album Leaf, The Outer Banks [highly recommended]
The Album Leaf, Over The Pond (ft. Jonsi from Sigur Ros)
The Album Leaf, Eastern Glow [highly recommended]
MP3s (from Seal Beach EP):
The Album Leaf, Brennivin
Live MP3s (originally recorded for One Day I’ll Be On Time):
The Album Leaf, Wet The Day (Live in Atlanta)
The Album Leaf, The MP (Live in Atlanta)
Bonus MP3:
The Album Leaf & Bright Eyes, Hungry For A Holiday
I Guess I’m Floating, possibly the best blog out there right now, first alerted me to the collaborative efforts between everybody’s favorite Swedish singer-songwriter, Jose Gonzalez, and British electro-soul duo Zero 7 nearly a month ago by providing a downloadable track, “Futures”, from Zero 7’s upcoming release, The Garden. Well, The Garden has leaked, and “Futures” is not the only track to which Jose has leant his soothing timbre. His masterpiece of acoustic simplicity, “Crosses”, is reprised on The Garden, with Gonzalez’s unmistakable voice rising above the new electronic backdrop. I guess technically this should be called the Zero 7 remix to “Crosses”, but as it appears on Zero 7’s album, I’ll go ahead and label it a full collaboration. The guitar work from Jose’s original is completely gone, replaced by a methodical drum beat and some light synths. Orchestral strings punctuate the silences in the vocals, and during parts of the chorus, Gonzalez is backed by a veritable choir of female voices. The song has been stretched to twice the length of the original, and admittedly it does drag on a bit at points. Regardless, it’s an interesting listen for fans of either Zero 7 or Jose Gonzalez, and definitely recommended, though in my opinion it doesn’t hold a candle to the original. Judge for yourself and download it below, then head over to I Guess I’m Floating and grab “Futures” as well.
Zero 7 & Jose Gonzalez, Futures (link to post)
Zero 7 & Jose Gonzalez, Crosses
Jose Gonzalez, Crosses [highly recommended] [is this even necessary?]
Jose Gonzalez, Crosses (Live from SXSW on KEXP)
Pre-Order The Garden (Release Date: May 15): HMV / Amazon (UK)
Well I’m sorry guys, I have to come clean. M3 Volume 4… well, it doesn’t actually exist. The last four or five days have seen more and more frantic requests demanding that M3 Volume 4 be posted. But the thing is, I don’t have it, it’s been ostracized from the M3 collection. How can this be, I see the cover right up there, you ask? Well, it’s complicated.
Just before leaving for the summer last year I made a last-ditch effort to throw together one final M3, the “finale edition” as it was then dubbed, but the circumstances surrounding it sucked. No carefully-deliberated flow (which I know no one cares about but me, but I value it greatly), no much-hyped release date, not even accordance to the typical ten song format. No, this guy had 18 sprawling songs, all of which failed to interact with each other and create any flow, vibe, or feel whatsoever. The closest it got to flow was a weak, half-baked idea that the first half of the album would contain organic, guitar-based songs, while the second half would be solely electronic, and the two halves would be united in the middle by one Bright Eyes song from the I’m Wide Awake album and one song from the Digital Ash album. But yeah, it didn’t really work. However, six of the songs from Volume 4 comprise part of M3 Volume 8 (due out sometime on or before May 1st), and two more are available on All Things Go’s Sleep Mixtape (”Hide and Seek” and “Twentytwofourteen”), and to make sure M3 V4 doesn’t go completely for naught, I’m posting some of the mix’s other highlights below. Rest in peace M3 Volume 4, and enjoy:
MP3s: [all highly recommended]
“10,000 Lakes” - Kid Dakota
“The Velocity of Saul…” - Okkervil River
“Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking” - Snow Patrol
“Y Control” (Faint Remix) - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Also, I’ll be starting a new spin-off from the M3 series, M3 Mini Mixes, which will drop from time to time and rather than the sprawling 15-song epochs of the main releases, they will instead be more concise, ten-song mixes that focus on and revolve around a ceain theme. The first M3 Mini will be dropping on April 20th (i’ll let you guess the theme from its release date), and I’ve got two more subsequent M3 Mini releases planned for the coming month or two. So yeah, another new thing at GWFAS to get excited about (hopefully), and remember to keep an eye out for M3 Volume 8, due out sometime in the next month.
I just spent an hour on this post only to have it vanish when I tried to save it as a draft. Awesome! Hopefully the charm of the original is recaptured here, but I make no guarantees.
“Awh yeah, I’m gonna go outside in my awesome new spiderman jammies and listen to All Things Go’s awesome new sleep mixtape next to that park bench.”
WARNING: Do not operate heavy machinery while under the influence of this mix.
MP3s: [all highly sleepable]
“Recycled Air” (Acoustic) - Ben Gibbard
“Hide and Seek” (Ciaran Hamilton’s Sleep Mix) - Imogen Heap
“Untitled #3 (Samskeyti)” - Sigur Ros [1000% sleepable!]
“Twentytwofourteen” - The Album Leaf
Zack Friendly is now a veritable force in the blogging mixtape scene, look out.
