Vol 05 / Trk 02 / Did I ever tell you about the man that taught his asshole to talk?

Art songs + sweet beats + spoken word. There is only one thing I could post. Like many disaffected college youth in my day, I became obsessed with William Burroughs without actually being able to get through any of his books. They just have way too much fluids in em. Jizz, blood, sweat, spit, ectoplasm, etc. It just becomes too much for me after the 50th page.

Anyway, my fascination led me to start collecting his spoken word and collaborative albums. His voice has an amazing instrumental quality. The album this comes from is by far the best. It has some great stories, set to great beats and instrumentation. This track in particularly has always stood out. It’s simply hilarious and frightening.

Plus I am interested to see how Mike deals with this moving forward.

We have moved off of soundcloud with our MP3 player. Love that service but there committment to thwarting unlicensed music sharing was getting ridonkulous. Turns out that wordpress has its own decent flash player. So there we go.

r.smigielski

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Filed under: Mixtape, VOL 05, disposable heroes of hiphopcrisy, NEIMT, william burroughs

Vol 05 / Trk 01 / Me, White Noise / Blur

In the mid-90s I was enthralled with the glory and pomp of Britpop, and nothing was more British than “Parklife,” Blur’s ode to domestic London narrated by Phil Daniels that was as bright and cheery as a glass of shandy. The next time the band and actor joined forces was in 2003, for this track that was about as far from “Parklife” as you can imagine. The dream of Cool Britannia had been replaced by the reality of life during wartime while the band warped and bent several times along the way. The album was called Think Tank, which Damon Albarn joked once was the first thing George W. Bush does when he wakes up. But it’s equally telling that the album was almost called Darklife.

“Me, White Noise” is a “track zero” from their as-yet-final album and the one that will cement Blur’s ultimate distinction as one of disillusionment with the things that used to bring comfort. The album itself is strange and groovy, so it’s an interesting choice that the band chose to hide this dark, pulsing squalor before the first track proper; it has as much bile as the rest of the album lacks. But it’s not a righteous, unifying fury that Rage Against the Machine brought—it’s an unhinged, noisy anger that disturbs rather than mobilizes.

So here we are: new day, new volume. “Me, White Noise” was, for me, the only real contender for a spoken-word response to Robb’s pick and a way to lead this new batch of tracks into [hopefully] strange new territories. It beats with the heart of a protest song, though not against a figurehead, but against oneself (or perhaps one’s sobriety). As Phil slurs in his best Cockney tone, “This is England, this ain’t America, for fuck’s sake.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

m. joosse

Filed under: Mixtape, Blur, NEIMT, Phil Daniels, Vol 05

I Told You So (But You Didn’t Listen) / Vol 04 / 050511

Not much to say about this mix. The results are equally inspired and baffling. I almost would label the theme as “confounding insubordination to thematic constraints” because the mix takes wild left turns at almost every opportunity. Don’t turn your back on it for even a second. It will betray you and probably poison your pets while your at work.

But having listened to it several times now, I have found that there is hidden thread of continuity tying it all together. Only these elements are linked no at the highest level but within the details – within the elements that are subconscious and unnoticed. That is an unexpected outcome that gets me really excited for the next installment. Take a listen. Let us know what you think.
r. smigielski

Download the Mix as a 143 MB zip file.
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files. Email me if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:

01. Born Free by M.I.A.
02. Attack Ships on Fire by Revolting Cocks
03. Hu Hu Hu by Dig
04. Psyche Out by Meat Beat Manifesto
05. Cool it by Nodern
06. Hidden Place (Hearts and Bones Remix) by Bjork
07. Run the Heart by Sleigh Bells
08. Godmorgon by Consor
09. We’re Not Adult Orientated (Neu Wave Live) by Stereolab
10. The Lisbon Maru by Fuck Buttons
11. La Guitaristic House Organisation by Rinocerose
12. Turbulence (Bis Remix) by Arab Strap
13. Bang! Bang! by Le Tigre
14. God and Country by The Thermals
15. Hadda Be Playing on the Jukebov by Rage Against the Machine

Filed under: Mixtape, Vol 04, NEIMT