Vol 12 / Trk 14 / Long Flight / Future Islands

I have a weird relationship with singers. There’s a thin and ill-defined line between what I think of as unacceptably pretension and compellingly pretensions when it comes to the human voice. Eddie Vedder? No thanks. David Bowie? Yes please! I seriously doubt either gentleman lathers up in the shower singing Call Me Maybe by growling like a dog, or  in a voice that constantly sounds like it’s on the verge of tears but that’s how they sing for us, the audience.

Samuel Herring, the lead singer of Future Islands, is full of shit. Seriously. His voice is 100% stage—angry at times, then sad, then just plain spastic—it is an invention. But it’s an invention I like. Is that a british accent? Is he narrating a Shakespearean play? I really don’t care—it’s cool, and it moves me. It’s a lie, but all good truths are.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 12, future islands

Vol 12 / Trk 11 / Free / Graffiti 6

It took me awhile to answer Jamie Lidell—not because it’s too much of a curve ball but because I LOVE Jamie Lidell. Smooth move ,Woodford. I dig it.

Graffiti 6 is new to me. I’d love to share some interesting story about the band’s history or an insight into this record but I have no idea—and the cursory glance at Wikipedia doesn’t turn up much. What I do know is that this track is catchy as hell and shares the same soulful spirit as Little Bit of Feel Good. I dare you to listen to this just once. I dare you.

What the hell is going on in this volume? Actually I think the answer is simple. What is dynamic, push-and-pull rock and roll but the aural embodiment of teenage sexual angst? No one can live like that forever and I think thanks to Mr. Lidell our little NEIMT volume just got laid. The tension has lifted, and suddenly everything is a little easier.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 12, Graffiti 6

Vol 12 / Trk 08 / List of Demands (Reparations) / Saul Williams

mewithoutYou is a tough act to follow. I’m g0ing to veer here a bit, away from the dramatic swings in dynamics and toward a more straight forward rock song.

When I read T. Woodford’s declaration of Aaron Weiss as a poet I immediately thought of my favorite rock poet—Saul Williams.

Saul is vicious. And smart. And vicious. William’s music hits hard, sometimes musically, always lyrically. His 2007 record The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust! completely floored me when I first heard it. At first because of it’s genius re-imagining of my all-time favorite record and then because of William’s deft hand at revealing subtle truths about race and wealth.

William’s is very active politically—an outspoken member of Occupy Musicians and a war protestor. Which made his decision to license this song for a Nike ad campaign quite controversial. I’ve decided to suspend my judgement—because it was that Nike commercial that first turned me on to Williams, and because List of Demands quite simply kicks my ass in.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 12, Saul Williams

Vol 12 / Trk 05 / How Near, How Far? / …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead

Ok, time to redeem myself I suppose. I ventured into the forbidden valley, but just like a young Ring Hazzard (look it up) such a venture only bred trouble and complications.

Given that I named …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead as my runner-up in the tension/energy game it only makes sense that I fall back on them now.

The album this track comes from, Source Tags and Codes, is one of Ptichfork’s rare “10 out of 10” rated records. Perfect—according to them—and me. There is not a note out of place, a lyric that falls flat. I listen to this record a few times a year and every time I have to rise from the couch and pretend to be the singer, or the guitar. It’s just too perfect an expression of teenage angst and rock energy. How Near How Far lies smack-dab in the middle of this epic LP and in my opinion is the quintessential …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead track—smart, heavy, deliberate.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 12

Vol 12 / Trk 02 / Odessa / Animals As Leaders

I LOVE this curveball. Craij did an awesome job of setting a very new tone and path for this volume in contrast with the few I’ve been involved in to-date.

I had the (perhaps dubious) honor of living in Washington D.C. at the turn of the millenium and for a time was SO. INTO. EMO. Yeah, yeah, I know—”post-hardcore” or whatever makes you feel better. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I once wrote an article to Pitchfork.com complaining about a Dismemberment Plan show. Fer real.

It was a phase though. The energy and tension of the late-nineties post-hardcore stuff eventually transformed into the energy and tension of post-electronic music for me. But sometimes, when a deadline is looming, I need to ROCK OUT. A little …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead will usually do the trick, but sometimes I need more. And when I need that blast of pure unadulterated rock energy I reach for Animals As Leaders.

Animals as Leaders stands at the vanguard of a sort of post-post-hardcore. Solidly influenced by the Fugazi-generation of grind and stomp but with a big dash of “real” metal and a solid tablespoon’s worth of mathy bleep influence. Odessa almost sounds like a videogame soundtrack for the first few bars thanks to some amazing sampling-pedal acrobatics from guitarist Tobin Abasi. At exactly :39 that facade strips away and Animals As Leaders thoroughly rips your face apart. The odd time changes, the guitar acrobatics, the precision drumming…damn. Damn.

As long as we’re putting our jetpacks on we might as well strap some missiles to that puppy.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 12, Animals As Leaders

Vol 11 / Trk 13 / The Swimmer / Ladybug Transistor

Hey you don’t have to tell me twice to throw a little melancholy in my pop. My selection is directly inspired by both Joose’s selection and write up. For a short time Ladybug Transistor created flawless, beautiful pastoral pop and captured that music in some of the more finely crafted recordings of the late-90s wave of Elephant6 and Elephant6-approved pop bands.

Gary Olson’s voice is undeniable and the way this song shifts from pop, to Bacharachian jazz and back again is effortless. And it’s that shift—from the jangly guitars to the minor-key bridge and back that convinced me The Swimmer was the perfect choice. Emotional depth, a ray of sunshine, AND you get a horn section and so much recorder. So much.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 11, Ladybug Transistor

Vol 11 / Trk 10 / Kites are Fun / Free Design

Ok. Time to stop pussy-footing around. Each track in this volume has slowly pushed the envelope into sunny, shiny-happy-people territory albeit a mere millimeter at a time. I’m ready to dive in.

I LOVE Free Design. I love the arrangements, the jazz-influenced time signatures, the harmonies, and perhaps most of all the completely innocent, unpretentious, happy-as-hell lyrics. Not every free design track is so bright yellow in emotional color but even their more melancholy numbers possess a childlike innocence to the lyrics—which can make them sting even more—but often they’re celebrations of love, the seasons, and family. After a short stint in the late sixties to early seventies Free Design disappeared until being name-checked by like-minded early 2000’s acts like Pizzicato Five. This renewed interest flooded the market with trip-hoppy remix records—avoid these—if you like what you hear I strongly urge you to find a copy of Kites Are Fun or You Could Be Born Again, throw on some headphones and melt like an ice cream cone in the sun.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 11, free design

Vol 11 / Trk 07 / Who Loves The Sun? / The Velvet Underground

Geez! Sorry for the wait people. Between work and a mix of projects I let my self get more than a little behind. I promise all you loyal NEIMT-ers it won’t happen again.

I wanted to retain that feeling of the sitting summer sun that Mr. Joosse established with Great Lake Swimmers but turn up the tempo a notch. Who Loves The Sun is my very favorite kind of pop, melancholy lyrics accompanied by pure rainbow-coated sweetness.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 11, velvet underground

Vol 11 / Trk 03 / Maple Leaves / Jens Lekman

Oh, we going pop now? Well I just happen to have a decade’s worth of bubblegummy, sugary, rickenbacker-guitary LPs to pull from and I honestly couldn’t be happier.

I’m a little shocked Jens hasn’t graced the NEIMT already. 3 solid albums, (though I’d argue You’re So Silent Jens—the compilation this cut is pulled from counts as a forth) a slew of amazing EPs, some remixes and the best live show I’ve seen in years—it’s time the guy received the NEIMT bump.

This version of Maple Leaves is a subtle remix of the original 7″ version recorded primarily to replace some obvious samples that might have landed the increasingly popular singer in some legal trouble. I have  You’re So Silent.. on vinyl and I’ve managed to wear a short skip in this track. Just. Perfect. Pop.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 11, jens lekman

A Bit More Daylight / Vol 10 / 061212

I’m a big fan of Volume 10. There’s a nice breeze flowing through this latest edition of the Never Ending Internet Mixtape—a shaft of sunlight hitting the living room floor. It’s a happier, friendlier than the last volume, sunny, but not-yet summer. It’s the beginning of spring. There is still the occasional storm but it’s always followed by that perfect rain-smell 70 degree day. Setting our clocks forward an hour is finally paying off—there’s just a bit more daylight to play with.

b.klops

Download the Mix as a 93 MB zip file.
Now using sendspace to deliver these massive files.  Sendspace was undergoing maintenance so I opted for CloudApp for this one. Email us if the file expires.

The tracklist is as follows:

01. Quitter’s Raga by Gold Panda
02. They Made Frogs Smoke ‘Til They Exploded by Múm
03. Catching Butterflies with Hands by Mouse on Mars
04. Thank You Caroline by The Avalanches
05. I Think It Is Beautiful That You Are 256 Colors Too by Black Moth Super Rainbow
06. Let’s Build A Fire by +/-
07. Yeti by Caribou
08. Alike by Afterklang
09. Smile Around The Face by Four Tet
10. Les Jours Heureux by Yann Tiersen
11. Lovely Allen by Holy Fuck
12. What Do You Think Will Happen Next? by Final Fantasy
13. Clowne Towne by Xiu Xiu
14. I Love The Weekend by No Kids
15. Don’t Give Up by Lake
16. I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From (Röyksopp remix) by Kings of Convenience

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 10, compilation

Vol 10 / Trk 16 / I Don’t Know What I Can Save You From

I like the idea that as this volume of the Never Ending Mixtape draws to a close our choices are returning to something a bit more distilled, stripped-down. My instinct was to push it even further—something acoustic, maybe even an a cappella. What I found is something I think sits in this mix even better. Kings of Convenience are masters of stripped down acoustic pop and with just the subtlest mix of beats and edits from Royskopp this remix is a nice distillation of everything we’ve heard this chapter of the NEIMT: straight-forward songwriting, smart electronic flourishes and a bittersweet emotional duality.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 10, Kings of Convenience, Röyksopp

Vol 10 / Trk 13 / Clowne Towne

I’m working on a hunch, a feeling, and a free association here. As I listened to the Final Fantasy track (<3 by the way) I could hear the faintest song in the back of my head. Something that shared What Do You Think Will Happen Next?’s off-kilter timing and layered arrangement. It was something upbeat but ultimately melancholy, sophisticated but captured on a crude tape machine, it was….my…cell phone ringtone.

Thankfully, being the sophisticated post-goth that I am, my cell phone ringtone is Xiu Xiu’s brain-crushing Clowne Towne.  I love Xiu Xiu completely. They are perhaps the only band that I like the way you liked bands when you were 13—with everything, nonsensically. And perhaps that’s because Xiu Xiu makes you 13—by sharing every dark thing, every sadness, every odd thought of their own you are instantly best friends, family, blood brothers. Though lyrically I’m throwing us off track with this—musically, spiritually it feels on the same page—and I’m hoping it’s a bold answer, literally, to What Do You Think Will Happen Next?

b. klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 10, xiu xiu

Vol 10 / Trk 09 / Smile Around The Face

Mike’s words instantly conjured the music of one of my all-time favorite musicians: Kieren Hebden, aka Four Tet. Four Tet’s work is ever so slightly desaturated, faded. Like an old 16mm reel of The Joshua Light Show; the images are still psychedelic, colorful but weathered with age.

Hebden has an uncanny ability to adhere to song-form just enough to keep you smiling while meandering down so many twisted avenues and near-formless spaces that when it’s all over you often wonder how you’d ever explain what you just heard. Is it space-jazz? Mushroom addicted rave music? Smile Around The Face is Hebden at his poppiest, which is still weird as hell, but this track is just catchy enough, just technicolor enough, just happy-with-a-tinge-of-sad enough to keep this mix on track.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 10, Four Tet

Vol 10 / Trk 05 / I Think It Is Beautiful That You Are 256 Colors Too

If you’re an avid NEIMT follower you might have noticed my most recent track disappeared shortly after I posted it. That’s because in my Sunday morning haze I posted a track by an artist that we featured in our last mix—a no-no. Sorry folks! The good news is my backup selection is maybe even better.

I honestly woke up with this song in my head this morning. Few bands have a more consistent output both in mood and quality than Black Moth Super Rainbow. This is music you can see. We’re standing in a field. The year is 1976. Through the soft-focus filter on the end of our Super 8mm camera we see an attractive young girl, backlit by the setting sun, blowing the seeds off a dying dandelion.

Or we’re at my house trying to remake Kid A on my Commodore 64.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 10, Black Moth Super Rainbow

Vol 10 / Trk 01 / Quitter’s Raga

Ah, the dubious honor of setting the tone for a new volume of the illustrious Never Ending Internet Mixtape. Let’s hope I don’t screw this up.

Ever hear a song that sounds exactly like you? I’m not talking about lyrics that resonate with your spirit or current life condition—I’m talking about music that sounds like the inside of your brain. For me, Quitter’s Raga is that song. Everything is just a little off, a little psychedelic, a little manic. The uh, “lyrics” are pure nonsense but still manage to get stuck in my head for days after I listen to this track. Every track on Gold Panda’s Companion is beautiful, but none capture the sheer hyperactive-3rd-grader-just-recieved-a-Nintendo-for-Christmas energy that lies in my heart the way Quitter’s Raga does.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 10, Gold Panda

Vol 09 / Trk 15 / Portofino

My first experience with Teengirl Fantasy was their amazing AZZ KLAPZ ep. The electronic duo were taking short, funky R&B influenced phrases and looping them into oblivion. What was once funky becomes oddly meditative by the 40th loop. I loved that ep but wondered if you could push the concept any further. On subsequent albums Teengirl have done just that—and in both directions. Some tracks are more R&B than ever, while tracks like Portofino are long meditations on a musical phrase with a subtle play in dynamics keeping things interesting and fresh.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 09, teengirl fantasy

Vol 09 / Trk 11 / Smoke

Oh Cornelius. How long I have loved you. Through every weird-ass turn, Beach Boys inspired pop, Sonic Youth-esque noise rock, and his very own post-kraut weirdness. Every flavor perfect and alien.

I can’t think of another artist with a more sensitive ear for detail, and when he fills his long, repetitive krautrock compositions with his signature production work it sounds unlike anyone else in the game. There’s something highly visual about his songwriting. A tiny burst of color here, a perfectly-rendered but oddly out of place photo-realistic flower there; it’s the musical equivalent of Jeff Koon’s Easyfun-Ethereal paintings.

And I like how he pronounces the word ‘smoke.’

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 09, cornelius

Vol 09 / Trk 07 / Ice

Sorry for the wait gents, but seriously—how do you follow James Blake?

London-based electronic producer Patten is truly an enigma. Like a real enigma. No photos of the man exist, he answers interview questions in URLs and other people’s YouTube videos.

His new record GLAQJO XAACSSO has been receiving mixed reviews, most of which claim the record is too off-kilter to be enjoyable. His methods are similar to James Blake’s—samples chopped and stretched into an entirely new emotional space. Perhaps Patten is a little looser in his technique but I’ve always found the results exciting, otherworldly and strangely calming. Ice, the GLAQJO XAACSSO captures the Patten sound perfectly.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 09, Patten

Vol 09 / Trk 03 / Little Bit

Got it together Again? Let’s Call It Off? Seems to me we’ve got a bit of a love problem on our hands, and a swedish one at that. Thankfully, my future spouse and eternal soul-partner Lykke Li has already written this century’s greatest love song and damn if it doesn’t drip Swede-pop weirdness.  Little Bit is like a “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours” for the emotionally handicapped—I think I’m just a little bit in love with you, if you’re a little bit in love with me.

On a personal note I had an ex-girlfriend who’s tiny lapdog was named “Little Bit.” Oh, the memories.

And, pro-tip: throw this jam on a mix tape and you will make out, son.

b.klops

Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 09, lykke li