Random Old Records Podcast #33

Summer, summer, summertime! I threw this one together at the last minute, but I think I did a pretty good job of capturing the mood of this lazy, hazy, hot as motherfuckin' balls July. Random Old Records Podcast #33 drifts by in a dreamy blur of psychedelic moods, shimmering reverb guitar, and loping dance beats, with a mix of new and old tracks. If you're one of those people who are melting in this punishing 100+ degree heatwave rocking the midwest, and just want to sit around in a dark room getting high all day, this is the podcast for you!

Episode #33 kicks off with the all-time classic opening medley from the debut LP by The Soft Machine, a towering groove filled with stunning drums from Robert Wyatt, screeching organs, and slow-burning instrumental fury, and goes into some screaming garage psych from The Night Beats and Thee Oh Sees, then a Brit-psych style workout from The Paperhead, who put out one of the best LPs of the year on Trouble In Mind a few months back. I've been raving about them ever since, and now I'm SUPER-PUMPED that they're playing a free show at one of the best new venues in Cincinnati, MOTR Pub, on July 27th. If you're anywhere close, come check it out! Also, check out the perfect lo-fi 60s psych vibe of Jeffrey Novak on this episode of Random Old Records. He just so happens to be the producer of The Paperhead LP, and will be guesting on keyboards on their tour. Sweet deal!

Elsewhere, you'll hear dreamy electronic-psych tracks from Washed Out, Hype Williams, and Black Moth Super Rainbow, and more chill jams from the likes of Pure X (AWESOME new LP), Seapony, Sic Alps, White Fence, Blouse, and Kelley Stoltz. There's classic tracks from The Kinks and Matching Mole, plus a few more surprises to round things out. Hopefully y'all dig it! There's some of my favorite songs of the year on this thing, so check it out and let me know what you think! All the links you need to stream/subscribe/download are below, as is the playlist. Stay tuned to the blog, because there's a review of a crazy Nobunny house show (with sweaty, filthy pics) coming up soon! Enjoy your summer, folks!

STREAM/SUBSCRIBE/DOWNLOAD: HERE or HERE

DIRECT ZIP DOWNLOAD WITH PLAYLIST: HERE

Random Old Records #33
1. The Soft Machine - "Hope For Happiness/Joy Of A Toy/Hope For Happiness (Reprise)"
(The Soft Machine, ABC/Probe 1968)
2. Night Beats - "Hallucinojenny"
(Night Beats, Trouble In Mind 2011)
3. Thee Oh Sees - "Corrupted Coffin"
(Castlemania, In The Red 2011)
4. The Paperhead - "Back To Those Days"
(The Paperhead, Trouble In Mind 2011)
5. Pure X - "Voices"
(Pleasure, Acephale 2011)
--Searching for the perfect wave.
6. Matching Mole - "O Caroline"
(Matching Mole, CBS 1972)
7. Blouse - "Shadow"
(Shadow 7", Sub Pop 2011)
8. Seapony - "So Low"
(Go With Me, Hardly Art 2011)
9. Black Moth Super Rainbow - "Moody Day"
(Extra Flavor, Graveface 2011)
10. Hype Williams - "Your Girl Smells Chung When She Wears Dior"
(One Nation, Hippos In Tanks 2011)
11. Washed Out - "Echoes"
(Within And Without, Sub Pop 2011)
--Owlsley blue, British dudes, etc.
12. Kelley Stoltz - "Please Visit Soon"
(Antique Glow, Jackpine Social Club 2004)
13. Sic Alps - "Cement Surfboard"
(Napa Asylum, Drag City 2011)
14. White Fence - "Art Investor Collector"
(Is Growing Faith, Woodsist 2010)
15. Jeffrey Novak - "Queen Of Moods"
(After The Ball, LMN Recordings 2009)
16. The Kinks - "People Take Pictures Of Each Other"
(Village Green Preservation Society, Reprise 1968)
17. The Go - "Caroline"
(Howl On The Haunted Beat You Ride, Cass 2007)

We Wait In Summertime: Summer Mix 2011

So yeah, I haven't been blogging much lately, and I'm not exactly sure why, but I have a few solid ideas. First of all, work has been kicking my ass and I've been putting in a bunch of twelve hours days in on a big project that has turned my free time into a massive blur of couch sitting, tv watching, and competitive dozing. Ever tried to swap out 700+ computers in a week? It's not a pretty sight, folks. When "me time" is at a premium, sitting in front of a computer trying to come up with new and exciting ways of saying "THIS RULES!" isn't exactly a high priority. Instead, I've been coming up with new and exciting ways to jazz up frozen pizzas and watching Get Smart reruns. All I gotta say is Italian seasoning is crucial and KAOS agents are everywhere. FUN!

Also, I almost sorta kinda am bored with music at the current time. For the last six months, I've been buying records at a furious pace, and the latest crop of purchases just haven't been moving me, man. 2011 has come up with some serious jams so far, but there hasn't been much in the last few weeks that really MOVED me. I'm not sure if I'm burned out, or that the stuff coming out in June is just plain mediocre. The steady stream of amazing, basic, LOUD rock n' roll of the last couple years seems to be petering out, and it all sounds like a bunch of too-loud, monotonous racket. To be honest, I'd much rather listen to synth pop or prog rock or standards from the 40s or something right now. I keep putting on the same damn Joni Mitchell album over and over again (The Hissing Of Summer Lawns, which is fucking essential, OK?!) and it rules because I know all the words and when all the drum beats kick in and all that good stuff. It's pretty and nice for sleeping music, too. Even as I write this, the new Pure X LP is kinda blowing my mind, so maybe new music is getting back on track after all.

Anyway, this mix has been gestating for several weeks and I think it's pretty great. It starts and ends with two of my favorite love songs of all time, both sung by women. The first is decidedly from a lady's perspective and the last one is male as it comes. Soft and dreamy at the beginning, then tough and moody at the end. It sounds pretty good to these ears, at least. Somewhere in the middle is "He Gets Me High" by Dum Dum Girls, which is a perfect mix of both. Filling out the rest of the runtime are some of my favorite songs of 2011 so far, along with a few crucial older songs that you need to hear if you haven't yet. It's a soundtrack for summertime. It's for singing and swooning and lounging around. The word gets overused these days, but it really is dreamy. This mix is for reflecting over how awesome 2011 has been so far, and for anticipating how awesome it will continue to be as it keeps rolling. Play it loud and often.

Download it HERE: http://www.mediafire.com/?r2dgtekpaddbvwx

Stream it HERE:

We Wait In Summertime: Summer 2011
1. Mary Lou Lord - "The Wind Blows All Around"
2. The Joykiller - "She's Something Else"
3. The Anniversary - "All Things Ordinary"
4. Wax Idols - "All Too Human"
5. Dum Dum Girls - "He Gets Me High"
6. White Wires - "I Can Tell"
7. High Tension Wires - "Backbone"
8. Wax Museums - "Safety In Numbers"
9. Natural Child - "Chris' Blues"
10. Smith Westerns - "Imagine Pt. 3"
11. The Go - "Invisible Friends"
12. Black Moth Super Rainbow - "Sun Lips"
13. Blouse - "Into Black"
14. Massive Attack - "Protection"