Mixtape July 2016

It's July - have a soundtrack

Open playlist in Spotify 

1) Colours by The Avalanches.  After sixteen years in the wierderness, Australian DJ collective The Avalanches emerge with new music.  Colours is lush, backwards chanting return to their classic sound and much preferable to their annoying Frank Sinatra comeback single.

2) Wow by Beck. It's a fantastic stab at day-glow cowboy pop and together with last year's Dreams single lead me to speculate that he is about to release his album of the decade in the near future.

3) Shakedown Street by Unknown Mortal Orchestra.  It's an irresistible feel-good cover of The Grateful Dead's original.

4) Cinnamon by Cullen Omori.  I loved the indie band The Smith Westerns who produced some great singles and a classic album Dye It Blonde in 2011.  Their follow up was disappointing and they broke up in 2014.  Happily the former vocalist has gone solo with a great album called New Misery.

5) Dave's Song by Whitney.  The guitarist from The Smith Westerns teamed up with a former singer from Unknown Mortal Orchestra and formed Whitney who just released their debut album Light Upon The Lake.  So two excellent albums from the ashes of a great band.  Happy days!

6) Parachute by Kaiser Chiefs.  The Kaiser Chiefs have traded their guitars for synths and have a forthcoming album in the same vein.

7) Bulls by The Cat Empire.  Aussie Legends.
"The Bull's inside my head and the flag I wave is red".

8) I Never Get Old by Nathaniel Rateliff And The Night Sweats.  It's a modern soul classic!

9) Beautiful Thing by The Stone Roses.  This Is (More Like) The One.  Backwards loops, reverb, drums, guitar licks, blasphemy "There was no Crucifixion, just lies to steal your mind...", seven minutes long, room to breathe and a looser funkier jam.  This resets the expectations for the third album which is, after all, What The World Is Waiting For.

10) Theme From Likely Stories by Jarvis Cocker.  Why has Jarvis never been chosen to write the James Bond theme tune?  I can just hear him whispering "Casino chips, and gravy stains, it's not all fast cars and beautiful women, it's dirtier than that".

11) Hype by Dizzy Rascal and Calvin Harris.  Unhinged dance floor lunacy and great rhymes.

12) Dune Wind by Palace Winter.  Now this is more like it - in fact I'm playing noodling air guitar between typing words in this sentence.

13) Open Wound by Bob Evans.  Bob Evans a.k.a. Kevin Mitchell of Perth band Jebediah singing what feels like an album closer from a Crowded House album.

14) Since You Been Gone by The Heavy.  They sound very American but actually hail from Bath, England.  This is their first single from their new album Hurt and The Merciless.

15) Spinning Away by John Cale.  I thought this was a cover of  Sugar Ray's classic Spinning Away which graced The Beach Soundtrack.  John Cale is of course the Welsh musician and founding member of the Velvet Underground.  It appears that actually John Cale's version was the original.

16) Freedom by The Shimmer Band.  A new British band tearing up the festival circuits.  This is one to watch.    

17) Surgery Of Love by The Delta Riggs.  Ah the psychedelic pop return of Australia's Delta Riggs.  Life is better already.

18) Drag by Cat's Eyes. A Canadian singer Rachel Zeffira and Faris Badwan of The Horrors have teamed up to become Cat's Eyes and produced the wonderfully lush 60's influenced string laden album called Treasure House.

19) Feasting On The Flowers by Red Hot Chili Peppers.  I'm enjoying the 11th studio album by the RHCPs.  It's as rock n roll as a comfy pair of Ugg Boots but just as pleasing.

20) True Love Waits by Radiohead.  It certainly does and so do fans of Radiohead who have been waiting two decades for this song since it was first performed.  It was previously released as a live recording in 2001.




Update - actually Jarvis did do a cover of All Time High the theme from 1983's Bond film Octopussy.

  

Mixtape June 2016

This is a roundup...

Midway through the year and a host of new releases from old favourites have arrived.
Radiohead return with a new album and The Stone Roses release their first new material in 21 years.
90's staples Dodgy, Super Furry Animals, Richard Ashcroft and the Chili Peppers all have new tunes out.

So tonight we're gonna party like it's Nineteen Ninety Five!

Open playlist in Spotify

 1) You Give Drugs A Bad Name by Dodgy.  Struttin' Led Zeppelinesque riffs introduce the return of the band that no-one was waiting for.  Lyrics are based around the Wizard of Oz and there is a whiff of suspicion that they have timed the released of this to cash in on the return of the next band.

2) All For One by The Stone Roses.  A short track based around a repetitive Squire riff.  Nothing too remarkable except the fact that they are releasing new music.  Begst part is 2:30 -2:50 where they rock out for twenty seconds.  Looking forward to the eight minute jams where the magic of this band really elevates them to their deserved legendary status.  Sadly, this track couldn't match the expectations the fans had placed upon it.

3) Burn The Witch by Radiohead.  This is an absolute classic that can hold its own with the best of Radiohead's songs.  If you haven't seen the Trumpton/Wickerman video yet then pull your head out of your arse immediately.  

4) Dark Necessities by Red Hot Chili Peppers.  A laid back funky baseline propel this track along.  It's classic RHCP and I'm very pleased to see they are still writing and performing such high quality tracks.

5) Ready Or Not by Pete Wiggs & Sarah Cracknell.  This is from St Etienne's Pete Wiggs' solo album.  With Sarah on vocals it may as well be St Etienne.  Lush!

6) Hold On by Richard Ashcroft.  The Verve front man releases his fifth solo album called These People.  

7) Bing Bong by Super Furry Animals.  I was surprised to hear from them again after so long but the way things are going I wouldn't be surprised if The Smiths reform before Christmas.

8) Wax On Wax Off by Citizen Kay.  Not every track this month is a comeback single from a 90's band.  From this point on things get more varied.  Citizen Kay provides this month's obligatory Aussie Skip Hop track.

9) Nihilist Party Anthem by Ball Park Music. Latest single from this Brisbane band

10) Inertia by 20syl.  I know nothing about this beyond a quick google search and now suspect a French Jazz/Hip Hop artist is behind it.

11) Destination Heartbreak by Kim Salmon.  Hailing from Perth Western Australia Kim was a founder of the first Punk band in Perth called The Cheap Nasties in 1976.  He later formed The Scientists both bands are now on my list to investigate.  This is whatever happened to Kim Salmon.

12) Ocean Of Night (Henri PFR Remix) by Editors.  A dance remix.

13) Evil Death Roll by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.  Australia's greatest psych rockers release their 83rd album of the year so far.  These guys are so prolific they put The Fall to shame.

14) Signs by The Magnetic North.  This British trio includes Simon Tong, another former member of the Verve and The Good The Bad And The Queen.

15) Moon by Beth Orton.  Beth Orton's latest album is less folk and more beat orientated.

16) Blast Off by The Allergies featuring Andy Cooper.  Old School Dope Hip Hop.

17) Ha Ha Ha Ha (Yeah) by White Denin.  Funk Soul Rock N Roll from Austin Texas.

18) Oblivious by The Strokes.  Taken from the new EP this is the first new music from The Strokes in three years.

19) How Long by The Shitz. This is really by Soulwax (a.k.a. 2manyDJs) who have released an  the Belgica Soundtrack which is comprised of 16 fictional bands with different genres all alter-egos of Soulwax.

20) A Life Worth Living by Quantic, Flowering Inferno, U-Roy and Alice Russell.  Reggae bliss.

...this is a low flying panic attack

Mixtape May 2016

Old Indie Kid's Mixtape May 2016

Some very exciting tunes this month and I thought it was going to be a quiet one!

1) Let's Go Crazy by Radio Riddler featuring Suggs taken from the reggae tribute album you never knew you needed "Purple Reggae".  R.I.P. Prince

2) Another Dub In The Sun by Jagwa Ma.  The B Side to their new single Another Day In The Sun.  As good as finding a lost track from Screamadelica.       

3) Poem by She Drew The Gun.  Social commentary from this top new band from Liverpool. 

4) Spirits by The Strumbellas.  A Canadian band with an infectious hit.

5) Wild Roses by Bill Ryder-Jones.  Back to Liverpool for a solo effort from the former lead guitarist of The Coral.   

6) In Miracle Land by The Vines. A bit too Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds? 

7) Go Up by Cassius.  Return of the French electronica duo who were big in the late '90s. 

8) Ghetto People by Chronixx.  I can't get enough Chronixx at the moment. 

9) Space Oddity by The Flaming Lips.  A deep space Bowie cover.

10) Teenage Crime by Rod Ladgrove.  Another cover this time with acoustic guitar.

11) Dracula Teeth by The Last Shadow Puppets.  Time to get orchestral on your ass!

12) The Community Of Hope by PJ Harvey.  From the Hope Six Demolition Project album.

13) Angela by The Lumineers.  Latest single from the Colorado trio.

14) Sunday Morning by Billy Bragg & Courtney Barnett.  A Velvet Underground cover.

15) I Love EU by Gruff Rhys.  The Super Furry Animals say no to Brexit.

16) Plucky by Morly.  She is from Minnesota and she makes great records.

17) Where Are You Now? by Royal Blood.  The Brighton Rockers latest release from the soundtrack of the HBO Show Vinyl.

18) Wish You Were Here by The Milk Carton Kids.  Beautifully sad.  Thanks for the tip off Sam.

19) Billie Jean by The Civil Wars.  Hey I was busy this month so you get a load of covers!

20) The Tourist by Sarah Jarosz.  Radiohead cover and that's me done for another month.  Peace X

Mixtape April 2016

Old Indie Kid's Mixtape April 2016

Welcome to April's monthly roundup of new songs from old bands, old songs from new bands and everything else that made my radar lately.

20 tracks to ease you into April in the Spotify playlist and a small blurb for each.

1) Gamma Knife by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.
New single from Melbourne's prolific Psych Rockers.

2) High Hopes by La Sera.
Taken from the new album "Music For Listening To Music To"produced by Ryan Adams.

3) For Good by REMI featuring Sampa the Great.  Fresh Aussie Skip Hop.
Sampa the Great features twice in this playlist also popping up on Urthboy's track.

4) Another Day by Steve Mason.
Taken from the excellent new album "Meet The Humans". This album is highly recommended - winner of the inaugural Old Indie Kid's Album of The Month.  Some of his catchiest tracks since his early work with the Beta Band in the late Nineties.

5)  Aviation by The Last Shadow Puppets.
Alex Turner and Miles Kane drop another track from their long awaited second album.

6) 1955 by Hilltop Hoods featuring Montaigne.
Kick back and dare I say "chillax"? with Adelaide's finest.

7) Today by The Billy Rubin Trio featuring Lady S.
A prime cut taken from the vaults of the 1930's grunge scene.

8)  California Kids by Weezer.
Joyous Indie Surf Pop taken from Weezer's long awaited White Album.

9) Caught By My Shadow by Albert Hammond Jr.
The Strokes' guitarist rocks out! (Or "disappears up his own arse" as my wife put it).

10) Human Ceremony by Sunflower Bean.
Reminds me of a trippier 80s R.E.M. Great album just released by this Brooklyn trio.

11) Second Heartbeat by Urthboy featuring Samba the Great.
The man behind the Aussie Hip Hop Elephant Traks label and The Herd requires no introduction...damn he just got one.

12) Jigsaw Falling Into Place by Off The Beat.
To celebrate Radiohead's tiny world tour, here's an A Capella cover version.

13) Bitch by James.
James released their 14th studio album of their 30 year career.  Nice to know they are still out there.

14) Sometimes You Win by Soul Elixr.
Another uplifting slab of skip hop to nod your heads to.

15) Menton by Palace Winter.
In the same ilk as The War On Drugs are Denmark's Palace Winter.

16) Nylon String by Underworld.
Underworld have released a new album called "Barbara, Barbara, We Face A Shining Future" and are going strong twenty years after Born Slippy.

17) Private Wars by Primal Scream.
An acoustic track lifted from the new Scream album "Chaosmosis".  Private Wars is untypical of the album which frankly left me cold for the most part.

18) White Winter Hymnal by Birdy.
Birdy is a twenty year old singer from Lymington in Hampshire's New Forest.  Here she covers a classic song originally by Fleet Foxes.

19) Big Jet Plane - Live by Tuka featuring Sarah Corry.
Tuka is a member of Thundamentals having a solo career with a cover of Angus & Julia Stone's hit.

20) Can You Kick It (J. Cole Remix) by A Tribe Called Quest.
In remembrance of  MC Phife Dwag a self proclaimed Funky Diabetic. 1971 - 2016 R.I.P.

Mixtape March 2016

March!* 

*sorry for lame Dad joke

A great selection this month with lots to whet your appetite for new albums due for release soon.

1) The Wheel by PJ Harvey
A haunting song and her first from this years' high anticipated PJ Harvey album.
Hopefully it will even surpass 2011's Let England Shake.

2) Pleasure Drive by The Jezabels
Australian band with a storming catchy song taken from new album Synthia.

3) I Walk The Line by Hasley
This is a great cover of the Johnny Cash classic prison song by New Jersey singer Hasley.  Sends chills down the spine and makes you re-evaluate the familiar lyrics.

4) You Are Killing Me by The Dandy Warhols
This is a return to form from so hopefully we will be hearing more from them in 2016.

5) What Part Of Me by Low
The Minnesota Mormons have been making great laid back pop for over two decades and this cut was taken from last year's Ones and Sixes album.

6) Find Yourself(Richard Norris Remix) by Jacco Gardener
Dutch artist Jacco Gardner released the great Find Yourself single in 2015 and this trippy remix feels like it has tumbled down the rabbit hole.

7) Where The Light Gets In by Primal Scream
An upbeat dance track with catchy chorus, a vocal duet with Sky Ferreira and typical Bobby Gillespie lyrics - what's not to like?

8) 1 in 100,000 by L-Fresh The Lion
Australian Rapper takes things up another notch and away from the commercial career he was previously pursuing.  He sounds angry.

9) Gimme The Love by Jake Bugg
Nottingham's Bob Dylan is back and releasing tracks off his forthcoming third album.

10) Turn Up by Dub Pistols
I've been loving their 2015 Return of the Pistoleros album all week.  I will soon be exploring the groovy back catalog.

11) Estuvo Bien (Suedehead) by Mexrrissey
Morrissey has a huge following in Mexico and they have embraced him with a tribute band playing his hits with full horn fanfare and Spanish vocals.  Three singles released to date.  Viva Mozza!

12) Ui Yia Uia by No Zu
Melbourne based band hard to describe - best I could think of is a funky Bentley Rhythm Ace.

13) God Walked Down by The Allergies
Taken from their excellent Kicking Up Dust EP this band make some damn fine music and are worth a follow!

14) Room To Breathe by Andy Cooper
A solo effort from a member from my favorite US hip hop act Ugly Duckling.  His album of the same name Room To Breathe has just dropped.

15) How's Your Life by Tricky
Taken from the new album Skilled Mechanics sees The Tricky Kid do what he does best - whispering sour nothings over laid back grooves.

16)  In The Moment by DMA's
The DMA's from Sydney have finally released Hills End their debut album of retro indie pop.

17) Nighttime by Turtle Giant
Another great album released in February was Many Mansions I by Turtle Giant.

18) You Cannot Call For Love Like A Dog by Holy Holy
Australian band who skirt just the right side of The War On Drugs.

19) 3 Miles High by Travis
First thing I've enjoyed by Travis in thirteen years.  In fact I haven't heard from them in over a decade but I assume they've been releasing the same old stuff to smaller audiences in the intervening years.  Nice little bass line has elevated this to my radar.  Fran has not aged well - his beard makes him look more farmer than hipster.

20) Black Rabbit by Turin Brakes
Along the same lines as Travis are The Turin Brakes who once wrote a song called Fishing For A Dream over ten years ago.  I didn't expect anything more from them until I stumbled upon their new album Lost Property and found it a quiet masterpiece.  Black Rabbit is the album's epic closer.

Hope you enjoy these sounds as much as I have - see you next month!

Mixtape Feb '16

Alright Music Lovers!

Hardest of all months to spell - Welcome to Febuary!

This is a new mix of indie shmindee dance and rock n roll.
Some great new tracks from the end of last year and the beginning of this one.
It is also a leap year so you can enjoy it for an extra day.

1) Too Soon by DMA's.  Hopeful of a debut album this year from these Sydney Rockers.

2) You Ruined My Chippy Thursday (Should Have Gone to Codrophenia) by The Eccentrontic Research Council.  Weirdest thing from Yorkshire since Pulp.

3) Hold It by The Allergies.  I know very little about this group apart from their funkiness.

4) Greasy Mind by Slug.  Slug evolved from Sunderland's Field Music to make this seedy funk.

5) Float On by Ben Lee.  Cover of the classic 2004 indie hit by Modest Mouse.

6) Makin' Babies by Reverend and the Maker.  Taken from the album Mirrors - a collection of great and very short songs.

7) Fast and Slow by Sons of the East.  The Aussie Mumford and Sons.  Better than it sounds!

8) The Man Who Sold The World live version by David Bowie R.I.P.

9) Out of my Mind by The Arcs.  The talented Dan Auerbach from the Black Keys knocked out this side project in his spare time last year.

10) Wide Open (Kolsch Remix) by The Chemical Brothers featuring Beck.  A widescreen remix.

11) Virtue by Bloc Party.  Taken from their 5th album Hymns released in January 2016.

12) Bad Habits by The Last Shadow Puppets.  2nd Album coming 8 years after their debut.

13) Silver Bullets by The Chills.  These guys are not Big In Japan they are Small in New Zealand.

14) Three Packs A Day by Courtney Barnett.  New tune from Australia's finest whinger.

15) Feel Free (Pianna Version) by Groove Armada.  House music with pianos - lush!

16) Tomorrow by The Skints.  Final track from the excellent album FM from these London reggae allstars.

17) Take It There by Massive Attack,Tricky & 3D.   More reasons to be cheerful in 2016

18) Cool Out by Matthew E. White & Natalie Prass.  Laid back duet.

19) T Shirt Weather by Circa Waves.  The sound of Summer.

20) Blaze Up The Fire by Major Lazer featuring Chronixx.  Lets go out with a banger!

Mixtape Jan '16

1) Into The Cave by Lonelady.  Let's kick off the New Year with a dirty bassline from Manchester.

2) Like Kids by Suede.  A return to form even ends with a kids choir.  Never going to top We Are The Pigs but certainly making some great music again.

3) The Good News by Bloc Party.  And the good news is that Bloc Party release their fifth album this month.

4) Never Gonna Hold You (Like I Do) by Fraser A Gorman.  A singer songwriter from Geelong.

5) Harry's Symphony by Joss Stone.  The Soul singer from Devon has been working with Damian Marley and there is a strong reggae influence on her latest album.

6) Get It All by DBFC.  They are French, groovy and sound like Django Django.

7) 1990's by Custard.  Brisbane Indie Rock band who have been recording since the 1990's.

8) Higher by The Hilltop Hoods.  Adelaide's Finest Skip Hop Act.

9) Just A Dream by Tobias Jesso Jr.  Canadian songwriter sings a lullaby for his newborn on the eve of the Apocalypse.

10) Eye To Eye by Wild Honey.  All I know is they are Australian (probably).

11) Dusty In Memphis by The Dreaming Spires.  I know a fair bit about these guys on the other hand.  Second album from this band from Oxford is their homage to all things Americana.  If the lyrics are autobiographical the singer was also born in London in the late 70's to a Catholic family.
If that helps?

12) Play Some Roots by Chronixx.  Reggae for your soul.

13) Adventure Of A Lifetime by Coldplay.  Released their 7th album in early December and thankfully Chris seems to have stopped mopping over his divorce which ruined their 6th effort.

14) Let It Happen (Soulwax Remix) by Tame Impala.  I love a good Soulwax remix and here is one of my favourite songs of 2015 under their steady scalpel hands.

15) Salvation Army by Darren Hanlon.  Australian folk singer with a lovely little ditty.

16) Cheer Up London by Slaves.  Modern punk rockers that don't suck!  In fact they're awesome.

17) Eagle by Southeast Desert Metal.  Sounds like Motorhead mixed with Iron Maiden but they are an Indigenous Australian metal band from the desert South East of Alice Springs.

18) Sympathy For The Devil by Motorhead.  Lemmy is now rocking on his Valhalla Tour.

19) Song for Josh by Frank Turner.  Live version of a sad song dedicated to a friend who took their own life.  Brings you to tears.

20) Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles.  2016 marks the 50th anniversary of Revolver.  This track was 30 years ahead of its time.  The Beatles music is finally available on Spotify so enjoy!