T’Other Simon’s Got His Groove On…
Over the past year or so, I’ve (re)discovered the joy of making mixtapes. Only they’re not on tape – they’re mp3s. But mixmp3s sounds pathetic.
So here’s the latest one – I decided to do a little track-by-track commentary – so you can tell what the tracks are – and a little bit of self indulgent writing about why I love each one. Or at least like it. Or – you know – tolerate it.
So here goes – I’m well aware that it’s a hellish mix of genres, but I think it works. This is a small glimpse into what goes on in my mind at any given moment.
1) Andy Votel – B-Music: I discovered Andy Votel on some compilation CD I got free with a magazine years ago. It was a tune called ‘Revenge of the Spooky Driver’, and it was a bit mad. Long passages of twinkly piano and whooshing sounds, and then unexpected, frantic sections of crazy rock guitar. Then back to the twinkly piano stuff. That’s the sort of thing that catches my attention. I later got my hands on the album, only to discover that the track I loved wasn’t on it. But this one was. I’d also highly recommend checking out his mix album ‘One Nation Under A Grave’. It’s mental.
2) Curtis Mayfield – Move On Up (excerpt): I’d have loved to have put the whole thing on here, but the full version clocks in at just over 6 weeks, and while it’s BRILLIANT, it kinda spoils a mixtape. So I put in the little instrumental bit at the end, cos it’s still got the groove that I was after – but doesn’t go on forever. The little spoken bit at the beginning of the track is by Demitri Martin – a massively under-rated comedian. One of the snippets later in the mix is also by him. A very funny guy – check him out on YouTube or something.
3) Yo Gabba Gabba – Don’t Bite Your Friends: A little reminder on etiquette from one of my favourite children’s TV programmes. I’ve got a child – I’m ALLOWED to watch them, alright?
4) Wildchild – Renegade Master (Fatboy Slim Old School Mix) – The original version of this is, of course, a classic – but dear Quentin’s remix has a certain…something… that makes me want to get up and leap around the place like a knob. So I put it on here (I only heard this mix recently, for some reason, but I immediately earmarked it for a mixtape. It’s too good not to share).
5) Jamie T – Chaka Demus: God knows what Pliers did to offend Mr. T (hurhur! Mr. T!) but whatever – this is a feelgood tune if ever there was one. I must confess, Jamie T’s voice annoys me massively, but while he’s churning out stuff like this I can forgive him. Just about.
6) STV SLV – Shut Up, American Boy: I’m a huge fan of bootlegs, or mashups, or whatever you want to call them. And I think this one works particularly well. Impressive, given that I’m not really fussed by either of the original tunes. The album I pilfered this off has an AMAZING mashup of The Cure and the Commodores, but that’s for another day…
7) Oasis – Falling Down (The Gibb Mix): Yeah it’s Oasis. So what? Their latest album definitely has a groove about it – and lots of the remixes are really cool. Like this one. Fast forward if you hate them so much. God – you’re SO negative.
8]) Gisli – Can You Make Me Right: Gisli is a bit of an odd chap. His debut album ‘Go Get ‘Em Tiger’ is well worth seeking out. He’s Icelandic, and raps about Gareth Gates wearing rollerblades. What more could you possibly ask for? Actually – quite a lot of the album is relatively downtempo, acoustic stuff, but it’s all rather good.
9) Datarock – The New Song: I don’t know anything about Datarock, other than they play music that sounds like this. And I like it.
10) Kalyani Anandji – Somebody To Love (edit): Ages ago I downloaded an album called ‘Sitar Beat! Indian Style Heavy Funk’. I mean – with a name like that it’s hard to resist, right? And it turns out that there are some crackin’ tunes on there. Like this one.
11)Byron Lee and the Dragonnaires – Six Million Dollar Man: Good God, I love this. It’s off an album called ‘Reggae International’ and if you like this track – you’ll love the album. Trust me – it’s one of my favourite albums.
12) The Upsetters – Popcorn: This is pretty darn awesome, too. I first heard it on DJ Spooky’s album ‘Riddim Come Forward’ which is, simply put, a work of genius. It’s a mix album, of loads of stuff off the Trojan label. Everything from hits to rarities. Including this. At the end of the day, it’s the Upsetters – you can’t go wrong.
13) The Spencer Davis Group – Keep On Runnin’: When I was putting this mix together, I asked people for suggestions of tunes that ‘had a groove’. This was suggested, and immediately clicked. If ever there was a song with a ‘groove’, this is it. Good call, Polly! Thanks!
14)EMF – When You’re Mine: I loved Schubert Dip, the album this was on, when it first came out. And then I forgot about it for about ten years (probably longer). Not so long ago, someone made a comment that jogged my memory and I had to dig it out again. Yeah, it might not have aged very well, but it brings back happy memories for me, and once you get past the dated-ness of it, I think it’s a bloody good tune.
15) Bassnectar – Where Is My Mind? (Bassnectar Remix): Considering how much I adore the original, I’m amazed at how well this works. Sometimes you’ve just got to ignore the voices in your head telling you that you shouldn’t like something, and just admit to yourself that it makes you wanna jump around the place whooping.
16) Weezer – El Scorcho: “I asked you to go to the Green Day concert – you said you’d never heard of them. HOW COOL IS THAT? So I went to your room and read your diary”. With lyrics like that, I barely need to explain why I love it…
