Great Marble

Tectonic plates shift and massive slabs of rusted steel scrape by like barges in the river valley.  A dense fog rolls down from the mountains and engulfs the behemoths, they disappear from sight.  A brief moment of grandeur gone far too soon.  We can only hope that this video is indication of great things to come from Calgary's Great Marble.  For a taste of their upcoming release on Silent Farm, check out "Old Friends" and "Louiston", which share the same artery as Women, only slightly sunnier. Last year's "A Cast" veered more into the hushed vocal territory, with cues from Sufjan.

7" Sundays - The Tassels

7" Sundays is a new weekly feature where I pick up random 45s and post these discoveries with a little research.  To kick this off I'll start with an appropriate pick for Memorial Day weekend, "To A Soldier Boy" by The Tassels.  Recorded in 1959, this song was written by Mary Glen Gaudet, mother of John Gaudet and Rochelle Gaudet Alessi, the siblings who fronted the New Jersey group.  Apparently, both siblings were born on patriotic days: Memorial Day and Flag Day.  While patriotism may run thick in their blood, it does not so much in mine.  The real gem for me here is the flip side "The Boy For Me".  This upbeat "let's make up" plea is the kind of song The Vivian girls wish they could have penned.  Definitive doo-wop backing vocals here with some beachy melodies.  As far as I can tell, The Tassels only released one other single.

Standard Bitter Love Songs

This is a mix of songs by The Mountain Goats.  Being ridiculously prolific, it can be a hard to wade through their vast catalogue, so I've collected some of my favorites in this set.  This collection casts a wide net, from John's early days shouting into his Panasonic RX-FT500 boombox to his current full studio productions, and hopefully serves as a good entry point for those of you out there that have never dived into this ocean.  I consider John Darnielle to be one of the greatest lyricist currently making music and surely one of the most venomous.  This tape weighs a little heavier on the bitter/desperate side of the Bitter-Tender spectrum, but there are some incredibly touching moments represented here as well (see the beautiful tribute to the death of a loved one on "Bluejays and Cardinals"; the profound uncertainty of life for the inexperienced parent in "Pink and Blue"; the spot-on feelings of change after a break up in "Woke Up New").  But as the title suggests, there are plenty of classic songs of spite that can't help but turn a vicious little evil smirk in the corner of your mouth like the Grinch Who Stole Your Relationship.  Sink your teeth into this and you won't be sorry.  Tracklist after the jump.

Victims of Poison

Mostly newish jams, made last December.  Victims


Drinking Cup
1. Out, Don't... - Gauntlet Hair
2. Calrissian - Millionyoung
3. A Little Lost - Arthur Russell
4. Big Nothing - Sans AIDS
5. I'm Gonna Try - Shimmering Stars
6. Death Mouth - Wild Eyes
7. In The New Year - The Walkmen
8. Water Parker - Botany
9. To Catch A Thief - Sports
10. The Ledge - Fleetwood Mac

Snakebite
1. Video Rock - Big Troubles
2. Local Forecast - Casino Vs. Japan
3. Stoned Alone - Coma Cinema
4. Ready For The World - How To Dress Well
5. New Drink For The Old Drunk - Crooked Fingers
6. Better Water - Power Animal
7. Wasting Our Time - James Leroy
8. Eraser - Golden Eye
9. Sleeping Bag - Heavy Hawaii
10. Endless Fascination - Psychedelic Horseshit
11. Cold Blooded Old Times - Smog
12. See Birds (sun) - Balam Acab

Ivory Hearts, Golden Haze

This is a mix I made back in the year of chillwave, so there are a couple songs on this that may be a little old hat by now, but you know what, they are still good songs, regardless of their association with a fad. Still a great listen with a couple favorites of mine - Two Blue Lights & You Can't Blame Me.  I've put You Can't Blame Me on way too many mixes, because everyone needs to hear that song.

Grab it here

Sunset Visions

Late nights, fading away through the mists of summer's expanding horizons.  Synth explorations, Kosmische, Krautrock, Ambient.  Transportation device for astral messages, massages, and mystical visions.  As the sunlight fades, this tape navigates the dark passages of spectral highways.

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Side A:

Alien Observer - Grouper

Beat and the Pulse (Vondelpark Remix) - Austra

Synthesist (Blondes Remix) - Harald Grosskopf

Double Helix - Emeralds

Wind on Water - Fripp & Eno

Notre Dame - Harmonia

Harmonics - Fridge

Canyon Meadows - Kyle Bobby Dunn

Wrong Ride - Growing

Lammicken - Braids

Meditation #1 - Brian Eno

Side B:

Lick Mountain Ramble - Jack Rose

Vessels That Float out of Metals That Sink (Part 4) - Casino Versus Japan

Sowiesoso - Cluster

Gemini Early - Hrvatski

Glorious Flight - Manuel Gottsching

New Homes - Lucky Dragons

Soul Oscillations - Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid

Stained Glass Body - Jefre Cantu-Ledesma

Banana Jam Pt. 1 - Julian Lynch

Flowers Of Congo - High Wolf

A Manhã Na Praia - The Alps

Shiva-Loka - Alice Coltrane

Ask For The Butt

This is a tape I made back in 2009 for a friend.  Side A is mostly an indie affair, while Side B is comprised only of 45s, mostly older rockers, soul and doo wop, with one newish exception.  Take a wild guess which one...
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