Universal Earcare

Perhaps I was a little too ambitious in my mixological forecasting. Only managed to get one of them tinkered together thusfar. I was hoping to present these in sequence, but for some reason I tackled the latest one first. And so, from December 2009, I give you Universal Earcare. Lossy files here (let me know if there are any problems with the link), CD’s available upon request or precedent. This one maybe seems a bit too biased toward the unrecent, but so be it, I suppose.

01. Transglobal Underground “Chariots” (Psychic Karaoke, 01)

I love the uplift of the synth intro on this world/fusion/electronica track from ’96, but my fave part is when Natacha Atlas’s vocals come teasing in at 1:40. I’d considered putting this on previous mixes, but always nixed it as too cheesy due to the presence of the rapping. I guess I’ve gotten over that.

02. The Dandy Warhols “Ride” (Dandys Rule OK?, 03)

Spacemen 3 style 3 chord drone rock from Ur from the Portland sane of Dig

03. Joe Jackson “Steppin’ Out” (Night and Day, 05)

Segues nicely into this classic Joe Jackson track. The future was then. “We’ll leave the TV and the radio behind”.

04. The Hollies “Open Up Your Eyes” (Evolution, 15)

Was only familiar with a couple Hollies tunes before, but really got into their Evolution album. Quality deep track action. I just love this little tune, cool vocal harmonies/melodies, sing along: “Open up your eyes, looking at the people, wouldn’t it be nice if they were always smiling?”

05. The Nazz “Open My Eyes” (Open Our Eyes: The Anthology, 02)

So so cool to my ears, amazing intro chords, rad guitar riff, totally Rundgrenrific. “The haze I’m wandering around in”.

06. Echo & The Bunnymen “Blue Blue Ocean” (Echo & The Bunnymen, 09)

Continuing my exploration of bunnymen, this is a pretty song sizzling off their first. The even tempo’d piano part makes it for me.

07. Lou Reed “I’m So Free” (Transformer, 10)

I saw the remaster pop up on the list; checked against my list to see I only had it on CD-R, and so did reobtain. This track really popped out at me. Seems so effortless, and Lou’s speaking style really works on this one.

08. The Butterfield Blues Band “Mary, Mary” (East-West, 06)

Mike Bloomfield/Elvin Bishop Monkees stereo blues. Run-DMC also do a nice version.

09. Velocity Girl “Zealous Heart” (Gilded Stars and Zealous Hearts, 08)

Indiegaze shoepoppers from ’90s DC. They’d been getting more and more pop by this point, which I guess is why it took me 13 years to get into this album properly. I’m a sucker for Sarah Shannon, though. A bit shambolic, a bit melancholic. “Angel on my shoulder, distracted by the devil on its wing, barely sober”.

10. Teenage Fanclub “I Don’t Know” (Bandwagonesque, 05)

Broke out the T.F. the other day and was just like wow, this song is totally mixworthy. At times breaks out of standard time, and has some nice guitar lining. “I know that I don’t know”.

11. The Bee Gees “Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You” (Bee Gees’ 1st, 06)

Turns out the Bee Gees had been around for a while prior to being kings of disco. Part has churchy chanty vibe, other has vocal harmonies with stoned pacing.

12. Sixteen Deluxe “Honey” (Emits Showers of Sparks, 11)

I thought for sure I’d put this track on a prior mix, but apparently not. Words alone cannot express the badassery present here. Textures require cranking the volume on your high fidelity set to obtain the full effect.

13. Deradoorian “Holding Pattern” (Mind Raft EP, 04)

A dirge I dig but almost had to ditch before finding its proper place post-honey in the line-up. “Hold these hands, hold them just to feel”.

14. Strawberry Alarm Clock “Strawberries Mean Love” (Incense & Peppermints, 09)

Again, was giving this album a listen recently and just fell in love with this song. A bit hippy dippy to be sure, but I dig. For one I dig how some of the vocals are held, then clipped off in imperious fashion. Nice sustainy guitar lines too. “Life goes nowhere, why are you there?”

15. The Beatles “Rain” (Past Masters (Disc 2), 04)

I went through a seriously Rain-y phase where this song seemed unwilling to leave my mind.

16. The Telescopes “Celeste” (Celeste EP, 01)

Off an EP from the era of their self-titled second album, one of my favorite eras in the history of eras. “The more I see, I see the less I know” … “See, feel, bless my soul with love”.

17. Sloan “Money City Maniacs” (Navy City Blues, 06)

When I looked for lyrics on the internets, I found these choice comments: “this song is a dig at all the ‘cool’ bands that would instead wake up in cocaine dust…sloan is so lame they’d wake up in coke fizz, and that’s what the joke IS” and “I thought it was goat jizz”.

18. M “Pop Muzik” (New York-London-Paris-Munich, 01)

Have been considering this for a mix for years and years. For me it’s a New Year’s song, so party like it’s 2009.

19. Tegan & Sara vs. Mylo “Walking With a Ghost in Paris” (Party Ben mashup)

Heard this mash-up on the radio, didn’t realize it was mashed up, so was somewhat disappointed by the real thing. Thought maybe it was a remix, but the search that ensued was unsuccessful until I came across Mr. Party Ben’s site. Apparently either Tegan likes it but Sara does not, or vice versa, I can’t remember which. mp3 source.

20. Homer “Sunrise” (V/A – Acid Visions: Best of the ’60s Texas Punk & Psychedelic (Vol. 2), 13)

Friend AC has this Texas psych comp; listening I really started digging this track. Hippy dippy again (“sunlight dance on golden rainbow” as a round), but cool guitar work and uh, I dunno, I just like it and stuff.

21. The Spats “She Done Moved” (V/A – Los Angeles Nuggets (Disc 2), 08)

Fun song by one non-hit wonders. I love the part about buying a horse to cross a river, then having to pay to get it out again. Nice transistor organ action. Fun to listen to on repeat for hours on end. mp3 source for the time being.

Chariots ride when steppin’ out, open up your eyes and I’ll open my eyes to see the blue blue ocean where I’m so free with Mary of the zealous heart that I don’t know; maybe a crusader will show me. I get stuck in honey, stuck in a holding pattern until I see the meaning of love in the rain with Celeste, going to Money City with the Munich muzik maniacs, where I’ll walk with the ghost of the machine until sunrise; then I’ll have to move again.