Vol. 2, Episode 5

The next mix tape is for 1971. Here is my list.
1971:
Band, Album, Song
Bob Dylan, Greatest Hits II, Lay Lady Lay
Carpenters, Carpenters, Rainy Days and Mondays
Creedence Clearwater Revival, Creedence Gold, Proud Mary
Don McLean, American Pie, American Pie
Funkadelic, Maggot Brain, Hit It and Quit It
Johnny Cash, The Legend Of, Man In Black
Joni Mitchell, Blue, All I Want
Led Zeppelin, IV, Black Dog
T. Rex, Electric Warrior, Bang A Gong (Get It On)
The Who, Who’s Next, Baba O’Riley

Sigur Rós - Ágætis Byrjun
This album came out in 1999. This was the album that I started out with from the band. I found out about the group through Radiohead. They opened for Radiohead on the Kid A tour. I instantly fell in love with the album with its opening submarine ping noise that runs through the intro and second track on the album. I loved the album so much that I bought it for my sister. I also took my sister to see them play live when they came here as a headlining act. I was actually very disappointed with my sister because she did not expect to be out as late as the concert went and we ended up leaving half way through the concert so she could be up in time for work. We ended up seeing the opening act, I can’t remember off hand what they guys name was but it was just one guy and an acoustic guitar, and half of the Sigur Rós concert. I think that the string quartet Amiina was supporting them as well. So, I got to see not only Sigur Rós but I also got a preview of Amiina with Sigur Rós. I wish that I had that concert on video or an audio copy some ware. It is now lost in my head somewhere never to be recreated and never to be completed. I don’t think that my sister really liked the album as much as I did either, or the band for that matter. I never have had someone that was on the same page as I was about music. The closest that I have is my best friend and second my wife. Neither of them get where my music tastes come from completely. Part of that may be that I can’t explain exactly what they are myself. The artwork on this album was very plane and simple. The cover is colored in a dark navy blue and silver with a hand drawn alien with wings. He is actually quite cute and thoughtful looking. That is it, nothing more. The 2 singles that came out to support this album were much the same but with out the drawing. There is just the title of the 2 singles on the tag board slip case. This album also won the Shortlist Music Prize. This was something that was started to support good independent music in the early 2000s. I followed it simply because most of the music that I liked at the time was being represented here. I have always been into the music that not many people knew about or cared about. At the time Sigur Rós fell into that category.

This album was a part of the start of my downfall into depression. I can’t blame the music for the depression but I can use it as a landmark for when the depression started easing into my life. I could probably mark this with some other albums as well but I will leave that for later on.

Blur – Blur (S/T)
This is the fifth release from the group. The first single, Beatlebum, is what originally drew me in. I was not sure about the group even though they made some great singles. This song lead in with a UK styled alternative grunge sound that really slid under the radar. Then the second single, Song 2, came out and it just blew my mind away along with the rest of the world. It is such a hard rocking song from a wishy washy UK wanna be alternative rock group. Don’t get me wrong, I have liked the group since their first album but this song is just not expected from them at all. I am sure that everyone has heard the song since it has been played at every sporting event known to man at this point, probably. I really liked both of these songs and meant to get the singles but never got to it or they were out of print when I did. I did get the single, both the CD and the 7” for the song M.O.R. The 7” is on orange swirl vinyl. It is so pretty and goes with the cover. The cover is a picture of a jet above the clouds on an orange sunset. It is one of the most beautiful covers on a piece of music that I have ever seen at the time. I think that the rest of the album is quite herky jerky and the use of home made samples in some of the songs really doesn’t help much. The album is good but it could have been so much better.
I did like the last track though. It is called Essex Dogs but it is not just one song. In the 90s groups got in the habbit of adding un labeled songs to the end of an album. Sometimes they would do this by adding a bunch of blank tracks to the end of the album and then putting the hidden track at say #99 or what ever. Sometimes they would leave some dead time at the end of the last track. This is what Blur did. There are actually 2 bonus tracks on the last track. This makes the last track actually contain 3 songs, Essex Dogs, Dancehall and a track that is just labeled Interlude. The first part of the last track, Essex Dogs, I really can’t stand. The next part, Dancehall, is kind of a droning slow track that I can get into but I need to be in the right mood but it is not difficult to get there if I just listen to it. The last part, Interlude, is very enjoyable to me. It is very repetitive. It uses a echo on a synth keyboard and a slight distortion on a chimey guitar. So, to me, this album has some great singles but the rest of the album is just average almost filler music.

Elvis Costello – My Aim Is Ture
This is the first album from Elvis Costello, released in 1977. The original release in the UK did not have the song Watching The Detectives. It was added to the US release as the last track of the first side. This is actually why I was on the lookout for this album. This was a single that I remember from my youth, hearing it I am sure over the radio. My mother listened to pop radio and underground songs like this would sometimes come up. It was a great single that made an impression on my young heart. All that I really remembered from the song was the chorus but that was enough. I actually found a used copy of this album recently and a near by Half Priced Books. I think that there are a few vinyl collectors out there that dump old copies of records when a new version has or will be repressed. I think that this is silly but their loss is my gain I guess. Seeing as a new repressing of such albums will run anywhere from 20 to 50 bucks and I am picking up these used records for a couple bucks each. I am actually after the first three Elvis Costello albums and found the second one used not a few weeks after this one. This album is really a sleeper. It almost slid under the radar when it was released. There was a special promotion that happened when it was released. When you bought a copy of the record there was a card that you could fill out to send a free copy of the album to a friend. This free copy was sent out with a unique sticker on the sleeve. This was really a brilliant idea and got his name out there really quickly. As Elvis said, “I was a hit over night after seven years.” What he was trying to say was that it took a lot of hard work to get to a point where he could support his family on his music career. As much as I love to write and record music I don’t want to wait another seven years to get to a point where I can support my family. I am on the verge of success as a manager. I don’t want to start over again.

Pizzicato Five – The Quickie EP
This featured the radio edit for the song Magic Carpet Ride. I am not sure what needed to be edited for this song except to shorten the song a little bit. Pizzicato Five (P5) is a retro sounding Japanese pop group. They are a duo that puts together some great sounds and songs that I adore. I bought this EP when I was just getting into the group and wanted more than just the first album. I picked the EP up at Cheapo when it was still on Central Ave. It is a 12” EP that has 4 songs. On the A side are the radio edit for Magic Carpet Ride, a remix of the same song called Childs Loop Bonus Edit. On the B side are the tracks I Wanna Be Like You (Remix By Greg Cohen / Rap By The Aboriginals) and Go Go Dancer from the first full length. I Wanna Be Like You uses a slowed down sample from the song The Hustle. It was completely unrecognizable to me until someone pointed it out. It is the part when they say Do It but it is super slowed down so that it just sounds like a musical part of the song. It is a good EP, I think everyone could find something to like on this short collection of songs.