Mixtape September 2019

This is in my esteemed opinion, contender for playlist of the year. Enjoy!

1) Joy by Cousin Tony’s Brand New Firebird
Melbourne band to kick off proceedings this month.

2) Charlie by Mallrat
Great song and Mallrat & I both have dogs called Charlie.



3) You’re Either On Something by Temples
Psychedelic pop taken from the third album coming soon.  This song is so infectious it was in my dream this week and I woke up humming it.

4) I Can’t Grow Peaches On A Cherry Tree by Mystic Braves
A hippy strum-along song.

5) I Melt With You by Surfer Blood
A cover originally recorded by Modern English in 1982.

6) Something In The Water by Shannen James
Debut single by an Australian singer-songwriter.

7) Roots Girl by Eli Mac, Paula Fuga & Nattali Rize
Obligatory reggae track of the month.



8) This Is The Place by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
Ten years on from the Oasis split, Noel is churning out the hits with beats and vocals replacing the usual guitars.

9) Jet by Shonen Knife
Brilliant cover of the Wings classic by the only Japanese band I know.

10) Every Little Thing by The Black Keys
Thankfully the Black Keys haven't turned their backs on dirty guitar riffs or tunes



11) Exit Sign by Hilltop Hoods, Illy & Eva Vandal
Aussie hip hop legends collaborate on a track about getting out of the club.

12) Remember The Name by Ed Sheeran, Eminem & 50 Cent
I first heard this Ed Sheeran song and thought great beat then Eminem and 50 Cent started rapping.  This is the most surprising collaboration of the year linking Ipswich and Detroit.

13) Junglist Warrior by Lady Waks, Deekline & Freestyles
Massive jungle tune based on Ini Kamoze's nineties hit Here Comes The Hotstepper.



14) Get Over Myself by Bootleg Rascal
More bloody great Australian music.

15) Clouds of Saint Marie by Ride
Shimmering guitars and dreamy vocals make this an instant favourite.

16) Angel Eyes by The Czars
Now this is my favourite ABBA song given a stripped-back gender reassignment.

17) Record Collection by Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chief's lead single from their latest album.  Clever lyrics and as catchy as the common cold.

18) Salted Caramel Ice Cream (Moscoman Remix) by Metronomy
A remix of Metronomy's latest iconic tune.  Lyrics are again off the chart. 

19) 2 Much by The Allergies & Andy Cooper
Keep 'em coming - I can't get enough of these tracks.

20) Forgot Your Name by Mini Mansions
A song about dancing and romancing off your face and having minimal recall.

Mixtape August 2019

1st day of August and I've finished my blog on time.  I'm going to give myself the rest of the month off.

1) The Graveyard of the Outcast Dead by Frank Turner
An alternative Christmas song about a dead Southwark prostitute. Better than it sounds!

2)  Give Me Honey by Dope Lemon
Stoner rock from Angus Stone.  The Album Smooth Big Cat is my favourite so far this year.



3) Impossible Knots by Thom Yorke
Could this be Thom's funkiest bassline ever?

4)  Fly (King Britt Remix) by Low
The haunting vocals from the lo-fi rockers given a subtle remix tweaking.

5) In My Mind by Alice Ivy featuring Ecca Vandal
Cut N Paste Dream Pop

6) Martini (Happiness Is Wealth Disco Remix) by The Presets
Aussie dance track stretching out over nine minutes

7) Jacuzzi Rollercoaster by Roisin Murphy & Ali Love
A duet featuring Ali Love and Roisin Murphy formerly of Moloko fame.

8) Melody of Love (Adelphi Music Factory Remix) by Hot Chip
An awesome remix that sounds like an early nineties rave track.

9) Bizarre Love Triangle Live at MIF by New Order & Liam Gillick
New Order have released a live remix album of their greatest hits.  Bizarre Love Triangle remains one of my favourite songs of all time.  Always fun to hear new versions but the vocals are rather weak on this recording.

10) Linked by Bonobo 
Only discovered this ambient groove artist yesterday, 21 years into his career.  His last full album Migration makes a sublime late night listen.  Co-incidentally he was born two weeks after me and grew up in Hampshire.  We have never (knowingly) met. 


11) Dancing In Love by Alice Jemima
Lush new single - love her voice.

12) Talk It Out by Matt Corby & Tash Sultana
Two Aussies collaborating on a laid-back duet.

13) Once by Liam Gallagher
Sounding more like John Lennon than usual - not a fan of Liam's solo career but this cuts mustard.

14) Rollin With The Flow by Kurt Vile
A fantastic good time stoner country rock ballad originally recorded by Charlie Rich in 1977.

15) Walking Away From Love by Steve Mason
More quality daftness from the former Beta Band man.   



16) How Can A Head by The Flaming Lips featuring Mick Jones
It is now twenty years since the amazing 1999 album The Soft Bulletin and this sounds just as good.  The Flaming Lips more often than not get too weird to enjoy but their latest album King's Mouth: Music and Songs is a return to form.  This is Mick Jones from Foreigner (not The Clash).

17) Northern Holiday by Kaiser Chiefs 
The Kaiser Chiefs just released an excellent new album called Duck which recalls the bands glory days.

18) Restless (Riddim Punks Remix) by The Skints featuring Protoje
This has everything.  London's Skints - check, Jamaica's Protoje - check and drum n bass remix - check.  Happy listening!

19) One Club Town by Real Lies 
Love the heavily sampled nineties track - still trying to figure out what it is??? Answers on a postcard please.

20) Bullet With Butterfly Wings by Karen O.
A smashing Smashin' Pumpkins cover.

Mixtape July 2019

July was getting away from me and I hadn't created my monthly blog.  I'm getting very slack but if you excuse the tardiness then you should enjoy my latest playlist of indie/dance/soul/pop.

1) Timee by Stevan 
Dreamy pop from a teenager from Wollongong.  I'm tipping him as one to watch.

2) Salt & Pepper by Dope Lemon
Angus Stone should always be watched.  This time he has a narcotic hook that buries itself deep in your brain.  New Dope Lemon album is out now.

3) Make A Move by Winston Surfshirt
More laid back grooves from Australia.

4) Teach Me About Dying by Holy Holy 
Holy Holy will release their third album next year and this is an excellent taster.

5) Lucifer by Charles Bradley
Posthumous release from the soul man singing  joyfully about Lucifer and Obama.

6) Sad Boi by Seratones 
Fantastic new song from Seratones.  Instant classic.

7) She's A Runaway by The Coral
Liverpool's The Coral are still recording great music currently influenced by 70s country pop.

8) Sail On by Noel Gallagher
It's almost ten years since Oasis broke up and if I had to pick sides I'ld definitely (not maybe) be in Noels corner. 

9) Repetition by Ride
Speaking of former Oasis members, Andy Bell's reformed shoegaze band are going to release their sixth album next month.

10) Frankenstein by Editors
"Won't you dance like a monster with me".

11) Be Someone by CamelPhat & Jake Bugg
Jake Bugg's distinctive vocals appearing on a pounding dance track.

12) So Far by Thomaz Krause  
Big in Brazil and seems to have unlimited supply of funky rhythms.

13) Spell by Hot Chip
Hot Chip's latest album A Bath Full of Ecstasy is full of gems. Great video too!

14) Sister Buddha by Belle & Sebastian
Chiming guitars and another song about finding yourself on a late night bus trip.

15) The Brazilian Hipster (Skeewiff Remix) by Fort Knox Five
Check it out ya, the funk soul brothers!

16) I'm In Love by Mini Mansions
LA Band making cleverly crafted dumb pop rock songs just like Supergrass used to.

17) Good Samaritan by The Hives
The Hives have been quiet for years.  It didn't suit them so they make up for it in these three minutes.

18) Drink Too Much by G Flip
Australian bedroom producer who drinks too much.

19) Family Of Aliens by Teleman
Melodic indie pop from a bunch of nerds - very Hot Chip.

20) People Know How To Love One Another by Kaiser Chiefs 
Ending with a big feel good anthem.  "And in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make". 

Mixtape June 2019

Approaching the middle of the year my thoughts begin to turn to the annual and end of a decade lists.
However first I have to go through the motions of the June playlist which has inappropriate Summer vibes (for Australia), plenty of dance tracks and a smattering of covers.

1) To Feel Good by Swim Deep
Four years since their debut album Swim Deep return with uplifting and laid back gospel tinged electro-pop.

2) Go by The Black Keys
Summertime Blues Rock from America's Sweethearts.  The video shows the true story of their reformation after couples therapy.  New album coming in few weeks.



3) Summer Lover (Summer Remix) by Cub Sport & EMBRZ
Continuing the theme of Summer for you lucky bastards in the Northern Hemisphere.

4) More To Life by Albert Hammond Jr.
Fun Fact: Solo Stroke Albert's dad is also a famous musician and songwriter whose compositions include The Hollies "The Air That I Breathe", "Whitney Houston's "One Moment In Time", Aswad's "Don't Turn Around" and Starship's "Nothings's Gonna Stop Us Now".

5) Midnight Love by Sloan Peterson
Top indie guitar rock n roll from a great Sydney band.

6) Rattling Rose by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Noel keeps on churning out the hits.  I'm hoping to see him later this year as the support act for U2's 2019 Joshua Tree Tour.

7) So Sweet by Thomaz Krauze
Just discovered this guy today.  He appears to be a prolific European producer nonspecializing in funky house tunes like this one.

8) Solid Gold (Illyus & Barrientos Remix) by PNAU
We are now into the dancey section which seems to have dominated this month's playlist.  Trance pop from Australia's PNAU who are celebrating their twentieth anniversary of their 1999 debut album.

9) (Vi-Vi) Vicious Games by Paranoid London
London acid house act who are due to release their second album later this year.

10) Rock Non Stop by Cassius
Crossing the channel to France now for some tasty funky house.

11) Find Another Way (Djrum Remix) by Morcheeba
The distinctive vocals of Skye Edwards given a drum n bass tickling.

12) Lost It Mode by Friction & Linguistics
If you prefer your beats harder and dirty, Friction will sort you out with something to gurn to.

13) Homicide by Logic & Eminem
Logic & Eminem rapping very quickly and if you can listen fast enough it's very funny.

14) I'm Still Here by Modest Mouse
Back to guitars with a short catchy track from the Modest Mouse.

15) Alone by Richard Hawley
A quality song and a top voice. 

16) Melody Of Love by Hot Chip
Britain's Favourite Band

17) More Than I Do by Sleeper
A blast from the past - Sleeper with a bitter-comical song about divorce. 

18) Ordinary World by Joy Williams
Finishing off this month's playlist with a trio of covers.  Firstly a tear-jerking  piano ballad cover of Duran Duran's 1993 hit.

19) Beautiful Stranger by DMA's
Sydney's Oasis wannabes cover Madonna's hit from the Austin Power's movie.  This recording comes from DMA's MTV Unplugged session.

20) Can't Stop by Hilltop Hoods
Adelaide's hip hoppers with a faithful cover of the Chili Peppers recorded for Triple J's Like A Version.  Faithful until they insert Phil Collins into the mid-section!

Mixtape May 2019

This month there is a big retro indie-pop flavour to my mixtape.
I'm skirting the outer limits of indie credibility but I think I get away with it due to the dark undertones in many of these tracks.

1) Millennium Drive by BOO Seeka
Wake Up BOO! - Awesome new single from the NSW band.

2) Turn The Light by Karen O & Danger Mouse
Another cut from Danger Mouse's collaboration with the singer from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

3) Borderline by Tame Impala
Lush new single by Perth's biggest band.

4) Stay With Me by Hatchie
Chilled dance track which reminds me of a monster 90's tune - I'll leave you that as a puzzle to solve.

5) Everywhere by Roosevelt
Pretty faithful cover of an old Fleetwood Mac song. Couldn't escape this in 1988 and it used to annoy me but after three decades I can enjoy it. 

6) Easy Way Out by Leisure 
Came across this New Zealand band recently and they fall into the same groovy canyons as Parcels.

7) Hungry Child by Hot Chip
Hot Chip rarely disappoint and this new single starts slow and builds to a layed disco pop song.

8) Symbols of Joy and Eternity by Sundara Karma
This is just pure pop and they deserve to be massive.

9) Night Running by Cage The Elephant & Beck
Always a pleasure to hear Beck's drawl over a track.

10) Don't Get Me Started by Sloan Peterson
Another great single from the creative force of Sydney's Sloan Peterson. 

11) Bad Guy by Billie Eilish
She is one of the biggest pop sensations on the planet.  I didn't know.  I think I included her Bellyache single on this blog last year but I had no idea she was now world famous.  This should give encouragement to the other artists I champion!



12) Sins Are Forgiven by The Dandy Warhols
The hillbilly country twang of the Dandy Warhols at their best.

13) This Thing by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
All Hail the mighty King Gizz & the Liz Wiz - long may they rule the scuzzy universe.

14) Eagle Birds by The Black Keys
Big blues riffs and an infectious groove.  Top band.

15) Ur A Piece of Shit by Ali Barter
Sweary Aussie artist who has has the knack of crafting brilliant feminist rock n' roll.



16) Escape From Los Angeles by Holy Ghost!
80s electronic revivalists with a big slab of NYC disco.

17) Future Love by Ride
This wistful indie guitar pop is a sample of what to expect when Oxford's Ride release their second album since reforming. 

18) Black Star Dancing by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Noel doesn't take much time off - He's already back with new material.  Maybe the sibling rivalry is still pushing him to outshiiiinnne Liam? 

19) Passport by Circa Waves
Great piano driven ballad from talented Liverpool band. 

20) Nightshade by The Lumineers
Another piano based song with lyrics inspired by Game Of Thrones.  As Ramsey Bolton once said, "If you thought this would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention".

Mixtape April 2019

Running two weeks late this month - been very busy but finally got around to compiling my monthly playlist.  Highly influenced by 90s techno, New York cool and Australian psychedelic rock.

1) Firestarter (Alviin Risk Remix) by The Prodigy
A modern remix of the Prodigy classic that is as in your face as the original was when it was first released back in 1996.  R.I.P. Keith Flint

2) We've Got To Try by The Chemical Brothers
Taken from the new album No Geography out on the 12th April which is shaping up to be a storming record.

3) In Degrees by Foals 
Hailing from Oxford and releasing two albums this year - very dance-able and clearly influenced by Cut Copy.

4) Patience by Tame Impala 
The welcome return of Perth's best band.  There is competition so they had better come up with the goods when their new album comes out.

5) Ray Of Light by Pond
Another challenger for Perth's best band - here performing a cover version of a Madonna song.

6) Real Tight by Methyl Ethel
The other contender for Perth's best band.  I love them all so long may they make interesting trippy sounds.

7) Boogieman Sam by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Could be the best Australian band from outside the Perth area? A bit of a T.Rex vibe on this track. 

8) Lux Prima by Karen O & Danger Mouse
This is nine minutes of lush quality music from producer Danger Mouse with vocals from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' singer.  It is the opening track of an album that deserves a listen.

9) Gummy Bear by Mini Mansions
Mini Mansions appear to be treading the same ground as Tame Impala's Currents.  It is fertile ground so who could blame them.

10) Before The Water Gets Too High by Parquet Courts 
This must be The Beta Band??? 

11) Salt Eyes by Middle Kids 
Aussie slacker indie pop.

12) Don't Be So Hard On Yourself by Alex Lahey 
More Aussie indie pop but with a saxophone solo.

13) Off My Mind by Richard Hawley 
A real rocker from the old Northern Crooner but check the similarity with Pretty Vegas by INXS.

14) Hot Pink by Cousin Tony's Brand New Firebird
Another Melbourne band who produce off kilter pop songs.

15) Face The Facts by Foxygen 
NYC hipsters reminiscing on life in the 70's that they are clearly too young to remember.

16) Steal The Show by The Allergies ft Andy Cooper
Allergies and Andy Cooper are always welcome on this blog and this track is a blinder.

17) Silver Lining by Sons Of The East
Melancholy guitar strumming building to a huge singalong chorus which never arrives...

18) 626 Bedford Avenue by The Drums
The Drums have now been around for ten years and this is their best work since the early days.

19) The Sun Also Rises by Sleeper
This was a surprise - I had heard that Britpop also-runs Sleeper were reforming but never expected I would enjoy their new material.  I hear they are touring the nostalgia circuit along with Embrace, Shed Seven and a host of other 90s bands. 

20) Rapture (Matt Darey Remix) by Erasure
A mental 90s trance remix of Erasure's cover of Blondie's 1981 rap hit.  This isn't new but its new to me.

Mixtape March 2019

Another batch of  music carefully stockpiled and placed in your bunker to get you through the month of March.  

1) Danger - Always Looking for Stranger by Gregg Diamond
A new disco classic with a retro funky 70's vibe.

2) Tough Enough by Ex Hex
Taken from the forthcoming second album - their first release in five years.

3) Ruiner by Methyl Ethel 
Opening track from the Perth band's third album Triage which is heavily influenced by the new wave sounds of the early 80s.

4) Times Won't Change Me by Circa Waves
Liverpool band about to release their third album.

 5) Chaos From The Top Down by Stereophonics 
Obviously inspired by the mess of the British Government.

6) Fast Times by Albert Hammond Jr 
Where are The Strokes?  Come-on guys - reform.  This is alright but it just hints at what we are missing.

7) Enough To Believe (Jamie Jones Remix) by Bob Moses
Excellent catchy modern dance track with some great production and dare I say "sick" beats. 

8) Gangster Trippin (Dan Aux Remix) by Fatboy Slim
The original was a hit twenty years ago and this cut up remix comes via New Zealand DJ Dan Aux.

9) Super Cool by Beck featuring Robyn & The Lonely Island 
Taken from the new Lego Movie - has Beck in funky pop mood - a companion piece to Everything Is Awesome from the first film.  Lyrically it is about staying in the movie to read the credits.  Radio Friendly Unit Shifter.  Yes I would sell out (make me an offer).



10) Be Yourself by Hilltop Hoods ft Ecca Vandal & Nyassa 
Hilltop Hoods have just realised their first album in five years.  This track seems to be built upon a loop of the intro to Harlem Shuffle.

11) In The Capital by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever 

New music from RBCF - then again its all new music - that's the point.

12) What Can I Do If The Fire Goes Out? by Gang of Youths
 Still milking tracks from their 2017 album - but when it's this good I'll let it pass.

13) Staring At The Sun by Wooden Shijips 
Blissed out hippy shit akin to the Velvet Underground crossed with Spiritualized.

14) Something Tells Me by Meg Mac
Aussie singer with a new song that is destined to be huge.

15) Little Smart Houses by Sundara Karma
Taken from the second album by Reading's Sundara Karma.  Catchy indie pop.

16) Here by Sloan Peterson 
Another great release from Sydney's Sloan Peterson.

17) Heavy For You by The Heavy
Is it too heavy for you?  Actually it's not. In fact it could be much heavier.



18) Spooky Dub by The Nextmen Vs Gentleman's Dub Club featuring Hollie Cook
One of my favourite albums of 2018 gets the full dub version treatment. Tasty!

19) Right For Me by The Teskey Brothers 
Australian band from the Yarra Valley with their take on the Motown sound.

20) Ill Wind by Radiohead
This was released in January with no fanfare - I almost missed it.  Situation remedied.