You're Only Here For The Mixathon?!?!

Assembled as a means to participate in Zen Running Order's May Mixathon in which users were challenged to create a "Frankenstein" mix. I first learned about the "Frankenstein" mix through Art Of The Mix several years ago, and at least one other variant has developed. This version, though, was created via direct input from ZeRO users: which song challenge would you like to issue? My inclusion, by the way, was "A song from the year of your birth." Necessarily chaotic, I think mine actually develops some flow at several points throughout. Anyway, a fun mix to put together, and somewhat challenging (especially when trying to pick from several songs for a single spot on the playlist). NW007.

01. Song that gives you the chills/heebie jeebies: KATE BUSH/Under Ice. For my money, one of the scariest songs ever written.

02. Favorite use of song in a film: LOU REED/Perfect Day. In which Renton OD's in Trainspotting.

03. Favorite instrumental: KRONOS QUARTET/Marquee Moon. Desert island or otherwise, this Kronos Quartet version of the Television classic is brilliant.

04. Favorite song by someone principally known as an actor: EWAN McGREGOR/Your Song. Props also go to Nicole Kidman for belting it out in Moulin Rouge.

05. Favorite song about fire or burning: MC 900 FT JESUS/The City Sleeps. In which we get inside the head of a pyromaniac.

06. A song from the year of your birth: SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES/The Tears Of A Clown. 1970.

07. A song you wish you had written: MY BLOODY VALENTINE/Soon. A song ahead of it's time from an album ahead of it's time by a band ahead of it's time. I envy the vision it took to come up with this masterpiece.

08. Favorite non-love related song you would undoubtedly put on a mixtape for a crush/loved one: THE SMITHS/Cemetry Gates. Witty lyrics from Morrissey and a great guitar line from Marr, I actually used this as a way to introduce The Smiths to my wife many moons ago.

09. In space: BLUR/Far Out. "I spy in the night sky, don't I...." And Alex gets the lead vocal credit.

10. A song with a really clever title: PHISH/Frankie Says. The chorus beginning with "Relax."

11. A song that uses elements of another song without directly sampling the piece of music: TALKING HEADS/Stay Up Late. Features the opening line of "Ain't Too Proud To Beg." The story I was told (way back when) is that David Byrne included it as a dig against the Rolling Stones' version of the song. Anybody else heard that?

12. A song that makes no sense to you: STEVEN JESSE BERNSTEIN/This Clouded Heart. Still scratching my head.

13. A track from an artist you learned about from another ZeRO mixer: THE LUCKSMITHS/There Is A Boy Who Never Goes Out. From sammyg123's AOTM-era Art Of The Moz. A phenomenal mix from a phenomenal mixer.

14. A song with a color in the title: MISS SHIRLEY BASSEY/Goldfinger. "Do you expect me to talk?" "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die." Flawless.

15. A song with a country or city in the title: MORCHEEBA/Sao Paulo. I'd say this qualifies.

16. A song about a political figure: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS/Tippecanoe And Tyler Too. This qualifies as well.

17. A favorite song from a past mix which you've posted: SUGARCUBES/Hit. In which our hero fell in love with Bjork. I've used this song at least three times on AOTM/Mesh-era mixes, and may just have to use it again....

18. A song for your funeral: THE ENGLISH BEAT/Ackee 1-2-3. Special Beat Service, and this song, in particular, were rainy day blues cure for a friend and me during college. I'd like to think it could cheer people up when I shake off this mortal coil.

19. A song you wish was written for/about you: CRACKER/Don't F*** Me Up (with peace and love). "I am the game warden of love/ 'til someone took away my gin and tonic." Truer words were never written....

20. A WTF moment, a song that stopped you in your tracks and made you really listen: WILCO/Sunken Treasure. I saw Wilco in '96 in Louisville, before the release of Being There. The band opened with this song and I realized that Jeff Tweedy and Co. were leaving Uncle Tupelo far, far behind....

21. GENE WILDER & PETER BOYLE/Puttin' On The Ritz. Just because.

Oversleep The Rapture

D'you know, all that time I was dotty I had the most awful dreams. I thought we were all driving round and round in a motor race and none of us could stop, and there was an enormous audience composed entirely of gossip writers and gate crashers and Archie Schwert and people like that, all shouting at us at once to go faster and faster, and car after car kept crashing until I was left alone driving and driving--and then I used to crash and wake up.

—Evelyn Waugh, Vile Bodies

Another one of those mixes which bears very little resemblance to the early drafts. Of the twenty songs included, only the Oysterhead, Jeff Buckley, and Gomez survived from the outset (although I actually debated between a few other Jeff Buckley songs, as well as which version of "Nightmares" to use). The good fortune of this is that the final mix turned out really well (in my opinion) and I've got a bounty of songs that "didn't make the cut" to use for a follow-up sometime. As for some of the songs which did make the cut....

"Girlfriend" is an all-time favorite that I've been wanting to use again for a long time. Even though Gomez's "Airstream Driver" has been in the mix from the beginning, I couldn't resist adding the Red Red Meat track as well after I got my hands on it (thank you, eMusic free trial). The Gomez song isn't a cover, rather it uses elements of another song without directly sampling the piece of music (e.g. riffs, vocal phrases, drum beats), if someone from ZeRO were so inclined to need something of that sort around the end of this month. Yes, it's that Steve Burns: being a Dad may mean I miss out on a lot of music, but it also lets me in on some that I wouldn't have searched out otherwise. Actually, the Wilco song fits in that category, as well, as it's featured in the closing credits of the Spongebob movie. The Posies' Dear 23 is a tremendously under-rated album from the early 90's that deserves a re-listen (IMHO, of course). Hula Hoop were active in and around Louisville (and elsewhere) in the early 90's and feature Rachel Grimes (of Rachel's) on bass. I heard the GBV song used on the TV show Samantha Who? last year and have been aching to use it since. And, despite it being eight years old, I just heard The Notwist song while putting this together and I was immediately hooked. The title, by the way, is from the Red Red Meat/Gomez songs and, in regards to a recent forum discussion about whether the title or playlist came first, the title came first.... NW006.

01. Girlfriend/MATTHEW SWEET
02. Pseudo Suicide/OYSTERHEAD
03. Damaged Goods/GANG OF FOUR
04. Airstream Driver/RED RED MEAT
05. Pictures Of Matchstick Men/CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN
06. Superstrings/STEVE BURNS
07. Feeling No Pain/JOSH ROUSE
08. Just A Kid/WILCO
09. Here To Fall/YO LA TENGO
10. The New Face Of Zero And One/THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
11. Fire It Up/MODEST MOUSE
12. Nightmares By The Sea/JEFF BUCKLEY
13. From A Balance Beam/BRIGHT EYES
14. 14 Shades Of Green/CHRIS STAMEY
15. Help Yourself/THE POSIES
16. 16 Horses/SOUL COUGHING
17. Spider/HULA HOOP
18. I Am A Scientist/GUIDED BY VOICES
19. One With The Freaks/THE NOTWIST
20. Airstream Driver/GOMEZ