Thursday, July 14, 2011

couleehighharmony5 :: WITH THE CHURCH WINDOW TRANSOMS OPEN


Submitted for the approval of the Mix Tape Appreciation Society, here lies "With the Church Window Transoms Open," another sweet compilation curated by Matthew R. Perrine. Per usual, enjoy this and all coming editions at maximum volume.


1. Built to Spill - "Center of the Universe" / 2. Les Savy Fav - "Who Rocks the Party"
This duo kicked off all my radio "programmes" in college. NDSU of yore, consider your fine faces rocked off indefinitely.

3. Atmosphere - "Hair"
"See, bands like us don't get groupies...."

4. Beastie Boys - "Make Some Noise"
Enjoy:


5. The Dears - "Blood"
I like these guys quite a bit, but I recently realized I know exactly nothing about them. So ... let's remedy that: The Dears hail from Montreal. They consider themselves an "art rock band." They don't play a lot of shows. And, finally, at one point in their career, NME dubbed them "probably the best new band in the world." Not too shabby.

6. Bon Iver - "Holocene"
For once, you can believe all the hype. (By the way, it's still crazy to think that Justin Vernon lives just up the highway in Eau Claire.)

7. Big Boi - "Tangerine"
As weird as it sounds, one of my favorite memories is traveling (during my NDSU radio days, actually) to Spokane, Wash., via Amtrak and listening to OutKast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" just about the whole way there. Needless to say, it's nice to hear at least one of the group's members back at the top of his game.

8. Psalm One feat. Longshot - "Lemme Know"
Can't get enough of this Chicago MC. (As you can probably tell....)

9. Damone - "Up to You"
Did I mention I'm a girl? ha ha ha

10. High Speed Scene - "Assingear"
Fargo. Rock. City.

11. The Danburrys - "Thumbs Up (aka Heads Down Thumbs Up)"
Before the great Drew Danburry went it alone, he was in this Weezer-riffic rock group. So exhilarating!

12. Decibully - "Tables Turn"
A novel masquerading as a song.

13. The Impossibles - "Decompression/Debilitation"
Decompression is ... making copious amounts of awesome mix tapes. (Surprise!)

14. Spoon - "Change My Life"
It's funny how many moments can be packed into a span of just a couple weeks.

15. Soul Asylum - "99%"
Last week we Soul Asylum devotees got some pretty good news: The band is working on a new album -- its first since 2006. It's tentatively titled "Rough Air," according to the fine folks at SPIN.

16. The Get Up Kids - "Rememorable"
Various words that come to mind here: brash, fun, angular and -- oh, I don't know -- unfatigable, perhaps?

17. Everclear - "Summerland"
I've always taken this song's lyrics to heart: "Just a name on the map / Sounds like heaven to me." (For just one example: the unrivaled McGregor, Iowa.)

18. Django Reinhardt - "Daphne"
Lighthearted to a fault. Just try not to smile.

19. Red Hot Chili Peppers - "I Found Out" (John Lennon cover)
Before I knew much about the world, I leaned on my favorite currents to teach me about the legends who inspired them.

20. Dan Hutt Field Recordings - "Misunderstanding"
George Harrison would be proud. (As would his indie-leaning "brood.")

21. Ozzy Osbourne - "No More Tears" (edit)
For the record, the contents of this song have nothing to do whatsoever with my personal life. I just thought I should clarify that before I get any more motherly advice re: "chinning up."

22. Eddie Vedder - "Longing to Belong"
This was written from a vulnerable place. #understatementofthelastthreemonths



A PRODUCT OF LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

couleehighharmony4 :: TELL US ABOUT IT, JANET


Submitted for the approval of the Mix Tape Appreciation Society, here lies "Tell Us About It, Janet," another sweet compilation curated by Matthew R. Perrine. Per usual, enjoy this and all coming editions at maximum volume.


1. The Smith Westerns - "Weekend"
What a sweet sentiment: "Weekends are never fun unless you're around here too."

2. Les Savy Fav - "Let's Get Out of Here" [FREE MP3]
Truer words have never been spoken.


3. Florence + the Machine - "Dog Days are Over"
She-introduction.

4. Blind Melon - "Three is a Magic Number" ("School House Rocks" cover)
As long as no one is referred to as a "guest."

5. Lazerbeak - "Wild Life"
For fans of the Plastic Constellations, Doomtree, the Beta Band, not flying on the ground.

6. Supergrass - "Never Done Nothing Like That Before"
But I guess that's what they call _____________. (Please, friend, help a Matt out and send in your suggestions!)

7. Fountains of Wayne - "I've Got a Flair"
"... for pulling your hair and making your crazy / Yeah, it's something I do well."

8. Arrested Development - "Mama's Always on Stage"
As heard in "xx/xy," one of my all-time favorite films.

9. Tim Curry - "Sweet Transvestite" ("The Rocky Horror Picture Show" vers.)
"... If you want something visual / That's not too abysmal / We could take in an old Steve Reeves movie."

10. Lemon Jelly - "'79 aka The Shouty Track"
A long-time staple of these here awesome mix tapes. If you don't know it by now, you got some downloadin' to do. (Yep, just wrote it like that.... ha ha)

11. Psalm One feat. Casual - "Bitin' and Freakin'"
Well, the title kind of says it all....

12. The Pixies - "Trompe le Monde"
Intoxicating lyrics abound: "Why do cupids and angels continually haunt her dreams?"

13. The Wrens - "Still Complaining"

14. Beck - "Broken Train"
"Midnite Vultures" = the gift that keeps on giving.

15. Led Zeppelin - "That's the Way"
All things must pass, I get that, but why does this song have to be so utterly heartbreaking and final?

16. Nada Surf - "I Like What You Say"
... But do the people of Iowa?

17. Cursive - "The Recluse"
Me, pre-Bodega.

18. Middle Brother - "Blue Eyes"
The definition of a perfect day: me, a rusted-out pickup, a dusty-as-f--- "blue road" and this song. No joke.

19. Bright Eyes - "Shell Games"
Oh, my sweet Chippewa Falls, how I miss thee (at least when I hear this).

Follows the Ash hit formula to a T. Ain't nothing wrong with that.

21. Cars & Trucks - "Too Bad So Sad"
"E!"

22. Dawes - "Time Spent in Los Angeles"
What, pray tell, is "that special kind of sadness"? On second thought, I know exactly what Dawes speaks of. (Not somewhere you wish to return to.)

23. The Chemical Brothers feat. Hope Sandoval - "Asleep from Day"
I've always felt that Chemical Brothers compositions are too epic for words, so



A PRODUCT OF LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

couleehighharmony3 :: BUYING INK BY THE BARREL


Submitted for the approval of the Mix Tape Appreciation Society, here lies "Buying Ink by the Barrel," another sweet compilation curated by Matthew R. Perrine. Per usual, enjoy this and all coming editions at maximum volume.


1. Tripping Daisy - "Pillar"
Just another interstellar mind flip. (I wanted to write "love song," but I'm not entirely sure that's accurate ... it's kind of a cryptic, take-from-it-what-you-will song.)

2. Foxy Shazam - "Wanna-Be Angel"
"And all you hipsters say I'm gay / Well, I'm not gay at all!" In one fell swoop, established.

"Psalmie" teams up with Brandon from Big Quarters for one of the finest -- truly -- hip-hop songs ever recorded. (Most memorable line: "Mama journalist, I don't read the papers....")



4. Bumblebeez 81 - "I Come with Water"
Equal parts early Beck and always-golden Beastie Boys.

5. Fire is Motion - "Smile, It Makes this Easier"
One of those songs that feels like it's been with you for a million years. (Especially recommended for fans of Drew Danburry.)

6. My Morning Jacket - "Outta My System"
And what, pray tell, do the readers of shake*your*shores need to get out of their systems?

7. The Pixies - "Something Against You"
The ultimate rock song, I've recently decided. (The 16-year-old, Who-obsessed incarnation of me weeps for "Baba O'Riley" sliding to No. 2.)

From the "Portal 2" soundtrack, one of the most enjoyably guttural electronic-death anthems ever assembled.

9. Two Hand Fools - "Green Light Go"
You can't beat that intro. (Just try.)

10. The Future Kings of Nowhere - "C is for Heartache"
A modern-day "Sunspot Baby"?

11. Aqueduct - "Hardcore Days and Softcore Nights"
What do you know ... the song that has made more appearances on my hundreds of awesome (my word) mix tapes than any other. Besides the musical quality, one reason for this is definitely "Don't ever ask me where I'm from / In six states that's considered dumb." B.A. to the end.

Anya Marina, I want to party with you.

Reminds me of a very particular weekend up at Lutsen Resort.

14. Holy Fiction - "Song Ten"
Should be optioned by HBO for a poignant love and/or "character finding himself/herself" scene.

15. Beastie Boys - "Johnny Ryall"
From the hip-hop world's "Pet Sounds."

16. Foo Fighters - "A Matter of Time"
Hate all you want, but you know this band can still be good.

17. Kenny Zimlinghaus feat. Aaron Wertheimer - "Birth Certificate" [FREE MP3]
If you're luck enough to have access to Sirius or XM  satellite radio, no doubt you've heard the hilarious Kenny Z. on Cosmo Radio's "Wake Up with Taylor" morning show. He's a stand-up comedian who also happens to make fake rap songs that are eerily reminiscent of the late Eyedea.




18. The Static Jacks - "Girl Parts"
Good song, unfortunate name (when it's sitting on your desktop and your wife gets "confused").

19. The Impossibles - "(Never) Say Goodbye"
Another mix tape "hall of famer." Listen to understand. (Discovered this song while "babysitting" my best friend's wife at the Pawn America in Duluth ... and that statement sounds even stranger in print.)

20. American War - "Exit Uncertain and Beautiful"
Sounds like a good title for my first pretentious novel, no?

21. Karen Elson - "Crying, Waiting, Hoping" (Buddy Holly cover)
Rave. On.

22. Buffalo Springfield - "Flying on the Ground is Wrong" (mono vers.)
I've learned this oh-so-valuable lesson of late.

23. The Beach Boys - "Here Today"
From the pop/rock world's "Paul's Boutique." (Aahhhh ... get it?! LOL)

24. Brandi Carlile - "That Year"
A heartbreaking work of staggering genius -- or at least the soundtrack to.

25. Paper Tiger - "The Bully Plank" [FREE MP3]
Doomtree is king.

The Bully Plank by doomtree

26. Eddie Vedder - "Light Today"
All things must pass.



A PRODUCT OF LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN