New Fall Playlist

I finally got around to making a new mix for the mp3 player over there on the sidebar. Not sure if anyone really uses that thing or not, but whatever.

The new mix is m-e-l-l-o-w. Indie rock, blues, electronica, some singer-songwriter stuff, & even some gospel & surf guitar are what’s on it. So if your music tastes are narrowly defined as things other than that, ya might wanna just ignore it. I’ve just come off of shoulder surgery & am banned from activities for a while. And it’s officially fall here in the NW, with the gray skies & cooler weather having made an appearance. So a chilled soundtrack is what I’m liking for my hobbled descent into the dark season. For best results, please use headphones.

1. The Walkmen – Louisiana
The bouncy first track on the latest Walkmen record is also the first track of the new mix. Sure, it sounds like Hamilton Leithauser is channeling Highway 61-era Dylan, but hey, who doesn’t like Highway 61-era Dylan? And these guys have staked out their own signature sound with their loose, jangly arrangements backing Leithauser’s vocal delivery. And speaking of Dylan, his NEW RECORD is really good.

2. Beirut – Postcards From Italy
This one rides kinda the same rhythmic vibe as “Louisiana” & has a horn accompaniment too. Careful, this song’s chorus is reputed for its earworm-inducing qualities. Beirut is actually 19 year-old Zach Condon. We’ll be seeing him at the Crocodile here in Seattle in a week or two.

3. Juana Molina – Rio Seco
Juana Molina is an Argentinian folk/electro artist. I like to listen to this one first thing in the morning when I’m all groggy .. or post-op when I’m groggy all day long.

4. Christopher Willits – Colors Shifting
I haven’t been able to ride my bike to work, & have had to take the bus instead. It takes a lot longer to get to & from places on the bus. Mellow electro is the perfect iPod backdrop for stop-go people watchin’ thru the window in downtown Seattle. It doesn’t get in the way, it’s just kinda there in the background skittering along. So the next couple songs are electro bits that I’ve been listening to lately.

5. Chemical Brothers – Close Your Eyes
Vocals handled by the indie pop duo The Magic Numbers.

6. Royksopp – Someone Like Me
So Euro … the Euro-est.

7. The Album Leaf – The Outer Banks
I used to spend a lot of time on NC’s Outer Banks when I was a kid. This is a nice instrumental piece from a record that The Album Leaf collaborated with Sigur Ros on.

8. Johnny Cash – God’s Gonna Cut You Down
Man you can hear the solemn conviction in Johnny’s quivering voice on his last record, which was recorded as he was blind & on his deathbed. Here he covers the traditional “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”. Rick Rubin released America V posthumously & supposedly still has enough material in the hopper for at least one more Cash record.

9. The NuGrape Twins – I Got Your Ice Cold NuGrape
There’s not much known about the NuGrape Twins. I’ve only been able to find this & a couple of gospel songs. This particular recording was made in 1926 & seems like an early example of the NUGRAPE COMPANY OF AMERICA’s branding strategy. Most of the classic psychological hooks used in advertising are there: exclusivity (“there’s none like mine”); youth marketing (“little children in the backyard playin’ in the sand, run & tell yo mama here’s the NuGrape man”); well-being (“get a NuGrape from the store, then you’ll have the blues no more”); & keepin’ wifey happy (“if from work you get home late, rollin’ pin waitin’ at the gate …”). That or the Twins just reeeeaaally liked NuGrape. Anyway, this old song is super cool.

10. Junior Kimbrough – I Cried Last Night
Junior rules. HERE’S a great WRITE-UP on the influential North Mississippi Hill Country bluesman who recorded on Fat Possum.

11. The Fiery Furnaces – I’m Leaving
Indie rockers covering Junior Kimbrough & doing it ten times more authentically than Jack & Meg White would’ve done.

12. Rogue Wave – Medicine Ball
Bay Area band with a drummer who’s in need of a kidney. Go HERE.

13. The Diminishedmen – Accidental Patient
If you’ve ever seen surf guitar legend Dick Dale live, you know that you wake up the next morning with ear blood on your pillow. The Diminishedmen are nothing like that. They do a stoney brand of surf guitar. I threw this on as kind of a tip of the hat to summer as we slide into fall.

14. Archers Of Loaf – Scenic Pastures
One of my all-time favorite songs off one of my favorite albums from one of my favorite bands. I’ve put this track on way more mixtapes than I should have ever been allowed to over the years. The hypnotic minute ‘n a half long instrumental breakdown at the end of the song leads perfectly into …

15. Band Of Horses – The First Song
The first song on the Horses debut is the last song on this mix. It’s kind of weird that way, but I’m trying to follow SETH GODIN’S advice about “zooming”. Anyway, this might be my favorite record of ’06. Oh, and they’re from Seattle.

So there it is .. kind of in lieu of anything vaguely kayaking-related to post. I’m happy to make a copy of this mix for anyone who would like one. You’ll have to send some loot though, cuz I’m broke & can’t finance the blanks, the packaging & the shipping. Get a hold of me by email if interested ( toddgillman at gmail dot com ). And a huge thanks once again to FRENCHY for helping me get it right.

ps. To all you loyal subscribers, be sure to check the archives or the main page as the last post did not syndicate. cheers.